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St. Anthony
Founder of Christian monasticism. The chief source of information on St. Anthony is a Greek Life attributed to St. Athanasius, to be found in any edition of his works. A note of the controversy concerning this Life is given at the end of this article; here it will suffice to say that now it is received with practical unanimity by scholars as a substantially historical record, and as a probably authentic work of St. Athanasius. Valuable subsidiary information is supplied by secondary sources: the "Apophthegmata", chiefly those collected under Anthony's name (at the head of Cotelier's alphabetical collection, P.G. LXV, 7]); Cassian, especially Coll. II; Palladius, "Historica Lausiaca", 3,4,21,22 (ed. Butler). All this matter may probably be accepted as substantially authentic, whereas what is related concerning St. Anthony in St. Jerome's Life of St. Paul the Hermit" cannot be used for historical purposes.
Anthony was born at Coma, near Heracleopolis Magna in Fayum, about the middle of the third century. He was the son of well-to-do parents, and on their death, in his twentieth year, he inherited their possessions. He had a desire to imitate the life of the Apostles and the early Christians, and one day, on hearing in the church the Gospel words, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all thou hast", he received them as spoken to himself, disposed of all his property and goods, and devoted himself exclusively to religious exercises. Long before this it had been usual for Christians to practice asceticism, abstainfrom marriage and exercising themselves in self-denial, fasting, prayer, and works of piety; but this they had done in the midst of their families, and without leaving house or home. Later on, in Egypt. such ascetics lived in huts, in the outskirts of the towns amd villaged, and thid was the common peactice about 270, when Anthony withdrew from the world. He began his career by practising the ascetical life in this fashion without leaving his native place. He used to visit the various ascetics, study their lives, and try to learn from each of them the virtue in which he seemed to excel. Then he took up his abode in one of the tombs, near his native village, and there it was that the Life records those strange conflicts with demons in the shape of wild beasts, who inflicted blows upon him, and sometimes left him nearly dead. After fifteen years of this life, at the age of thirty-five, Anthony determined to withdraw from the habitations of men and retire in absolute solitude. He crossed the Nile, and on a mountain near the east bank, then called Pispir, now Der el Memum, he found an old fort into which he shut himself, and lived there for twenty years without seeing the face of man, food being thrown to him over the wall. He was at times visited by pilgrims, whom he refused to see; but gradually a number of would-be disciples established themselves in caves and in huts around the mountain, Thus a colony of ascetics was formed, who begged Anthony to come forth and be their guide in the spiritual life. At length, about the year 305, he yielded to their importunities an emerged from his retreat, and, to the surprise of all, he appeared to be as when he had gone in, not emaciated, but vigorous in body and mind. For five or six years he devoted himself to the instruction and organization of the great body of monks that had grown up around him; but hen he once again withdrew into the inner desert that lay between the Nile and the Red Sea, near the shore of which he fixed his abode on a mountain where still stands the monastery that bears his name, Der Mar Antonios. Here he spent the last forty-five years of his life, in a seclusion, not so strict as Pispir, for he freely saw those who came to visit him, and he used to cross the desert to Pispir with considerable frequency. The Life says that on two occasions he went to Alexandria, once after he came forth from the fort at Pispir, to strengthen the Christian martyrs in the persecution of 311, and once at the close of his life (c. 350), to preach against the Arians. The Life says he dies at the age of a hundred and five, and St. Jerome places his death in 356-357. All the chronology is based on the hypothesis that this date and the figures in the Life are correct. At his own request his grave was kept secret by the two disciples who buried him, lest his body should become an object of reverence.
Of his writings, the most authentic formulation of his teaching is without doubt that which is contained in the various sayings and discourses put into his mouth in the Life, especially the long ascetic sermons (16-43) spoken on his coming forth from the fort at Pispir. It is an instruction on the duties of the spiritual life, in which the warfare with demons occupies the chief place. Though probably not an actual discourse spoken on any single occasion, it can hardly be a mere invention of the biographer, and doubtless reproduces St. Anthony's actual doctrine, brought together and co-ordinated. It is likely that many of the sayings attributed to him in the "Apophthegmata" really go back to him, and the same may be said of the stories told of him in Cassian and Palladius. There is a homogeneity about these records, and a certain dignity and spiritual elevation that seem to mark them with the stamp of truth, and to justify the belief that the picture they give us of St Anthony's personality, character, and teaching is essentially authentic. A different verdict has to be passed on the writings that go under his name, to be found in P.G., XL. The Sermons and twenty Epistles from the Arabic are by common consent pronounced wholly spurious. St Jerome (De Viris Ill., lxxxviii) knew seven epistles translated from the Coptic into Greek; the Greek appears to be lost, but a Latin version exists (ibid.), and Coptic fragments exist of three of these letters, agreeing closely with the Latin; they may be authentic, but it would be premature to decide. Better is the position of a Greek letter to Theodore, preserved in the "Epistola Ammonis ad Theophilum", sect. 20, and said to be a translation of a Coptic original; there seems to be no sufficient ground for doubting that it really was written by Anthony (see Butler, Lausiac History of Palladius, Part I,223). The authorities are agreed that St Anthony knew no Greek and spoke only Coptic. There exists a monastic Rule that bears St Anthony's name, preserved in Latin and Arabic forms (P.G., XL, 1065). While it cannot be received as having been actually composed by Anthony, it probably in large measure goes back to him, being for the most part made up out of the utterances attributed to him in the Life and the "Apophthegmata"; it contains, however, an element derived from the spuria and also from the "Pachomian Rules". It was compiled at an early date, and had a great vogue in Egypt the East. At this day it is the rule followed by the Uniat Monks of Syria and Armenia, of whom the Maronites, with sixty monasteries and 1,100 monks, are the most important; it is followed also by the scanty remnants of Coptic monachism.
It will be proper to define St. Anthony's place, and to explain his influence in the history of Christian monachism. He probably was not the first Christian hermit; it is more reasonable to believe that, however little historical St Jerome's "Vita Pauli" may be, some kernel o fact underlies the story (Butler, op. cit., Pat I, 231,232), but Paul's existence was wholly unknown unknown till long after Anthony has become the recognized leader of Christian hermits. Nor was St Anthony a great legislator and organizer of monks, like his younger contemporary Pachomius: for, though Pachomius's first foundations were probably some ten or fifteen years later than Anthony's coming forth from his retreat at Pispir, it cannot be shown that Pachomius was directly influenced by Anthony, indeed his institute ran on quite different lines. And yet it is abundantly evident that from the middle of the fourth century throughout Egypt, as elsewhere, and among the Pachomian monks themselves, St Anthony was looked upon as the founder and father of Christian monachism. This great position was no doubt due to his commanding personality and high character, qualities that stand out clearly in all the records of him that have come down. The best study of his character is Newman's in the "Church of the Fathers" (reprinted in "Historical Sketches"). The following is his estimate: "His doctrine surely was pure and unimpeachable; and his temper is high and heavenly, without cowardice, without gloom, without formality, without self-complacency. Superstition is abject and crouching, it is full of thoughts of guilt; it distrusts God, and dreads the powers of evil. Anthony at least had nothing of this, being full of confidence, divine peace, cheerfulness, and valorousness, be he (as some men may judge) ever so much an enthusiast" (op.cit., Anthony in Conflict). Full of enthusiasm he was, but it did not make him fanatical or morose; his urbanity and gentleness, his moderation and sense stand out in many of the stories related of him. Abbot Moses in Cassian (Coll. II) says he had heard Anthony maintaining that of all virtues discretion was the most essential for attaining perfection; and the little known story of Eulogius and the Cripple, preserved in the Lausiac History (xxi), illustrates the kind of advice and direction he gave to those who sought his guidance.
The monasticism established under St Anthony's direct influence became the norm in Northern Egypt, from Lycopolis (Asyut) to the Mediterranean. In contradistinction to the fully coenobitical system, established by Pachomius in the South, it continued to be of a semi-eremetical character, the monks living commonly in separate cells or huts, and coming together only occasionally for church services; they were left very much to their own devices, and the life they lived was not a community life according to rule, as now understood (see Butler, op. cit., Part I, 233-238). This was the form of monastic life in the deserts of Nitria and Scete, as portrayed by Palladius and Cassian. Such groups of semi-independent hermitages were later on called Lauras, and have always existed in the East alongside of the Basilian monasteries; in the West St Anthony's monachism is in some measure represented by the Carthusians. Such was St Anthony's life and character, and such his role in Christian history. He is justly recognized as the father not only of monasticism, strictly so called, but of the technical religious life in every shape and form. Few names have exercised on the human race an influence more deep and lasting, more widespread, or on the whole more beneficent.
It remains to say a word on the controversy carried on during the present generation concerning St Anthony and the Life. In 1877 Weingarten denied the Athanasian authorship and the historical character of the Life, which he pronounced to be a mere romance; he held that up to 340 there were no Christian monk, and that therefore the dates of the "real" Anthony had to be shifted nearly a century. Some imitators in England went still further and questioned, even denied, that St Anthony had ever existed. To anyone conversant with the literature of monastic Egypt, the notion that the fictitious hero of a novel could ever have come to occupy Anthony's position position in monastic history can appear nothing less than a fantastic paradox. As a matter of fact these theories are abandoned on all hands; the Life is received as certainly historical in substances, and as probably by Athanasius, and the traditional account of monastic origins is reinstated in its great outlines. The episode is now chiefly of interest as a curious example of a theory that was broached and became the fashion, and then was completely abandoned, all within a single generation. (on the controversy see Butler, op.cit. Part I, 215-228, Part II, ix-xi).
E.C.BUTLER
Transcribed by Robert Gordon
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume I
Copyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton Company
Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
Nihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor
Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
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Monday, 9 August 2010
saint Antony, by copticchurch.net
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Mesra 7, 1719
Wednesday, Aug 13, 2003
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St. Anthony
St. Anthony is considered the father of all monks and one ruler of Christian Monasticism.
He was born at about the year 250 A.D. in a city in upper Egypt called Kamen-El -Aroos, city of Beniswef. His father died before he reached the age of twenty. He heard the deacon in the Church reading this verse of the Bible:" If thou wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven" (Matt.19:21). So, he distributed all his wealth among the poor and left to the desert starting his monastical life, to where it is today near the coast of the Red sea.
People started visiting him and asking him for prayers and blessings. A certain king, from a foreign land, asked him, by means of messengers to come and heal his sick son. The messengers brought gifts to St. Anthony but he did not accept them and decided not to go to that foreign land.
St. Anthony prayed the same day and by the power of Jesus Christ lifting him upon a cloud, he went into that foreign land where he was invited to eat at a Minister's house. That minister had a pig whose youngsters were blind and limb, St. Anthony healed them. The king had heard of this and invited St. Anthony to his house to heal his son. He went there, healed the son and then returned to the monastery.
The following day, the messengers still being at the monastery, were unaware of St. Anthony's trip and asked him to accompany them to heal the King's son. So St. Anthony asked them to return back and he will follow later. After several days of a long trip they heard about the healing of that son and thought that it was St. Anthony after they reached the King's palace but he didn't tell them so that he may avoid falling into temptation. The messengers praised God for what they had witnessed.
St. Anthony passed away in the year 356 A.D. after a life full of good deeds and valuable spiritual experience. We celebrate his departure on the 30th of January (22 Touba of the Coptic calendar) every year.
The blessing Of our blessed St. Anthony be with us. Amen.
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Wednesday, Aug 13, 2003
Our Faith
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Fr. Markos Ayoub
Postal Address:
427 West Side Ave
Jersey City, NJ 07304
U.S.A.
St. Anthony
St. Anthony is considered the father of all monks and one ruler of Christian Monasticism.
He was born at about the year 250 A.D. in a city in upper Egypt called Kamen-El -Aroos, city of Beniswef. His father died before he reached the age of twenty. He heard the deacon in the Church reading this verse of the Bible:" If thou wilt be perfect go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven" (Matt.19:21). So, he distributed all his wealth among the poor and left to the desert starting his monastical life, to where it is today near the coast of the Red sea.
People started visiting him and asking him for prayers and blessings. A certain king, from a foreign land, asked him, by means of messengers to come and heal his sick son. The messengers brought gifts to St. Anthony but he did not accept them and decided not to go to that foreign land.
St. Anthony prayed the same day and by the power of Jesus Christ lifting him upon a cloud, he went into that foreign land where he was invited to eat at a Minister's house. That minister had a pig whose youngsters were blind and limb, St. Anthony healed them. The king had heard of this and invited St. Anthony to his house to heal his son. He went there, healed the son and then returned to the monastery.
The following day, the messengers still being at the monastery, were unaware of St. Anthony's trip and asked him to accompany them to heal the King's son. So St. Anthony asked them to return back and he will follow later. After several days of a long trip they heard about the healing of that son and thought that it was St. Anthony after they reached the King's palace but he didn't tell them so that he may avoid falling into temptation. The messengers praised God for what they had witnessed.
St. Anthony passed away in the year 356 A.D. after a life full of good deeds and valuable spiritual experience. We celebrate his departure on the 30th of January (22 Touba of the Coptic calendar) every year.
The blessing Of our blessed St. Anthony be with us. Amen.
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Sunday, 8 August 2010
5th patriarch of Alexandria
the 3rd of Misra
Severus of Al'Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1904) Part 1: St. Mark - Theonas (300 AD). Patrologia Orientalis 1 pp. 105-211 (p.1-113 of text).
PRIMUS, THE FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 109-122.
After this there was among the orthodox people of Christ a man named Primus, who was chaste as the angels, and piously performed many good works. So they took counsel with regard to this man, and chose him, and appointed him to the evangelical see, as patriarch. He remained in possession of it twelve years, and there was peace in the Church in his days. He went to his rest on the 3rd. of Misri, in the fifth year of the reign of Hadrian the prince.
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/severus_hermopolis_hist_alex_patr_01_part1.htm#PRIMUS
Severus of Al'Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1904) Part 1: St. Mark - Theonas (300 AD). Patrologia Orientalis 1 pp. 105-211 (p.1-113 of text).
PRIMUS, THE FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 109-122.
After this there was among the orthodox people of Christ a man named Primus, who was chaste as the angels, and piously performed many good works. So they took counsel with regard to this man, and chose him, and appointed him to the evangelical see, as patriarch. He remained in possession of it twelve years, and there was peace in the Church in his days. He went to his rest on the 3rd. of Misri, in the fifth year of the reign of Hadrian the prince.
http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/severus_hermopolis_hist_alex_patr_01_part1.htm#PRIMUS
repentant women saints
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http://www.4shared.com/photo/pn4kJMqJ/cover_page.html
Wednesday, 4 August 2010
saint martyrs of Alexandria killed by the Arians
SAINT MARTYRS OF ALEXANDRIA KILLED BY THE ARIANS
http://www.4shared.com/document/vbLtrEeF/THE_SAINT_MARTYRS_OF_ALEXANDRI.html
The Saint Martyrs of Alexandria who were killed by the Arians in 372
in the Church or Saint Theonas
and from 372 to 379 in Egypt
Translated from
LES SAINTS D’EGYPTE,
LECTURES EDIFIANTES, INSTRUCTIVES, AGREABLES
PAR
LE R.P. PAUL CHENEAU D’ORLEANS
DOCTEUR EN DROIT CANONIQUE
JERUSALEM
COUVENT DES RR. PP. FRANCISCAINS, CUSTODIE DE TERRE-SAINTE
1923
VOL. I PAGES 587-592
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY MELEKA HABIB YOUSSEF
2002
Bibliography
Authors to be consulted:
THEODORET DE CYR, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 21 and what follows.
SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZE, in laudem Heronis, sermon 23
RUFINUS, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. II, chapter 22
SOCRATE, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 21
SOZOMENE, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. VI, chapter 19
See the details of this persecution in
the life of Saint Melas of Rhinocolure who was one of its victims.
====================================================
TEXT
The archdeacon Boutros who was the faithful fellow of the labors and perils of Saint Athanassius, was called to become his successor on the See of Alexandria. The great Patriarch had designated him to the choice of his people who acclaimed his name. This election was not to the taste of the prefect Palladius who was a very fanatic heathen. He gathered the people of the same religion as his, together with some Jews, encircled the Church where resided the new patriarch Boutros II, and summonned him that he had to empty the place very quickly, otherwise the emperor would act energetically. The newly elected patriarch yielded face to the tempest. The passions of different kinds which had been constrained in respect by the influence of Saint Athanassius during his life, and which now had become at ease, could freely run their course.
The emperor Valens had sent a secret mandate to his stately representative, the prefect Palladius, that he had to be favorable to all the undertakings of the Arians. Such a mission was well in tune with the sectarian spirit of Palladius who without delay, seized the Patriarch Boutros II and shut him in jail. He enthroned Lucius at his place and ascribed all the churches to the Arians. These outrages against the liberty of worship were the equivalent to a declaration of war; Alexandria was starting to live the worst days of its history.
The emperor had issued decrees to give the buildings to the Arians, but he continued to take them; and nobody doubted that the projected assault was the signal for a bloody persecution and the occasion for customary horrors.
(see, Vie de S. Athanase, page 550 in the same volume; and see also Les Martyrs des Ariens 17, 21 et 26 Mars.)
These horrors surpassed in their wickedness, all that had been seen before.
The first church to be invaded, was the church of Saint Theonas which was the Cathedral then. The scenes of disturbance which happened through the agency of this scandalous team, have been described by the expulsed Patriarch Saint Boutros II himself. The author (R.P. Paul Cheneau) will do nothing but to translate his long narrative, shortening some rough descriptions, and mitigating many details which would be in our days, too coarse for a work that respects its readers.
(This letter of the twenty-first patriarch of Alexandria Saint Boutros II has been kept for us by THEODORET DE CYR, 386-457, in his Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 22)
Extract
from the writings of Saint Boutros II,
21st Patriarch of Alexandria.
Therefore our church (the church of Saint Theonas) was besieged by an innumerable troop of heathens and Jews; they smashed the doors and entered, singing blasphemous songs and idolatrous hymns; then there were shoutings and roarings followed by endless applause. They attacked the virgins who were consecrated to the Lord, and made their pure ears hear the most inconvenient language; then, joining acts to words, they snatched their clothes and made them ramble in the most humiliating condition in the streets of the city while the passers-by jeered them. Whoever showed pity or disapproval, was unmercifully beaten on the spot. A great number of these saint girls were subjected to violence, and many died under the sticks with which these frenzied people strucked their heads.
(Saint Gregory of Nazianze positively says that some women were literally cut to pieces; and Rufin adds that the persons who had vowed themselves to celibacy (men and women) suffered from such violence as the heathen persecutions do not offer any example.)
But why should I tarry over these details, which are unhappily common to every such upheaval; when I have to describe unheard-of profanations, by which no history was ever polluted until now?
When they absolutely mastered the sacred place, they let an adolescent who was disguised as a woman, mount on the altar. They had painted his eyes with antimony, as they do to idols.
[Egyptian women used to make-up their lips red; their eyes were surrounded with a black strip which extended to the temples, and nearly touched their hair. The powder which they used for this, was a mixture of antimony and of very finely pulverised charcoal, that enhanced the whiteness of the complexion giving brightness to the look, and protected the eyes against ophtalmia.
(“Au temps de Ramsès”, by MASPERO, page 12)].
At the very place where we celebrate the Holy Mysteries, this youngster starts to dance and to jump, affecting the most lascivious postures, and making shameful gestures, while a band of madmen dance frantically around the altar yelling vile songs.
A young man who was known by everybody for his lewdness, climbs on the pulpit completely naked, and starts from there to vomit against the Lord Christ, the most filthy blasphemes. The sweetness of drunkenness and the practice of the least acknowledgeable debaucheries, are exalted at the place where we teach piety, modesty and temperance.
It is perhaps at this moment that Saint Boutros escaped from his prison, and embarked in disguise on a ship to Italy.
The saint continues:
Having withdrawn, I was given a successor. It was a certain Lucius, who was unfaithful to the truth, a chief of thieves, a wolf that entered into the sheepfold, a second Arius. His election was not the result of the vote of the orthodox bishops, and the clergy, and the faithful, as is required by the sacred laws. He made his official entry, but neither the priests, nor the clerical men, nor the sacred crowd accompanied him. His retinue was not composed of monks singing hymns or psalms, no; there walked besides him the imperial treasurer Count Magnus,
(Count Magnus is the same financial superintendant who had, under the reign of Julian the Renegate, set on fire the church in Beyrouth in October 362),
together with Euzoius, who was once a deacon in Alexandria, and a follower of Arius, and afterwards, the plague of the Church of Antioch of which the arian Valens had made him the Patriarch.
( Euzoius was a deacon in Alexandria. He was accepted again into the Church in 335, after having submitted a confession of faith which appeared to be orthodox, to the emperor Constantin. He was promoted Patriarch at the place of Meletius. He baptised the emperor Constantin at his death-bed. When Jovien succeeded on the throne after Julian the Renegate, Euzoius made intrigues to the sovereign in order to make him replace Saint Athanassius by a creature whom he, Euzoius, had chosen, the thing that resulted into the disorders which we know. He did not stay more than one year on the See of Antioch.)
Troops had been mobilised to escort and protect this trio of ungodly men.
The first thing which these satraps did, was to send soldiers to seize nineteen priests and deacons, pretending that they were arrested because of some horrible crime. Some of those who were arrested, were more than eighty years of age. When they arrived, the prefect repeatedly asked them to deny their faith; that was an absolutely indispensable matter in order to conquer the favour of the emperor. And as these worthy ministers of God refused, he shouted saying:
“Abjure, you wretched, abjure; make yourselves arians, God will forgive you this weekness; because it is necessity which compels you to that. Subscribe immediately to the faith of your eloquent bishop Lucius. Honours will be the reward of your obedience; in case of resistance, you will be tortured”.
Without exception, all of them persisted in the true faith, inspite of the multiplied attempts of Palladius in order to bring them to apostasy. [the authors of the time accumulated upon this Palladius the most disgracing attributes: “he is an ungodly, a scoundrel, a vile corrupted person, a real demon” (Saint Gregory of Nazianze)]
The prefect kept them for a long time in jail, anticipating a moment of weekness from their part. Finally, when he dispaired from bringing them to act according to his aims, he set up a temporary tribunal near the port, so that a greater multitude of lawless people could decry them; then he violently issued a decree of banishment against all of them; they had to leave Alexandria instantly, and go to Hierapolis in Phenicia, which was yet a completely heathen town.
Hierapolis is the ancient Tibekhat and Baalbiqii of the Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions. It was a town dedicated to Baal. The Greeks identified it with Helios, the sun.
“Under the reign of the Roman emperors Antonin le Pieux (138-161), and Caracalla (211-217), an imposing temple was erected inside a sacred enclosure dedicated to three divinities of Heliopolis: Jupiter, Mercurius and Venus; and another temple but a smaller one, was erected very near to that one, and was dedicated to the honour of Bacchus” (Meistermann, “Guide de Terre-Sainte”, page 545). These grandiose ruins are perhaps the most beautiful in the Middle-East.
The generous confessors of the faith went across the few steps which were separating them from some ordinary boat, while the arian and pagan crowd yelled, and the indignant protests of the faithful grievously echoed their shouts. The prefect with his unsheathed sword in his hand, pitilessly presided over their departure; he refused them to carry anything, not even some food for the crossing, unwilling to alleviate in any way the severity of their exile. When the crew who had been previously advised, had made their last arrangements, the prefect himself gave the order to sail and to take off the anchor. At the same moment, when the boat left the port, a frightening thunder-storm stroke, and the sea which was suddenly let loose, started to break enormous waves on the shore. This matter was believed to be a miracle, because there was nothing that made it predictable.
The departure of these innocent victims did not quieten the fanatism of Palladius. He prohibited any demonstration of sadness; mere tears were considered to be an offence. Twenty-three persons made this costly experience. They were incarcerated; they were beaten and tortured in jail; then they were deported, some of them to the mines Phenon, and some to the quarries of Proconnese,
[that is an island of the Protontide (the sea of Marmara). It is today the island of Marmara, which is famous for its marbles].
A Deacon who had carried comforting letters from the Pope Damasus, was joined to them. He was subjected to all the imaginable ill-treatments; he had his hands bound behind his back, he was imprisonned, beaten on his head with stones and daggers made of lead, and finally he was thrown with the others in the boat to the destination of Phenon.
The fury of that tyrant, the new Herod, turned to some young children; he tortured them; then he slaughtered them, and, extending barbarism to the limit, he prohibited anybody, whatever he was, even their parents, to mourn them or to bury them; their bodies were to be the prey of the hyenas and the vultures.
A Byzantine historian named Theophane the Confessor (758-818) says: “most of the faithful Christians, men, women and virgins, were shamefully cut to pieces by flagellation, and many of them died consequently”.
All Alexandria was thrust into grief; there was not a single house where death had not caused some mourning; and nevertheless, these appalling sceneries which were daily renewed, could not satisfy the arian rabble, that was thirsty of blood and lewdness.
The persecution reached the provinces and Count Magnus was delegated to recruit his victims there. Eleven of the most venerable bishops were snatched from their sees and were sent to Diocesarea, which was a completely Jewish town.
(Diocesarea is today Sephoris, near Nazareth. The Old Saint Melania, left Jerusalem in order to go to releave these confessors of the faith. She was arrested there and thrown into the shackles. When the emperor Valens knew who she was, he apologized to her, and gave her the permission to practice her charity towards the Christian prisoners. Sephoris is the native land of Saint Joachim, the father of the Holy Virgin).
Round-ups which were organised in the deserts at Nitria and especially at Scethis, brought the detention of more than three thousand hermits. Without resistance, these gave their heads to the executioners, who were operating in all impunity, while being sheltered from embarassing protestations, in these solitary and remote regions.
This appalling era of barbarism ended only after the death of the emperor Valens, who was killed near Andrinopolis in 378 during a battle against the Goths.
From the physical point of view, Valens had little advantages: he was short, his complexion was blackish, his eye was covered with a white stain on the cornea, that had the most unpleasant aspect. From the moral point of view, he had neither judgement, nor character; and he was subjected to the most ominous influences. A mere single expression of war expedition, rendered him pale.
In the following year Valentinian and Gratian subdued the arians, and the 21st Patriarch Boutros II returned to his throne. The people who had been disgusted from the excesses of Lucius, shamefully chased him away. Lucius turned to Constantinople to claim for the imperial assistance. But he never obtained it, and that was for due cause.
Meleka Youssef
http://www.4shared.com/document/vbLtrEeF/THE_SAINT_MARTYRS_OF_ALEXANDRI.html
The Saint Martyrs of Alexandria who were killed by the Arians in 372
in the Church or Saint Theonas
and from 372 to 379 in Egypt
Translated from
LES SAINTS D’EGYPTE,
LECTURES EDIFIANTES, INSTRUCTIVES, AGREABLES
PAR
LE R.P. PAUL CHENEAU D’ORLEANS
DOCTEUR EN DROIT CANONIQUE
JERUSALEM
COUVENT DES RR. PP. FRANCISCAINS, CUSTODIE DE TERRE-SAINTE
1923
VOL. I PAGES 587-592
TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH BY MELEKA HABIB YOUSSEF
2002
Bibliography
Authors to be consulted:
THEODORET DE CYR, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 21 and what follows.
SAINT GREGORY OF NAZIANZE, in laudem Heronis, sermon 23
RUFINUS, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. II, chapter 22
SOCRATE, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 21
SOZOMENE, Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. VI, chapter 19
See the details of this persecution in
the life of Saint Melas of Rhinocolure who was one of its victims.
====================================================
TEXT
The archdeacon Boutros who was the faithful fellow of the labors and perils of Saint Athanassius, was called to become his successor on the See of Alexandria. The great Patriarch had designated him to the choice of his people who acclaimed his name. This election was not to the taste of the prefect Palladius who was a very fanatic heathen. He gathered the people of the same religion as his, together with some Jews, encircled the Church where resided the new patriarch Boutros II, and summonned him that he had to empty the place very quickly, otherwise the emperor would act energetically. The newly elected patriarch yielded face to the tempest. The passions of different kinds which had been constrained in respect by the influence of Saint Athanassius during his life, and which now had become at ease, could freely run their course.
The emperor Valens had sent a secret mandate to his stately representative, the prefect Palladius, that he had to be favorable to all the undertakings of the Arians. Such a mission was well in tune with the sectarian spirit of Palladius who without delay, seized the Patriarch Boutros II and shut him in jail. He enthroned Lucius at his place and ascribed all the churches to the Arians. These outrages against the liberty of worship were the equivalent to a declaration of war; Alexandria was starting to live the worst days of its history.
The emperor had issued decrees to give the buildings to the Arians, but he continued to take them; and nobody doubted that the projected assault was the signal for a bloody persecution and the occasion for customary horrors.
(see, Vie de S. Athanase, page 550 in the same volume; and see also Les Martyrs des Ariens 17, 21 et 26 Mars.)
These horrors surpassed in their wickedness, all that had been seen before.
The first church to be invaded, was the church of Saint Theonas which was the Cathedral then. The scenes of disturbance which happened through the agency of this scandalous team, have been described by the expulsed Patriarch Saint Boutros II himself. The author (R.P. Paul Cheneau) will do nothing but to translate his long narrative, shortening some rough descriptions, and mitigating many details which would be in our days, too coarse for a work that respects its readers.
(This letter of the twenty-first patriarch of Alexandria Saint Boutros II has been kept for us by THEODORET DE CYR, 386-457, in his Histoire Ecclésiastique, Vol. IV, chapter 22)
Extract
from the writings of Saint Boutros II,
21st Patriarch of Alexandria.
Therefore our church (the church of Saint Theonas) was besieged by an innumerable troop of heathens and Jews; they smashed the doors and entered, singing blasphemous songs and idolatrous hymns; then there were shoutings and roarings followed by endless applause. They attacked the virgins who were consecrated to the Lord, and made their pure ears hear the most inconvenient language; then, joining acts to words, they snatched their clothes and made them ramble in the most humiliating condition in the streets of the city while the passers-by jeered them. Whoever showed pity or disapproval, was unmercifully beaten on the spot. A great number of these saint girls were subjected to violence, and many died under the sticks with which these frenzied people strucked their heads.
(Saint Gregory of Nazianze positively says that some women were literally cut to pieces; and Rufin adds that the persons who had vowed themselves to celibacy (men and women) suffered from such violence as the heathen persecutions do not offer any example.)
But why should I tarry over these details, which are unhappily common to every such upheaval; when I have to describe unheard-of profanations, by which no history was ever polluted until now?
When they absolutely mastered the sacred place, they let an adolescent who was disguised as a woman, mount on the altar. They had painted his eyes with antimony, as they do to idols.
[Egyptian women used to make-up their lips red; their eyes were surrounded with a black strip which extended to the temples, and nearly touched their hair. The powder which they used for this, was a mixture of antimony and of very finely pulverised charcoal, that enhanced the whiteness of the complexion giving brightness to the look, and protected the eyes against ophtalmia.
(“Au temps de Ramsès”, by MASPERO, page 12)].
At the very place where we celebrate the Holy Mysteries, this youngster starts to dance and to jump, affecting the most lascivious postures, and making shameful gestures, while a band of madmen dance frantically around the altar yelling vile songs.
A young man who was known by everybody for his lewdness, climbs on the pulpit completely naked, and starts from there to vomit against the Lord Christ, the most filthy blasphemes. The sweetness of drunkenness and the practice of the least acknowledgeable debaucheries, are exalted at the place where we teach piety, modesty and temperance.
It is perhaps at this moment that Saint Boutros escaped from his prison, and embarked in disguise on a ship to Italy.
The saint continues:
Having withdrawn, I was given a successor. It was a certain Lucius, who was unfaithful to the truth, a chief of thieves, a wolf that entered into the sheepfold, a second Arius. His election was not the result of the vote of the orthodox bishops, and the clergy, and the faithful, as is required by the sacred laws. He made his official entry, but neither the priests, nor the clerical men, nor the sacred crowd accompanied him. His retinue was not composed of monks singing hymns or psalms, no; there walked besides him the imperial treasurer Count Magnus,
(Count Magnus is the same financial superintendant who had, under the reign of Julian the Renegate, set on fire the church in Beyrouth in October 362),
together with Euzoius, who was once a deacon in Alexandria, and a follower of Arius, and afterwards, the plague of the Church of Antioch of which the arian Valens had made him the Patriarch.
( Euzoius was a deacon in Alexandria. He was accepted again into the Church in 335, after having submitted a confession of faith which appeared to be orthodox, to the emperor Constantin. He was promoted Patriarch at the place of Meletius. He baptised the emperor Constantin at his death-bed. When Jovien succeeded on the throne after Julian the Renegate, Euzoius made intrigues to the sovereign in order to make him replace Saint Athanassius by a creature whom he, Euzoius, had chosen, the thing that resulted into the disorders which we know. He did not stay more than one year on the See of Antioch.)
Troops had been mobilised to escort and protect this trio of ungodly men.
The first thing which these satraps did, was to send soldiers to seize nineteen priests and deacons, pretending that they were arrested because of some horrible crime. Some of those who were arrested, were more than eighty years of age. When they arrived, the prefect repeatedly asked them to deny their faith; that was an absolutely indispensable matter in order to conquer the favour of the emperor. And as these worthy ministers of God refused, he shouted saying:
“Abjure, you wretched, abjure; make yourselves arians, God will forgive you this weekness; because it is necessity which compels you to that. Subscribe immediately to the faith of your eloquent bishop Lucius. Honours will be the reward of your obedience; in case of resistance, you will be tortured”.
Without exception, all of them persisted in the true faith, inspite of the multiplied attempts of Palladius in order to bring them to apostasy. [the authors of the time accumulated upon this Palladius the most disgracing attributes: “he is an ungodly, a scoundrel, a vile corrupted person, a real demon” (Saint Gregory of Nazianze)]
The prefect kept them for a long time in jail, anticipating a moment of weekness from their part. Finally, when he dispaired from bringing them to act according to his aims, he set up a temporary tribunal near the port, so that a greater multitude of lawless people could decry them; then he violently issued a decree of banishment against all of them; they had to leave Alexandria instantly, and go to Hierapolis in Phenicia, which was yet a completely heathen town.
Hierapolis is the ancient Tibekhat and Baalbiqii of the Egyptian and Assyrian inscriptions. It was a town dedicated to Baal. The Greeks identified it with Helios, the sun.
“Under the reign of the Roman emperors Antonin le Pieux (138-161), and Caracalla (211-217), an imposing temple was erected inside a sacred enclosure dedicated to three divinities of Heliopolis: Jupiter, Mercurius and Venus; and another temple but a smaller one, was erected very near to that one, and was dedicated to the honour of Bacchus” (Meistermann, “Guide de Terre-Sainte”, page 545). These grandiose ruins are perhaps the most beautiful in the Middle-East.
The generous confessors of the faith went across the few steps which were separating them from some ordinary boat, while the arian and pagan crowd yelled, and the indignant protests of the faithful grievously echoed their shouts. The prefect with his unsheathed sword in his hand, pitilessly presided over their departure; he refused them to carry anything, not even some food for the crossing, unwilling to alleviate in any way the severity of their exile. When the crew who had been previously advised, had made their last arrangements, the prefect himself gave the order to sail and to take off the anchor. At the same moment, when the boat left the port, a frightening thunder-storm stroke, and the sea which was suddenly let loose, started to break enormous waves on the shore. This matter was believed to be a miracle, because there was nothing that made it predictable.
The departure of these innocent victims did not quieten the fanatism of Palladius. He prohibited any demonstration of sadness; mere tears were considered to be an offence. Twenty-three persons made this costly experience. They were incarcerated; they were beaten and tortured in jail; then they were deported, some of them to the mines Phenon, and some to the quarries of Proconnese,
[that is an island of the Protontide (the sea of Marmara). It is today the island of Marmara, which is famous for its marbles].
A Deacon who had carried comforting letters from the Pope Damasus, was joined to them. He was subjected to all the imaginable ill-treatments; he had his hands bound behind his back, he was imprisonned, beaten on his head with stones and daggers made of lead, and finally he was thrown with the others in the boat to the destination of Phenon.
The fury of that tyrant, the new Herod, turned to some young children; he tortured them; then he slaughtered them, and, extending barbarism to the limit, he prohibited anybody, whatever he was, even their parents, to mourn them or to bury them; their bodies were to be the prey of the hyenas and the vultures.
A Byzantine historian named Theophane the Confessor (758-818) says: “most of the faithful Christians, men, women and virgins, were shamefully cut to pieces by flagellation, and many of them died consequently”.
All Alexandria was thrust into grief; there was not a single house where death had not caused some mourning; and nevertheless, these appalling sceneries which were daily renewed, could not satisfy the arian rabble, that was thirsty of blood and lewdness.
The persecution reached the provinces and Count Magnus was delegated to recruit his victims there. Eleven of the most venerable bishops were snatched from their sees and were sent to Diocesarea, which was a completely Jewish town.
(Diocesarea is today Sephoris, near Nazareth. The Old Saint Melania, left Jerusalem in order to go to releave these confessors of the faith. She was arrested there and thrown into the shackles. When the emperor Valens knew who she was, he apologized to her, and gave her the permission to practice her charity towards the Christian prisoners. Sephoris is the native land of Saint Joachim, the father of the Holy Virgin).
Round-ups which were organised in the deserts at Nitria and especially at Scethis, brought the detention of more than three thousand hermits. Without resistance, these gave their heads to the executioners, who were operating in all impunity, while being sheltered from embarassing protestations, in these solitary and remote regions.
This appalling era of barbarism ended only after the death of the emperor Valens, who was killed near Andrinopolis in 378 during a battle against the Goths.
From the physical point of view, Valens had little advantages: he was short, his complexion was blackish, his eye was covered with a white stain on the cornea, that had the most unpleasant aspect. From the moral point of view, he had neither judgement, nor character; and he was subjected to the most ominous influences. A mere single expression of war expedition, rendered him pale.
In the following year Valentinian and Gratian subdued the arians, and the 21st Patriarch Boutros II returned to his throne. The people who had been disgusted from the excesses of Lucius, shamefully chased him away. Lucius turned to Constantinople to claim for the imperial assistance. But he never obtained it, and that was for due cause.
Meleka Youssef
49 saint martyrs elders of Shaheet
49 MARTYRS ELDERS OF SHAHEET
http://www.4shared.com/document/b3oYIeCd/____.html
ARABIC TEXT
التسعة والأربعون شهيد شيوخ شيهات
بقلم مليكه حبيب يوسف
هجوم البربر على الأديرة
الغارتان الأولى والثانية
اننا لا نعرف مدى الخسائر التي أحدثتها غارتا البربر الأولى سنة 407 ميلادية والثانية سنة 434 ميلادية. والمرجح أن تكون قد ألحقت أضرارا جسيمة بالكنائس والمباني، ولكننا لا نجد اشارة في أي مخطوط الى ان أحدا من الرهبان قد قتل في هاتين الغارتين.
ومهما كانت الخسائر، فقد تم اصلاحها بسرعة وعادت الحياة الرهبانية الى مجراها الطبيعي في بحر عشر سنوات. وقد تعلم الرهبان من تلك التجربة، فاتخذوا الاجراءات الكفيلة بحمايتهم من خطر البربر.
الغارة الثالثة
ان سفر القديس أرسانيوس من طره الى أبي قير في سنة 444 ميلادية كان بسبب غزو البربر الذين يبدو انهم توغلوا داخل وادي النيل. ولو انه لم يكتب ان هذا الغزو قد شمل أديرة برية شيهيت، ولكنه من المرجح أن يكون ذلك قد حدث. وبعض المعلومات الأخرى تشير الى ان نهب أديرة برية شيهيت للمرة الثالثة كان في هذا التاريخ أو في تاريخ آخر قريب منه.
الامبراطور يستشير الرهبان
لم يكن لتيودوسيوس الثاني بن أركاديوس ولد ليخلفه، فأرسل الى شيوخ شيهيت يطلب منهم أن يصلوا لكي يعطيه الرب ولدا. وكان بين الرهبان شيخ يدعى الأب ايسيذورس، هذا كتب الى الامبراطور يقول ان الله يرفض أن يعطيه ولدا، لئلا يشترك مع الهراطقة بعد موت تيودوسيوس. فأذعن الامبراطور للأمر أولا. ولكن حدث فيما بعد أن أشار عليه بعض الناس الأشرار، ومن ضمنهم بلشيريا أخته، بأن يتزوج بامرأة أخرى على أمل أن ينجب وليا للعهد. فأرسل الى برية شيهيت خطابا حمله رسول الملك مصطحبا ابنه معه.
كان الأب ايسيذوروس في ذلك الحين قد تنيح منذ زمان. ولكن الرهبان أخذوا الرسالة الى قبره وقرأوها. وعندئذ قام المتنيح الأب ايسيذوروس وأعلن انه حتى ولو اتخذ الامبراطور لنفسه عشر زوجات، فلن ينجب ولدا. فكتب الرهبان رد الرسالة وفقا لهذا القرار.
وحالما بدأ حامل الرسالة وابنه في طريق العودة، وصل البربر. وكان في الدير أحد الشيوخ الرهبان يدعى الأب يوحنا، هذا دعا الذين يرغبون في الاستشهاد الى أن يظلوا معه، اما الذين لا يستطيعون فأمرهم أن يذهبوا الى الحصن. فاحتمى بعض الرهبان في الحصن. ولكن 48 منهم بقوا مع الأب يوحنا، فذبحهم البربر.
وبينما كان ابن حامل الرسالة، ويدعى < ديوس >، سائرا مع أبيه في الطريق، استدار خلفه فرأى الملائكة يضعون الأكاليل على رؤوس الشيوخ القتلى، فأعلن رغبته في أن يأخد اكليلا مثلهم، ورجع بصحبة أبيه، فقتلهما البربر.
ولما مضى الغزاة، نزل الرهبان الباقون من الحصن، وقاموا بدفن اخوتهم الشهداء في مغارة مقدسة بالقرب من الحصن الكبير المسمى حصن < بيامون >. وحدثت هناك عجائب كثيرة وذاع خبرها حتى وصل الى قصر الامبراطور تيودوسيوس. فبنى كنيسة في القسطنطينية تكريما لهم.
اما البربر فمضوا في طريق عودتهم الى بلادهم حتى وصلوا الى عين ماء في دير أبينا القديس أبنا بيشوي. فاستراحوا هناك بجانب عين الماء، وغسلوا سيوفهم الملطخة بدماء القديسين الشهداء في تلك العين، فصار ماؤه مصدر شفاء لكل الذين يستحمون به، وكان المرضى بأنواع مختلفة يبرأون عندما ينزلون الى مياه العين.
وتشير ذكصولوجية في احدى المخطوطات بباريس الى ان مذبحة الشهداء وقعت بالقرب من موقع بيامون، بينما تشير ذكصولوجية للقديس مقاريوس الى ان المذبحة كانت عند صخرة بيامون أو أمون بالقرب من دير القديس مقاريوس.
وجاء في سيرة القديس انبا بيشوي ان شيوخ شيهيت القديسين ذبحهم البربر بالقرب من الحصن المدعو بالحصن الشرقي، وهو أحد الحصون التي كان يحتمي فيها الرهبان. وكانت أديرة برية شيهيت منذ القرن التاسع تمتاز بوجود مثل ذلك الحصن فيها.
نقل رفات التسعة والأربعين شهيد شيوخ شيهيت
في القرن السابع عندما سرق جسدي الأب يوحنا والشاب الشهيد < ديوس >
خشى الرهبان أن يفقدوا كل أجساد قديسيهم، فحملوها من مغارة بيامون التي كانوا مدفونين فيها منذ استشهادهم الى تلك الكنيسة الجنوبية التي بناها < أرستوماخوس >. وهكذا وضعوهم في مكان مسور في الجنوب الشرقي من الكنيسة التي دشنها الامبراطور تيودوسيوس.
ويرجع تاريخ نقل رفات التسعة والأربعين شهيد الى زمن البابا بنيامين بعد الفتح العربي. ولا يمكن أن يكون قد حدث ذلك في وقت سابق لمدة جلوس البابا بنيامين على الكرسي المرقسي، لآن الأديرة كانت لا تزال خربة، فضلا عن ان ظروف سيطرة الفرس على مصر في ذلك الزمان وطغيان البيزنطيين كانت تجعل الوقت غير مناسب لمثل ذلك العمل.
كان الرهبان القتلى الشيوخ القديسون الشهداء قد تم دفنهم مع حامل الرسالة وابنه ديوس في مغارة مقدسة بالقرب من حصن بيامون الكبير. ولا نعرف عن تاريخهم في الجزء الأخير من القرن الخامس وفي القرن السادس سوى انهم كانوا سبب خروج القديسة أنسطاسيه من العالم لتترهب في برية شيهيت، وكذلك القديسة هيلارية اذ كانت تصلي عند قبرهم، فسمعت صوتا يأمرها بالذهاب الى الأنبا دانيال حتى يساعدها. فتأثرت بسيرتهم وترهبت.
اما النزاع بين الرهبان الذي حدث في تلك الفترة، فقد كان بسبب الهراطقة الذين قاموا سنة 535 ميلادية في زمن البابا تيموثاؤس الثالث. فعندما حل يوم ذكرى التسعة والأربعين شهيد، اجتمع الهراطقة، ليس لأجل تكريم القديسين، ولكن لأجل احداث الشغب واهراق الدماء البريئة في بيت الله. اما آباؤنا القديسون الرهبان الأرثوذكسيون فتشجعوا ومنعوا الهراطقة من دخول الكنيسة. وعندئذ اقتحم الهراطقة الكنيسة وهجموا على الرهبان وكانت معركة قتل فيها كثيرون.
تحقيق قصة أبراهام البلبيسي
وفي القرن السابع كانت رفات القديسين التسعة والأربعين شهيد شيوخ شيهيت لا تزال في مغارة بيامون. قيل انه بينما كان ابراهام البلبيسي نائما عند قبر القديسين، رأى رؤيا عجيبة. خطر له الرب من السماء يصحبه الملائكة والقديسون ومعهم آباء البرية والأنبا مقاريوس. وترامى اليه ان أحد الأشخاص كان يرى انه يجب ترك المكان لأن الاخوة لا يبذلون جهدا حقا. ولكن الأنبا مقاريوس لم يوافق الأخ على هذا الرأي وقال: "اذا كان في الكرمة عنقود عنب سليم، فلا نهلكها، لأن بركة الله عليها." ووافق بقية القديسين على هذا القرار، وعندئذ انتهت الرؤيا.
ويبدو انه على أثر هذا الاعلان كان الزوار الكثيرون يأتون الى شيهيت ليصلوا عند قبر التسعة والأربعين شهيد.
البابا بنيامين يبني مقصورة الشهداء
تذكر الأحداث انه حضر بعض الزوار من البتانون ومعهم أكفان وبخور مختار، وقدموا هدايا للرهبان، ثم سرقوا أحد أجساد التسعة والأربعين شهيد، وعادوا الى قريتهم عن طريق شبشير بالمنوفية حيث كان في ذلك الوقت جسد القديس مقاريوس الكبير. ثم وضعوا الرفات المسروقة في كنيسة القديس أبو نفر، وهناك صرخ رجل مجنون كان به روح نجس قائلا: "انه جسد الأب يوحنا صانع السلال الذي قطع البربر رأسه في شيهيت."
وذكر أيضا انه حضر بعض عمال النسيج من الفيوم وأخذوا جسد ديوس ابن حامل الرسالة الذي قتل في نفس الوقت مع التسعة والأربعين شهيد، ووضعوه في كيس وحملوه الى بحيرة الفيوم. وعندئذ انفتح الكيس وأطاح في الهواء بالرفات المقدسة فكانت في الهواء كأنها شهاب، واستقر جسد الشهيد ديوس عند أبيه في المغارة في شيهيت.
ويذكر السنكسار ان الرهبان حاولوا مرات عديدة أن يفصلوا جسد ديوس عن جسد ابيه، ولكنهم كانوا في كل مرة يجدونه في اليوم التالي في الوضع السابق مع جسد ابيه.
وقلق الرهبان، فقرروا أن يضعوا رفات القديسين في مكان أمين. فذهبوا كلهم معا الى المغارة حيث كانت توجد أجساد القديسين وحملوها بمزامير وترانيم وتسابيح الى الكنيسة الجنوبية التي بناها أرستوماخوس العظيم. وقاموا بخدمة الأسرار الالهية ثم وضعوهم في مكان مسور جنوب شرقي الكنيسة وهي الكنيسة التي دشنها الأنبا تيودوسيوس البطريرك.
وعندما علم الأنبا بنيامين بذلك أمر ببناء مقصورة تدفن فيها أجساد القديسين. فنفذ الرهبان الأمر. وفي 26 طوبه يوم ذكرى هؤلاء الشهداء القديسين، حضر رئيس الأساقفة الى شيهيت. فاستقبله الشعب كله بفرح عظيم. وفي اليوم الخامس من أمشير من تلك السنة، نقل الأنبا بنيامين أجساد القديسين بيديه وسلمهم واحدا واحدا للكهنة والشمامسة. فحملوهم وسط الكنيسة ولفوهم في أكفان مقدسة مع بخور مختار، وسط التراتيل والمزامير الفرايحي. ثم قام البطريرك بصلاة القداس. ثم احتفلوا بدفنهم. وقد حدثت أشفية ومعجزات كثيرة.
اما الكنيسة التي دفن فيها الشهداء حينذاك، فهي ليست الكنيسة الحالية المدعوة كنيسة الشيوخ الموجودة داخل أسوار دير القديس مقاريوس وبها الآن رفات الشهداء،
ولكنها كانت في احدى القلالي الكثيرة التابعة لدير القديس مقاريوس، اذ كانت هناك قلالي خارج أسوار الدير شبيهة بأديرة صغيرة، وكانت تشتمل على كنيسة ومباني أخرى يحيط بها سور.
تطويب القديسين في المخطوطات
مخطوط رقم 131 تيوطوكيات:
كان لبس الصليب القديسين، المسيحيين الأبطال، الذين ذبحهم البربر في برية شيهيت قد أمضوا كل حياتهم في الأماكن القفر، متسلحين بقوة المسيح ضد الأرواح الشريرة. كانوا يتطهرون من أمراضهم الروحية والجسدية عن طريق النسك الزائد والدموع، يتأملون في تعاليم معلمي الكنيسة المختارين بالايمان الأرثوذكسي. وكللهم الرب يسوع المسيح باكليل الشهادة.
مخطوط 1886-9 بمكتبة جامعة كامبردج
Cambridge University Library,
Add. 1886, 9. Ode on the 49 Martyrs.
تعالوا اليوم يا كل الشعوب لنمدح آباءنا لباس الصليب التسعة والأربعين شهيد الذين نحتفل بعيدهم اليوم، وهم مع الملائكة في صحبة القديسين. كبير القديسين أنبا يوحنا وقف وسطهم وصرخ قائلا: "ان البربر يحضرون. فمن أراد أن يهرب فليهرب. والباقون فليظلوا معنا، لا تكونوا ضعاف القلوب."
بشفاعة التسعة والأربعين شهيد يا رب انعم لنا بمغفرة خطايانا.
المراجع
1- H. E. White, The History of the Monasteries of Nitria and Scetis
2- ذكصولوجية في أحد المخطوطات بباريس
3- ذكصولوجية للقديس أنبا مقاريوس
4- السنكسار
5- مخطوط رقم 131 تيوطوكيات
6- مخطوط 1886, 9 Cambridge University Library
http://www.4shared.com/document/b3oYIeCd/____.html
ARABIC TEXT
التسعة والأربعون شهيد شيوخ شيهات
بقلم مليكه حبيب يوسف
هجوم البربر على الأديرة
الغارتان الأولى والثانية
اننا لا نعرف مدى الخسائر التي أحدثتها غارتا البربر الأولى سنة 407 ميلادية والثانية سنة 434 ميلادية. والمرجح أن تكون قد ألحقت أضرارا جسيمة بالكنائس والمباني، ولكننا لا نجد اشارة في أي مخطوط الى ان أحدا من الرهبان قد قتل في هاتين الغارتين.
ومهما كانت الخسائر، فقد تم اصلاحها بسرعة وعادت الحياة الرهبانية الى مجراها الطبيعي في بحر عشر سنوات. وقد تعلم الرهبان من تلك التجربة، فاتخذوا الاجراءات الكفيلة بحمايتهم من خطر البربر.
الغارة الثالثة
ان سفر القديس أرسانيوس من طره الى أبي قير في سنة 444 ميلادية كان بسبب غزو البربر الذين يبدو انهم توغلوا داخل وادي النيل. ولو انه لم يكتب ان هذا الغزو قد شمل أديرة برية شيهيت، ولكنه من المرجح أن يكون ذلك قد حدث. وبعض المعلومات الأخرى تشير الى ان نهب أديرة برية شيهيت للمرة الثالثة كان في هذا التاريخ أو في تاريخ آخر قريب منه.
الامبراطور يستشير الرهبان
لم يكن لتيودوسيوس الثاني بن أركاديوس ولد ليخلفه، فأرسل الى شيوخ شيهيت يطلب منهم أن يصلوا لكي يعطيه الرب ولدا. وكان بين الرهبان شيخ يدعى الأب ايسيذورس، هذا كتب الى الامبراطور يقول ان الله يرفض أن يعطيه ولدا، لئلا يشترك مع الهراطقة بعد موت تيودوسيوس. فأذعن الامبراطور للأمر أولا. ولكن حدث فيما بعد أن أشار عليه بعض الناس الأشرار، ومن ضمنهم بلشيريا أخته، بأن يتزوج بامرأة أخرى على أمل أن ينجب وليا للعهد. فأرسل الى برية شيهيت خطابا حمله رسول الملك مصطحبا ابنه معه.
كان الأب ايسيذوروس في ذلك الحين قد تنيح منذ زمان. ولكن الرهبان أخذوا الرسالة الى قبره وقرأوها. وعندئذ قام المتنيح الأب ايسيذوروس وأعلن انه حتى ولو اتخذ الامبراطور لنفسه عشر زوجات، فلن ينجب ولدا. فكتب الرهبان رد الرسالة وفقا لهذا القرار.
وحالما بدأ حامل الرسالة وابنه في طريق العودة، وصل البربر. وكان في الدير أحد الشيوخ الرهبان يدعى الأب يوحنا، هذا دعا الذين يرغبون في الاستشهاد الى أن يظلوا معه، اما الذين لا يستطيعون فأمرهم أن يذهبوا الى الحصن. فاحتمى بعض الرهبان في الحصن. ولكن 48 منهم بقوا مع الأب يوحنا، فذبحهم البربر.
وبينما كان ابن حامل الرسالة، ويدعى < ديوس >، سائرا مع أبيه في الطريق، استدار خلفه فرأى الملائكة يضعون الأكاليل على رؤوس الشيوخ القتلى، فأعلن رغبته في أن يأخد اكليلا مثلهم، ورجع بصحبة أبيه، فقتلهما البربر.
ولما مضى الغزاة، نزل الرهبان الباقون من الحصن، وقاموا بدفن اخوتهم الشهداء في مغارة مقدسة بالقرب من الحصن الكبير المسمى حصن < بيامون >. وحدثت هناك عجائب كثيرة وذاع خبرها حتى وصل الى قصر الامبراطور تيودوسيوس. فبنى كنيسة في القسطنطينية تكريما لهم.
اما البربر فمضوا في طريق عودتهم الى بلادهم حتى وصلوا الى عين ماء في دير أبينا القديس أبنا بيشوي. فاستراحوا هناك بجانب عين الماء، وغسلوا سيوفهم الملطخة بدماء القديسين الشهداء في تلك العين، فصار ماؤه مصدر شفاء لكل الذين يستحمون به، وكان المرضى بأنواع مختلفة يبرأون عندما ينزلون الى مياه العين.
وتشير ذكصولوجية في احدى المخطوطات بباريس الى ان مذبحة الشهداء وقعت بالقرب من موقع بيامون، بينما تشير ذكصولوجية للقديس مقاريوس الى ان المذبحة كانت عند صخرة بيامون أو أمون بالقرب من دير القديس مقاريوس.
وجاء في سيرة القديس انبا بيشوي ان شيوخ شيهيت القديسين ذبحهم البربر بالقرب من الحصن المدعو بالحصن الشرقي، وهو أحد الحصون التي كان يحتمي فيها الرهبان. وكانت أديرة برية شيهيت منذ القرن التاسع تمتاز بوجود مثل ذلك الحصن فيها.
نقل رفات التسعة والأربعين شهيد شيوخ شيهيت
في القرن السابع عندما سرق جسدي الأب يوحنا والشاب الشهيد < ديوس >
خشى الرهبان أن يفقدوا كل أجساد قديسيهم، فحملوها من مغارة بيامون التي كانوا مدفونين فيها منذ استشهادهم الى تلك الكنيسة الجنوبية التي بناها < أرستوماخوس >. وهكذا وضعوهم في مكان مسور في الجنوب الشرقي من الكنيسة التي دشنها الامبراطور تيودوسيوس.
ويرجع تاريخ نقل رفات التسعة والأربعين شهيد الى زمن البابا بنيامين بعد الفتح العربي. ولا يمكن أن يكون قد حدث ذلك في وقت سابق لمدة جلوس البابا بنيامين على الكرسي المرقسي، لآن الأديرة كانت لا تزال خربة، فضلا عن ان ظروف سيطرة الفرس على مصر في ذلك الزمان وطغيان البيزنطيين كانت تجعل الوقت غير مناسب لمثل ذلك العمل.
كان الرهبان القتلى الشيوخ القديسون الشهداء قد تم دفنهم مع حامل الرسالة وابنه ديوس في مغارة مقدسة بالقرب من حصن بيامون الكبير. ولا نعرف عن تاريخهم في الجزء الأخير من القرن الخامس وفي القرن السادس سوى انهم كانوا سبب خروج القديسة أنسطاسيه من العالم لتترهب في برية شيهيت، وكذلك القديسة هيلارية اذ كانت تصلي عند قبرهم، فسمعت صوتا يأمرها بالذهاب الى الأنبا دانيال حتى يساعدها. فتأثرت بسيرتهم وترهبت.
اما النزاع بين الرهبان الذي حدث في تلك الفترة، فقد كان بسبب الهراطقة الذين قاموا سنة 535 ميلادية في زمن البابا تيموثاؤس الثالث. فعندما حل يوم ذكرى التسعة والأربعين شهيد، اجتمع الهراطقة، ليس لأجل تكريم القديسين، ولكن لأجل احداث الشغب واهراق الدماء البريئة في بيت الله. اما آباؤنا القديسون الرهبان الأرثوذكسيون فتشجعوا ومنعوا الهراطقة من دخول الكنيسة. وعندئذ اقتحم الهراطقة الكنيسة وهجموا على الرهبان وكانت معركة قتل فيها كثيرون.
تحقيق قصة أبراهام البلبيسي
وفي القرن السابع كانت رفات القديسين التسعة والأربعين شهيد شيوخ شيهيت لا تزال في مغارة بيامون. قيل انه بينما كان ابراهام البلبيسي نائما عند قبر القديسين، رأى رؤيا عجيبة. خطر له الرب من السماء يصحبه الملائكة والقديسون ومعهم آباء البرية والأنبا مقاريوس. وترامى اليه ان أحد الأشخاص كان يرى انه يجب ترك المكان لأن الاخوة لا يبذلون جهدا حقا. ولكن الأنبا مقاريوس لم يوافق الأخ على هذا الرأي وقال: "اذا كان في الكرمة عنقود عنب سليم، فلا نهلكها، لأن بركة الله عليها." ووافق بقية القديسين على هذا القرار، وعندئذ انتهت الرؤيا.
ويبدو انه على أثر هذا الاعلان كان الزوار الكثيرون يأتون الى شيهيت ليصلوا عند قبر التسعة والأربعين شهيد.
البابا بنيامين يبني مقصورة الشهداء
تذكر الأحداث انه حضر بعض الزوار من البتانون ومعهم أكفان وبخور مختار، وقدموا هدايا للرهبان، ثم سرقوا أحد أجساد التسعة والأربعين شهيد، وعادوا الى قريتهم عن طريق شبشير بالمنوفية حيث كان في ذلك الوقت جسد القديس مقاريوس الكبير. ثم وضعوا الرفات المسروقة في كنيسة القديس أبو نفر، وهناك صرخ رجل مجنون كان به روح نجس قائلا: "انه جسد الأب يوحنا صانع السلال الذي قطع البربر رأسه في شيهيت."
وذكر أيضا انه حضر بعض عمال النسيج من الفيوم وأخذوا جسد ديوس ابن حامل الرسالة الذي قتل في نفس الوقت مع التسعة والأربعين شهيد، ووضعوه في كيس وحملوه الى بحيرة الفيوم. وعندئذ انفتح الكيس وأطاح في الهواء بالرفات المقدسة فكانت في الهواء كأنها شهاب، واستقر جسد الشهيد ديوس عند أبيه في المغارة في شيهيت.
ويذكر السنكسار ان الرهبان حاولوا مرات عديدة أن يفصلوا جسد ديوس عن جسد ابيه، ولكنهم كانوا في كل مرة يجدونه في اليوم التالي في الوضع السابق مع جسد ابيه.
وقلق الرهبان، فقرروا أن يضعوا رفات القديسين في مكان أمين. فذهبوا كلهم معا الى المغارة حيث كانت توجد أجساد القديسين وحملوها بمزامير وترانيم وتسابيح الى الكنيسة الجنوبية التي بناها أرستوماخوس العظيم. وقاموا بخدمة الأسرار الالهية ثم وضعوهم في مكان مسور جنوب شرقي الكنيسة وهي الكنيسة التي دشنها الأنبا تيودوسيوس البطريرك.
وعندما علم الأنبا بنيامين بذلك أمر ببناء مقصورة تدفن فيها أجساد القديسين. فنفذ الرهبان الأمر. وفي 26 طوبه يوم ذكرى هؤلاء الشهداء القديسين، حضر رئيس الأساقفة الى شيهيت. فاستقبله الشعب كله بفرح عظيم. وفي اليوم الخامس من أمشير من تلك السنة، نقل الأنبا بنيامين أجساد القديسين بيديه وسلمهم واحدا واحدا للكهنة والشمامسة. فحملوهم وسط الكنيسة ولفوهم في أكفان مقدسة مع بخور مختار، وسط التراتيل والمزامير الفرايحي. ثم قام البطريرك بصلاة القداس. ثم احتفلوا بدفنهم. وقد حدثت أشفية ومعجزات كثيرة.
اما الكنيسة التي دفن فيها الشهداء حينذاك، فهي ليست الكنيسة الحالية المدعوة كنيسة الشيوخ الموجودة داخل أسوار دير القديس مقاريوس وبها الآن رفات الشهداء،
ولكنها كانت في احدى القلالي الكثيرة التابعة لدير القديس مقاريوس، اذ كانت هناك قلالي خارج أسوار الدير شبيهة بأديرة صغيرة، وكانت تشتمل على كنيسة ومباني أخرى يحيط بها سور.
تطويب القديسين في المخطوطات
مخطوط رقم 131 تيوطوكيات:
كان لبس الصليب القديسين، المسيحيين الأبطال، الذين ذبحهم البربر في برية شيهيت قد أمضوا كل حياتهم في الأماكن القفر، متسلحين بقوة المسيح ضد الأرواح الشريرة. كانوا يتطهرون من أمراضهم الروحية والجسدية عن طريق النسك الزائد والدموع، يتأملون في تعاليم معلمي الكنيسة المختارين بالايمان الأرثوذكسي. وكللهم الرب يسوع المسيح باكليل الشهادة.
مخطوط 1886-9 بمكتبة جامعة كامبردج
Cambridge University Library,
Add. 1886, 9. Ode on the 49 Martyrs.
تعالوا اليوم يا كل الشعوب لنمدح آباءنا لباس الصليب التسعة والأربعين شهيد الذين نحتفل بعيدهم اليوم، وهم مع الملائكة في صحبة القديسين. كبير القديسين أنبا يوحنا وقف وسطهم وصرخ قائلا: "ان البربر يحضرون. فمن أراد أن يهرب فليهرب. والباقون فليظلوا معنا، لا تكونوا ضعاف القلوب."
بشفاعة التسعة والأربعين شهيد يا رب انعم لنا بمغفرة خطايانا.
المراجع
1- H. E. White, The History of the Monasteries of Nitria and Scetis
2- ذكصولوجية في أحد المخطوطات بباريس
3- ذكصولوجية للقديس أنبا مقاريوس
4- السنكسار
5- مخطوط رقم 131 تيوطوكيات
6- مخطوط 1886, 9 Cambridge University Library
Sunday, 1 August 2010
saint martyr Philip governor of Alexandria
Link to the biography of the saint martyrs Philip governor of Alexandria and his daughter Eugenia
http://www.4shared.com/document/FguNYkQN/The_Saint_Martyrs_Philip_and_h.html
http://www.4shared.com/document/FguNYkQN/The_Saint_Martyrs_Philip_and_h.html
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