Saint
Samaan Shoemaker
Forward by his Holiness Father
Mattaos the bishop and abbot of the
Syrian Monastery
The first
arabic
edition of this book was in 1983,
and it was soon sold out because of the important
topic the book talks about, which
is the miracle of moving
the
Mokattam
mountain
and the great spiritual persons spoken of in it; such as the great Pope Abram Ibn Zaraa and Saint
Samaan
the Tanner.
And now the church of
Saint Samaan
the Shoemaker in Mokattam
is
so kind as to publish a second
augmented and
revised edition. To this edition a chapter was added dealing with
the discovery
of the
remains of Samaan
the Shoemaker.
The book has been made
complete by the laborious
efforts of the reverend priest fathers of the Saint Samaan church in Mokattam mountain and the efforts
of the
fellow-ministers in the church.
To all these
we acknowledge our debt and
render our thanks, hoping that this book will be a cause
of blessing and
steadfastness
in the orthodox wonder-working
faith for all those who read it.
May our holy mother Saint Mary grant us her intercession, and
may our father Saint Abram Ibn Zaraa and the great Saint
of faith and the performer of the miracle Samaan the Shoemaker grant
us their
prayers, together with
our honored father H. H. Pope
Shenouda III.
May the blessing of the Lord include us all. Amen.
Bishop Mattaos
The bishop and abbot of the Syrian monastery.
{ P R
I Introduction
A
T The Coptic Orthodox church has immortalized the memory of the
} miracle of moving
the
Mokattam mountain, which
was performed by Saint Samaan the Tanner, by keeping
the
three day fast which the church fasted
at the time of the miracle. The church has
appended these days to one of the holiest
fasts
of our church-
the
fast of the
holy Christmas. The duration of the Christmas
fast was forty days, but after the three day fast of this miracle was added to
it, the sum total of the Christmas fast became 43 days, starting from November
25. And ending
on January 6. of every
year. Nevertheless,
no one has ever taken
the pains to immortalize
the
memory of that great saint,
through whom
the Lord performed
this supernatural
miracle. Many churches have been built for
the
memory of other saints, such as
Saint
Girgis, saint Mina, saint Antonios, and
many others. As for saint
Samaan
the Tanner, no church
was built in his name throughout the previous thousand years,
until Providence
chose to bring to memory the
name of this
saint, which was carried out by building the first
church in his name on the Mokattam mountain itself in 1974 under H. H. Pope Shenouda III may God grant him long
life.
Isn't it worthy that the whole world, and the Copts of
Egypt
in particular, should
know the biography of this great saint?!!
Here
we present
this fragrant
biography, and
the account of the supernatural
miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain, together with
the miracle of building the Church of Saint Samaan the
Tanner in the Mokattam mountain.
May the blessing of the prayers of this great saint, Samaan the Tanner,
the prayers of all the saints, and
the prayers of our blessed father
Pope Shenouda III be with
us all. Amen.
The Church
27.1993 AD November Saturday, Hatur 17. 1710
On the feast of Samaan the Tanner.
I CHAPTER 1
A THE TIME OF SAINT SAMAAN
}
1) The
destroying famine.
2)
The construction
of Cairo.
3)
Chaos in Tanis.
4)
The settlement
of peace.
5)
Religious freedom.
6)
Handicrafts.
7) The state of
the church.
Saint
Samaan the
Tanner
lived
towards the
end
of the
tenth
century
AD.
He
was
contemporary of
the
Saint
bishop
Abram
Ibn
Zaraa
the Syrian, who
occupied the
seat
of
Mar
Markus in 975
AD
and
rested
in
peace
in
979
AD.
It
is,
therefore,
preferable
to take
a
passing
look
at
the
time
during which
the saint lived,
since the time
and
the place
where
we now
live
will,
whether
we
like
it
or
not, affect
the way
we see
things,
for
the bible
says: 'Do
not
be
misled:
"Bad company
corrupts good character."
(1
Co.
15:33).
For
the
house
in
which
a
child
grows
up
is
like the
soil that
provides not
only
for
his physical
needs,
but for
his
spiritual
and
psychological
ones, as well. I wonder
if
every
father
and
mother
of
us
realizes
the
responsibility towards
their children
that
is
laid
on their shoulders
?
Or
is
it true that
concern for
the
things
of
this present world;
such as food, clothes,
and
earthly
position
has
become
our
sole
pre- occupation. Yet,
the wisest
of
men
throughout
the
ages
has announced,
"Yet when
I surveyed all that
my
hands
had
done
and I
had toiled to
achieve, everything
was meaningless,
a
chasing
after the wind;
nothing
was gained under
the
sun."
(Ecc.
2:11).
My
Lord, Jesus
Christ, I ask
You
for help for
the
responsibility
and the trust; You
have
entrusted
me
with.
Let me
and
my
children
and
all
my
household be
yours.
Let
our
motto
be "But as for
me
and
my
household
we will serve the
Lord." (Jos. 24:15).
Lord,
answer my
prayer
and
make
my reading
of this
fragrant
biography
now
a
blessing, a
cause
of
change in
my
life,
as I take it
as
my
example..
Amen.
1) THE DESTROYING FAMINE
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A severe and overwhelming famine came upon all of Egypt under the reign of the Ikhshidid
Empire,
namely between AD 934 to AD
968,
shortly before
the Fatimid Empire was established,
under
which the miracle of moving
the mountain took
place. The miracle took
place circa AD 979,
so Saint Samaan must have lived through this
famine,
which
sent
more than half a million to their early
graves. (1)
Among the causes
of this famine
was the shortage
in the annual inundation
of the Nile for three consequent
years. Consequently,
epidemics spread out and this large number of people died. Whole
towns vanished,
and dioceses just faded out of existence. (2)
These
events
must have left
an impression
on the saint's soul and made him renounce pleasure in worldly
things- as we shall see.
This was -and
is- God's way of dealing
with man...
My beloved brother,
Has God allowed
some painful experiences to happen to you? Has life all around
you closed
up on you, while
you are passing through its barren wilderness? Have you been unable to bear the heaviness
and heat of the
day for your human frailty ?
Has
resentment
become your way of life,
and have the words
of your mouth become murmuring and complaining
of the circumstances? Or do you see God in the scene and
receive from
Him all the circumstances,
knowing that
" all things work together for the good of those who
love God " (Ro.
8:28)?
My friend, people are divided
as their reactions
to hard circumstances into three categories: the first murmurs and resents
the circumstances, and
maybe God
himself, while the
second receives them in silence,
and the third gives thanks even
in the
heated
furnace, knowing that God will bring "out of the
eater, something
to eat; out of the strong, something sweet" (Jdg.
14:14). This third kind of people learns the lessons, and, therefore, comes
out from the fire brighter than before; as Job the prophet of patience said,
"When he has tested me, I shall come
forth as
gold." (Job 23:10) Of which category are you, and what is your
reaction to the circumstances???
My loving God,
I thank You with
all my heart for all tribulation and all pain at all times. Grant me to adopt thanksgiving, for
all circumstances and under all circumstances,
as a way of life,
trusting that You are able to use all them to form my life as it pleases You. Give me patience
during tribulation and
long-
suffering at times of trial.
Amen.
2)THE
CONSTRUCTION OF CAIRO
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Cairo had been constructed only a short while before
the miracle
of moving the mountain took place. As a matter of fact,
the present
Cairo (3) is made up of several
small old towns that were have
been built in different ages. One of these towns received the name
"Cairo".
These
old towns
are:
(A) Babylon, or the Palace of Wax. (It is now old Cairo.) Was established by the
Byzantines.)
(B) Um Danin. Is now in the center
of Cairo,
where the main train station
is.
(C) Al-Fustat.
Near Ain Al-Sira.
Was established by Amru Ibn Al- As.
(D) Al-Askar. Between Al-Fustat and the Mokattam mountain.
(E) Al-Qata`i. In the vicinity of Al-Askar by Ibn Tulun's mosque. Was established by Ahmad Ibn Tulun.
(F) Cairo.
Is the area
where Al-Azhar
mosque is. Was established
by the Fatimids under Al-Mu'iz Li-Din Illah in AD 969. It was under this same monarch that the miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain occurred,
which happened exactly ten years after Cairo was con- structed. As we shall see,
there a connection
between
the city of Cairo and the miracle of moving the mountain.
3) CHAOS IN TANIS
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Tanis is the present town of San in the Sharqia Governorate. The chaos
that happened in it at the beginning Fatimid
reign plucked
the feeling of security from the hearts
of the Copts and made them take
refuge
with God
as their only protection
in such events. Some extremists had risen against the government
and against
the
Copts, and announced their independence,
while some of them plundered
the
homes of the Christians and
took
their women and daughters as booty. Chaos reigned
in that city
until some Copts, the children
of Qashlan
by name, were able
to contact the government
and stop these
insurrections. (4).
No doubt that these
incidents had a great effect on the souls of the believers, for
in calamities hearts
are
turned towards God and the people's commitment to the church increases.
4) THE SETTLEMENT
OF PEACE
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After these
incidents, and
thanks
to the wisdom of Al-Mu'iz Li Din
Illah the Fatimid, security was realized in the country, and
peace prevailed throughout
Egypt.
This was reflected
on the
souls of the citizens, and the voices of the believers were raised in thanksgiving
to God the
Prince
of
peace for the peace
he bestowed on them.
5) RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
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Al-Mu'iz Li Din Illah the Fatimid,
who reigned from AD 969 till the end
of AD 979, was a polished politician,
besides being a
letterman and a lover of the gatherings in which poetry was recited.
He was, as well,
fond of religious
sciences,
which made him invite the
Muslim, the Christian, and
the Jewish religious
leaders in order to debate before him with all
frankness and freedom, and without any anger or contention.
This matter
has a direct relationship with the miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain, as we shall see later on.
6) HANDICRAFTS
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The Copts worked
in all kinds
of crafts and
professions; such
as carpentry, construction of furniture, smithery
and ship making.
They even celebrated mass on the decks of their boats at the ports officially
(5), because all the workers, craftsmen, and even the
sailors were Copts.
We shall see, therefore, that Saint Samaan the Tanner worked in
one of these handicrafts, which was tanning
the hides of animals.
7) THE STATE
OF THE CHURCH
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Due to the peace
that reigned over the country under the Fatimid empire, the Copts neglected the election of a new Patriarch
for the church
for two
years from
the death of Pope Mina II in AD 973 till
AD 975.
The bishops and the archdeacons later gathered in the church of Abu Sirga in Old
Cairo in order to discuss who was fitting
for the patriarchy.
Thereupon, a righteous, respected,
and pious old man came in,
who was known to all of them
named Abram Ibn Zaraa
the Syrian. Now this man was also a friend
of the Fatimid caliph
Al-Mu'iz Li Din Illah. The multitudes, therefore, elected him unanimously as patriarch in the month of Tuba 687, AD January.
After his ordination as patriarch,
he distributed all his possessions
to the poor and the needy, and to the churches and
the monasteries.
he also forbade
simony and opposed an evil habit
that prevailed amongst
the Christians, namely the possession of concubines.
In general,
the church at his time
was in a blessed age of spiritual
revival.
Lord, I thank You for my beloved Mother the Church, in which You planted
me, so that in might be nourished by Your holy word, and grow steadfast in this vineyard which Your right arm has planted.
I thank You because You
hasten Your word to perform it. I thank
You because
You established Your church on the rock and the
gates of Hell
shall prevail against it. I thank
You for my fathers the saints, the pillars of the church. Teach me to consider the end of their lives
and emulate their faith.
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A GLIMPSES INTO THE LIFE OF
E
} SAINT SAMAAN THE TANNER
1) His upbringing.
2) His profession.
3) His purity.
4) His abstinence
and asceticism.
5) The depth of
his fellowship (A man of prayer).
6) His practical service.
7) His amazing humility.
8) His strong faith.
9) His end.
HIS UPBRINGING
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This saint appeared suddenly on the scene of historical events as shining star,
and disappeared just
the same way. History
does not mention anything
about
his early upbringing
at all, so we do not
know where he was born, or where he was reared
up, or who was his father.
But for the will of the Lord that made him appear for the
performing of this miracle and the delivering of this message, we would not have heard
about him at all! This proves that there are
many saints for the Lord whom the world does not know. They are
hidden from sight. hasn't this been the case at the time of Elijah the prophet?! Didn't this
same prophet say
to the Lord, "I am the
only one left." (1 ki 19:10)?! What did the Lord answer him? Did not
He say, "Yet I reserve
seven
thousand in Israel-
all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and
al whose mouths have not kissed him." (1 Ki 19:18)?!
How amazing! Seven thousand persons for the Lord, and Elijah himself did not know about them!
The people is not all bad, my beloved brother. Look around you; maybe the Lord will reveal to you many saints, whom you cannot otherwise see.
Saint
Samaan the Tanner was one of the obscure saints-
hidden away from sight. And
even though
we know nothing of his birth, yet
history asserts he was in Babylon
(Old Cairo)
during the time
of Pope Abram the Syrian (AD 975-979), which was under Al-Mu'iz
Li Din Illah,
the
first
ruler in the Fatimid dynasty
in Egypt.
My dear God, I thank You for
the
cloud
of saints
which
fills Your beloved church. I thank You because
You do not leave yourself without
a witness;
but rather have children
and holy men in every generation.
Protect me from the spirit of despair which fought the courageous
prophet Elijah in old times
to the point that he sought death
for his soul. Lord, make steadfast in the hope because You have not given us the spirit of fear, but the spirit of love, help, and self-control.
Amen.
2) HIS PROFESSION
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At that time the Copts
were engaged in handicrafts, as we have mentioned
above. Saint Samaan, therefore,
worked also
in one of the crafts that
were widespread in Babylon (Old Cairo), which was tanning.
(Old Cairo
is till known
for this craft till today.)
Most probably, this profession was
not confined in the past to tanning animal skins, but included
also
the crafts that depend
on this process,
such as
shoemaking
and the like.
Our saint
carried several titles related to skins,
of which we list the following:
Samaan the Tanner. (6)
Samaan the Cobbler. (7) Samaan the shoemaker.
(8)
This was also the
profession of saint Ananaias the first patriarch of the
Coptic church
after Mar Markus, who went, after
having traveled about
in
Alexandria, to this cobbler
to mend his torn shoes. And when the awl pierced
through
the
hand of the cobbler,
he cried out, "Ious theos,"
which
means "O the One God."
Mar Markus
evangelized him and he believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ,
and he was ordained
a patriarch
to lead the church
after him.
My Lord Jesus
Christ,
I thank
You for my profession that you gave me. Thanks for the mind that
you created in me to learn this profession.
Lord, allow me to use it for your glory, so that
Your great name might be exalted
by it, as it is exalted in everything You created.
Grant
the true Christian
honesty in practicing
this profession,
so that
people may
see
my
good works and glorify
our father
who is in heaven.
Amen.
3) HIS PURITY
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When the saint
was practicing
his work as a shoemaker, a woman came to him to mend her shoes, and this
woman was beautiful. It
so happened that when she
was putting off her shoes,
her legs showed and he ogled lustfully
at her. But
at once he drove the awl into one of his eyes, thus plucking it out (9) in keeping with
the commandment of the
Lord "But I tell you that anyone
who looks at
a
woman lustfully
has committed
adultery
with her i his heart.
If your
right
eye causes you to sin, gouge it and throw it away. it is
better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be
thrown into
hell." (Mt. 5:28,29).
Yes, how beautiful the history of
the church is, with
all its narratives
about the saintly fathers.
It follows the same pattern
which the Bible adopted in narrating
the
lives of its saints. before mentioning
their strength, it mentions their human weakness,
to which
the power of Christ comes and
changes it into
strength, and thus life
is brought forth from death, and
satisfying honey from the dead
lion.
Hasn't the Bible
mentioned the sin of lying in the life of Abraham the father
of faith (Gen
12:13), and the sin of adultery in the life of David (2 Sa 11)?
Even the
apostle Paul himself, being our teacher,
has declared this very clearly when he said, "Even though I was
once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent
man, I was shown mercy because
I acted
in ignorance and unbelief." (1 Ti
1:13). Yes, my dear brother, how wonderful
the grace of Christ is, which lifts
up from weakness
and empowers with strength;
and it
even draws people out of the dunghill and seats them on thrones. He simply carried out the commandment literally.
the great scholar
Oregon had done a similar thing before him when he castrated himself in fulfillment of the verse that says: "Others have
renounced marriage
(or castrated
themselves) because of the kingdom of heaven." (Mt 19:12). Each
one of them has so acted in total sincerity to carry out the commandment literally, even though the church does not allow this, not to mention teach it. It was
nothing but a literal and simple
act which the church
tolerated.
But
when Oregon castrated
himself, the church
excommunicated
him,
in spite of his status as great
scholar, for
the Lord did not mean it
to be taken literally, but He was
rather pointing
to the mortification
of the flesh; as the church teaches us
to pray, saying, "Mortify our physical senses,
O Christ our God." This is the same thing that the apostle
Paul
meant
when he said,
"Count yourselves dead to sin."
(Ro 6:11).
My Lord Jesus Christ,
I thank You for these bright,holy,
pure models that
hate evil.Yes, it was You
who made them hate evil ... Give me belief in Your existence
in my
heart, which is able to transform the corruption of my life into a life of purity. You can replace
what the locusts of uncleanness have eaten with
a life of
holiness. Lord, grant
me to submit to the Spirit of holiness, so that
he might work in me His holy works, and
break off all the bonds of my sins
through
the intercession of Saint Samaan
the Tanner, the example
of the life of holiness.. Amen.
4) HIS ABSTINENCE AND ASCETICISM
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Saint Samaan the Tanner was an ascetic
person,
which
fact was made known from the conversation
he had with
the patriarch Abram, when the latter asked him about
his life
when The Virgin Mary
led him to meet him. He said about himself,
"I eat a little
just to keep
myself alive." (10)
Thus we can see how this saint renounced the pleasures
of this
life, contenting himself with the least, so as to keep himself alive!
Having control
over the lust
of the stomach by abstaining from
food is one of the characteristics of asceticism, and also
a sign of practical holiness. Therefore we hear of the
saint
Anba Bola the Anchorite
that his food consisted
in half a loaf of bread which a
crow carried him. Saint Sara says, "A mouth that You keep from water does not ask for wine,
and a stomach that You
keep from bread does not ask for meat."
One further sign of his asceticism was the way he dressed. For on
the day of the miracle, he went to the mountain together with
the Patriarch,
the bishops, the priests,
the multitudes of the people, and
the secular celebrities
in his shabby clothes (11) [which
were
his usual
clothes
that he wore when he went to the tannery].
We do not want
to say that uncleanness is a sign
of holiness,
but we say that not adorning oneself and not wearing expensive clothes (1 Ti 2:9)
is a sign
of the
children of God.
So then, Saint Samaan the Tanner, as far as pious life is concerned, was ascetic
in his clothes
and food as were many of
our father saints; such as saint
Bola, saint Ruweis, saint Barsum the naked,
and others.
Does not this show us another
aspect of power, which is the
power of the
Holy Spirit of God which
is different from the power
of the flesh and
the
appearance? Doesn't this remind
us of saint John
the Baptist who used to wear camel's hair and eat honey and wild locusts?
In spite of this, the Bible says, "Because
Herod
feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous
and
holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him." (Mk 6:20).
And likewise
Saint Samaan the Tanner did not fix his eyes on what is seen, but on what
is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Co
4:18).
5) THE DEPTH OF
HIS FELLOWSHIP
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(A MAN OF PRAYER)
The secret
of the blessing in the life of Saint
Samaan
the Tanner lay in the fact that he was a wonderful man of prayer. For he showed in his secret conversation with the Pope that he spent
long hours in prayer.
He said,
"And at sunset I go out with
the rest
of the wage workers and eat just a little, so as to keep myself barely alive.
Then I turn to prayer, and stand the whole night
praying." (13)
Prayer is the secret of blessing in the life of the saints, for it is an amorous fellowship between the believer and
his God. Therefore, the good pleasure of the believer is to spend his time in the presence
of God. It was the lifestyle of the
Lord Jesus in his humanity on earth,
for the Scripture says: "Very
early
in the
morning, while
it was still dark, Jesus
got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." (Mk 1:35) It says
also: "One
of these days Jesus went
out to a mountain to pray, and spent the night praying to God." (Lk
6:12) As David also teaches us, saying, "But
I am a man of prayer." (Ps 109:4) Likewise, Mary
enjoyed sitting at Jesus' feet,
"choosing what
is
better, which will not be taken away from her." (Lk 10:42).
In fact, when the beauty of the Lord is revealed
to the believer, he cannot bear to live without
fixing his gaze
upon that beauty, therefore
David says, "One thing
I ask of the Lord, this is what
I
seek: that I
may dwell in the house of the Lord all the
days of my life to gaze upon the beauty
of the Lord and
to seek him in his temple." (Ps 27:4)
In these terms,
Saint
Arsenius
used to spend the whole night in prayer, just as Saint
Samaan the
Tanner was a man of prayer, for he
enjoyed
the depth of
the fellowship with
God.
My Lord Jesus, how I do need to start
this blessed communion with You
in the
life of prayer, as my father saints have live
it ! Please, my beloved Lord, make me love to sit with
You and open my eyes to the wonder of the true communion and the
transcendence of the
spiritual blessings which I will enjoy in Your presence. Raise my soul up from its laziness,
and revive it from
its
sleep of weakness
to the blessed struggle of prayer. Amen.
6) HIS PRACTICAL
SERVICES
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One of the secrets
that
Saint
Samaan
the Tanner revealed during his con- versation
with Anba Abram was the
fact
that he
ministered to the older people and the sick, bringing them water every
day. He said, "I wake up as early
as this hour in the morning every day to fill my jar with
water and distribute it to the elderly
and the sick, who have been hampered from bringing water for
them- selves
by old age or sickness.
When
I am finished
with this service
of mine, I return
my water skin to the
house and go to my work..." (14)
This ministry
which
Saint Samaan
the
Tanner
used to do was one
of the ministries that people would tend to depreciate and despise. While in fact it was such a great service of which
the Lord said,
"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell the truth, he will not lose his reward." (Mt 10:42)
Many people concern themselves with the big manifest ministries, but
the humble choose the little despicable
ones, and do them for the Lord.
Besides distributing water to those people, Saint
Samaan also
used to "distribute everyday bread and food to the
cloistered hermits, whether of men or women." (15)
So Samaan the Tanner was a full-fledged
saint!
7) HIS AMAZING HUMILITY
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Saint Samaan was so humble, and
we can see the marks of his humility
in the following
occurrences:
(A) When the
Virgin Mary
revealed his holiness
to the Pope, and he went
out to get him in order to perform the miracle,
Samaan
the tanner said
to him,
"Forgive me, father; I am but a sinful man." (16)
What a profound statement that
denotes the
depth of his humility.
It is the language
of the saints: "Forgive me", "I am a sinful
man." Doesn't
this remind us of what our teacher Peter said to the Lord
Jesus: "Go away from me, Lord; for I am a sinful man." (Lk 5:8) and of what
our teacher Paul said: "Christ Jesus came to this world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst." (1 Ti 1:15)
(B) When the
Pope
asked him to tell him a little about his life, he was obliged
to tell
him his story, but at the conclusion he
"besought him to keep it secret as long as he lived on this earth."
(17)
He also said
to him, "I beg you my father not to expose me to anyone, for I have no power to bear the glory of men." (18)
This saint had learnt humility from the gentle and humble Master
who said to his disciples,
"I do not accept praise from men." (John
5:41) he, therefore, said
His disciples, "Do not tell anyone what you
have seen,
until the Son of Man has been
raised from
the dead." (Mt17:9)
(C) The humility of
Saint Samaan the Tanner appears also,
when the Pope
asked him to perform the miracle , while Saint Samaan stood
among the
people behind him, and he said to him, "So that
no one would recognize me." (19)
Thus, Saint Samaan stood among
the common people while the miracle was being performed
and uttered not a word or showed
any sign or movement indicating that it was he who performed
the miracle, which would
draw the attention
to himself!!
What an amazing humility!!
(D) Another sign of his humility was that,
after the miracle had been performed ,
"the Pope turned left and right looking for Samaan the Tanner, but he was nowhere to be
found, and none
has ever found him after
that." (20)
Where has he gone?!
Has he disappeared willingly,
so that he might let no man have any hope in his appearance anymore and thus be exposed
to receive
vain praise from
people?!
It is the life
of amazing humility
that seeks
the glory of Christ, and not its own; the
life that has adopted
the
motto:
"He must become
greater; I must become less." (John 3:30)
O how do I need, my great Lord, to live the life
of humility, learning from
You, my Lord, for You are gentle and humble in heart, so that
I may find rest for my soul! O Lord, how often I sought
my own
glory! But let me de- crease so that
You may increase and
be lifted up and exalted. O
my Lord, keep
me from
the arrows of vainglory,
for I am the unworthy servant.
Help me to start from now.. Amen.
8) HIS STRONG
FAITH
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The time when sadness was sweeping
over the church, and perplexity filled the heart of Pope
Abram (21),
Saint
Samaan
was steadfast and
assured, in perfect humility, of the Lord's powers and
the might of His strength.
For he said to the
Pope, "My
honorable father, go up the mountain
that the caliph tells
you, and you shall see the glory of God." (22)
It was all according
to his faith.
The miracle was achieved and the mountain was moved from its place, because he trusted in the promise of the
Lord that says, "If you have faith
as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain,
`Move from here to there,' and it will
move. Nothing will be impossible for you." (Mt
17:20)
This is an example of the lives
of our saint
fathers
"who through faith conquered kingdoms,
administered justice, and gained
what
was promised; who shut
the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the
edge
of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and
who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies... the world was not worthy of them." (Heb
11:33,34,38)
9) HIS END
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This saint, as we have said
earlier, was
like a bright star
that glimmered
all of a sudden, and disappeared just the same way. History
recorded his end after this fashion:
It was natural that this miracle would cause
quite a commotion in the ranks
of all those who witnessed it.
When they calmed down, and gained
their composure back, they began to go down the mountain, going back to their homes. His felicity
the Patriarch looked right and left
searching
for Samaan
the Tanner, but he was nowhere to be
found, and none has found him ever after.
(23)
Yet, the
Lord, in His great love, has revealed the
body of this great saint, as we shall se later
on.
Lord, I thank You for this shining
life of which I have just read. I
pray You, my God, to turn these words which
i have read into life
for me to live, and place inside
me holy longings to live these
blessed
qualities which
You have given that great man of faith, Saint Samaan
the Tanner.. in his intercession I pray. Amen.
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CHAPTER 3
THE MIRACLE OF MOVING
THE MOKATTAM MOUNTAIN
1) THE INCIDENTS THAT PAVED THE WAY FOR THE
MIRACLE
1) Heated religious discussion
2) The malicious plot
3) Calling for a fast and retirement
2) THE DISTRESS IS
DISPERSED
1) The Virgin Mary appears to the Pope
2) Saint Samaan, the messenger of heaven
3) The preparations for the miracle
3) THE SUPERNATURAL MIRACLE
1) A great crowd of people
2) A great quake and the moving of the mountain
3) The caliph and the crowds become frightened
4) The disappearance of Saint Samaan
5) calling the mountain Al-Mokattam
4) THE RESULTS OF THE MIRACLE
1) Renewing and restoring the churches
2) The peace of the Church
5) RECORDING THE MIRACLE
1) The three day fast that precedes the Christmas fast
2) The icon of the two saints, Anba Abram and Samaan the
Tanner
3) The building of a church in the name of Saint Samaan
the Tanner in the Mokattam mountain
6) A RESEARCH ON THE DETERMINATION OF THE DATE
OF THE MIRACLE
1) Determining the year of the miracle
2) Determining the day of the miracle
3) Celebrating the memory of this miracle
THE INCIDENTS THAT PAVED
THE
WAY FOR
THE
MIRACLE
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1) Heated religious discussion:
As we
said earlier,
Al-Mu'iz Li
Din
Illah the Fatimid was fond of literary gatherings and much interested in
religious controversies. He used to rally the religious leaders of the Muslims,
the Christians and the
Jews and
let them debate in his presence, and stipulated
that this should be carried out with neither anger nor contention. There
was
a Jew in the retinue
of
Al-Mu'iz who espoused Islam
in
order to be assigned a minister.
This man's name
was
Jacob Ibn Killis.
In spite
of
the fact that he espoused Islam,
he
still sided with Judaism; because
he
did not adopt Islam out of
belief in it,
but
for the sake
of the governmental
office. Now this Jew hated Christians so much, especially that
he had a Christian rival
whom the caliph held dear to him. This Jew feared that the caliph would appoint him
as minister instead of him.
This man's name was Quzman Ibn Mina, and had the title
"Abul Yumn" (The fortunate one).
So, Jacob Ibn Killis the Jew called to him
another Jew named Moses and wanted him
to debate
with the
Patriarch Abram in the
court
of
the caliph Al-Mu'iz.
The
caliph sent a message
to the Patriarch, saying,
"If you want
to debate
the
Jews someday, whether yourself
or through one
of
the bishops you choose, come to my house and join issue with them in my presence."
So Pope Abram set a date for that, and took along with him Anba Sawirus Ibn Al-Muqaffaa the bishop of Ashmunin (in Upper Egypt), who was one
of
the church scholars in his generation. It was he who wrote "THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE PATRIARCHS," and besides this he
was
well versed in theology, especially
in comparative religion,
and authored numerous volumes in this field. Of these
books are: A BOOK ON
MONOTHEISM, THE BOOK OF
THE
WONDROUS PRESENTATION IN ANSWER TO THE
JEWS,
among other books.
When the caliph was seated- the Jewish minister Ibn Killis was also present,
together with his friend Moses- he said to the
Pope,
"Speak my reverent Pope, or otherwise
grant your companions the permission to talk."
So the
Pope said to Sawirus the
bishop of Ashmunin,
"Speak my son, and the divine wisdom grant you wisdom."
Anba Sawirus said in spiritual prudence,
"It is not proper to address a Jew in the presence
of
the caliph." Moses, the minister's companion, was enraged and said,
"You are insulting me in the hearing of the prince of the
believers [the title of the caliph among Muslims], since
you
describe me
as ignorant."
Anba Sawirus asked him calmly,
"What if I furnish the proof for your ignorance, will you not be angry?" The caliph interfered out of tolerance, and eloquently,
"There is no need to be angry in the
discussion;
freedom is vouchsafed for each of you so that you may express
each his own opinion frankly and without embarrassment."
Anba Sawirus said confidently,
"Well, it is not I that call
you
ignorant; it
is rather a great prophet
of
yours, who had a
special favor from God, who witnesses against you."
Moses the Jew asked him,
"And who can this prophet be?"
Anba Sawirus answered immediately,
"It is Isaiah the prophet,
who said about you, `The ox knows his master, the donkey, his owner's manger, but
Israel does not know, my people do
not understand.'" (Is 1:3)
The
caliph burst
out
laughing , for he
was
impressed by Anba Sawirus' prudence and skill of speech. Then the caliph asked Moses the Jew,
"Are these really the words of Isaiah?"
Moses said,
with pent-up anger,
"Yes, sire."
And Anba Sawirus continued talking,
"Behold a great
prophet of yours has announced that the animals have more understanding that you do."
The
caliph was still under the
intoxicating effect of the
brilliance
of
this joke, and was to the opinion of ending the
session, having heard enough for the day.
2) The malicious plot :
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This sharp debate upset the minister Ibn Killis and his other Jewish companion Moses so much. So they
decided to take revenge from Anba Abram and Anba Sawirus by devising a plot that
would destroy the
Copts altogether.
For
this reason, the Jew started to search the
New
Testament looking for something to help him
on his malicious purpose. He chanced upon the verse that
the
Lord Jesus has said in Mt 17:20,
which says: "If
you have faith as small as
a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, `Move from here to there,' and
it will move. Nothing will be impossible
for you."
Moses the Jew and the minister Ibn Killis hastened to the caliph Al-Mu'iz
and
said to him,
"We have found it written in the
book of the
Christians that whosoever has faith as small as a
mustard seed he can move a mountain.
So it is our right to demand them
to prove that
their religion is right by means of this.
If they cannot, they should be punished for the invalidity of their religion."
The
caliph kept silent and was mulling over this verse,
thinking to himself that
if the words of the
New
Testament were true,
then this would be a golden opportunity to remove the mountain that
is perched to the east of the new city (Cairo) so that it could stretch to the east and would enjoy a terrific
site, since the
mountain was bordering Birket Elphil before
it got removed. ( 24) But if they proved unable to carry this out,
this would be a cogent proof that the religion of the Christians was wrong, which means that it should be done away with completely.
The
caliph Al-Mu'iz sent
for
Anba Abram
the Syrian, who came to
him and talked with him concerning this verse. he told him that he had to choose between these four alternatives: ( 25)
1) To fulfill this commandment and move the eastern part of the Mokattam.
2) To espouse Islam and abandon Christianity on the account that it is invalid.
3) To leave Egypt and immigrate to another country.
4) To be
smitten by the sword altogether. (26)
The
Patriarch kept silent, and was praying in his heart for the Lord to guide him in this ordeal.. Then he asked the caliph to give a
three day respite,
after which he
would give an answer to the caliph.
3) Calling for a fast and retirement: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
The
Pope was so unhappy when he returned to his seat, and issued a public statement ordering all the
Christians in Egypt to fast for three days till sunset, and to lift up fervent prayers for the safety of the church, which was at stake,
and
to that God may deliver it from the impending ordeal. What a spiritual insight and
heavenly wisdom that
which turns to God in such hard circumstances and distresses! How wonderful is the
prayer of the
church which it lifts up during the mass, saying, "For we do not know another but You...Your holy name is the name we
utter and our souls are revived by Your Holy Spirit."
Thereafter, the Pope
went to the famous church of Saint Mary, which is know as "The Suspended
Church,"
and called for the bishops who were
present in Old Cairo,
together with the archdeacons and the monks to tell them what happened between the caliph and himself. He
said to them,
"We are to fast and pray these
three days which I have asked of the caliph as respite, so that
the Lord may show mercy upon us in His grace, and provide us
a way of deliverance."
All the
people responded to the
calling of the Pope, and the Coptic people
fasted throughout the land of Egypt. Masses were held,
prayers and supplications for this ordeal
through which the church was going.
Pope Anba Abram, together with some
bishops, priests,
monks and arch- deacons confined themselves to the
Suspended Church of Saint Mary during those
three days.
2) THE DISTRESS IS DISPERSED
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1) The
Virgin Mary appears to the Pope:
The
third day at dawn,
the
Pope dozes off for a short
while, saw the Virgin Mary, and heard her say to him,
"What is the
matter with you?" The Pope
answered,
"You know, lady of the heavenly and earthly beings." She
said to him,
"Fear not, faithful shepherd, ... for your tears which you have shed in this church, and
the fasts and the
prayers which you and your people have offered up shall not be forgotten. Now, get out through the iron gate that leads to the
market-place and, when you are on your way out, you will find a one-eyed man in
front of you carrying a jar of water. Take hold of him; for he is the
man
by whom the miracle
will take place."
As soon as the Virgin Mary said this, she
was
hidden from the
sight
of
the Pope, who woke up from his sleep
wondering.
2) Saint Samaan, the messenger of heaven: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
On waking up from his sleep,
the
Pope went out right away about to the iron gate that leads to the market-
place, and saw outside it the
man
whom the
Virgin Mary had spoken, he took hold of him... brought him inside the iron gate, and closed it... The Pope told him what had happened between the caliph and himself, and what
the
Virgin Mary ordered him to do, mentioning that it was he by whom the miracle
would take place. Saint Samaan said to him,
"Forgive me, my father, for I am but a sinful man."
The
Pope said to him
in
persistence,
"It is the command of the mother of Light."
Saint
Samaan answered in humility and submission,
"As long as it is the
mother of Light who decided that I should be entrusted with this great task,
I, then, place myself at the you service, sir."
The
Pope asked him
about his name,
and why he was there in the market-place
in
such an early hour in the
morning while people
are
asleep.
Saint
Samaan answered, "My name is Samaan the Tanner.
I work in tanning animal
skins. But I wake
up
as early as this hour in the
morning every day to fill
my
jar with water
and distribute it to the elderly and
the sick, who had been hampered from bringing water
for
themselves by old age or sickness.
When I am finished
with this service of mine,
I return my water skin to the
house and go to my work at the tannery where I work till evening. And at sunset I go out with the rest of the wage workers and eat just a little, so as to keep myself barely alive. Then
I turn to prayer..."
Saint
Samaan urged the
Pope to keep the true
state of his affairs hidden as long as he lived on this earth.
3) The preparations for the miracle: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP After Saint Samaan had finished this,
he said to the Patriarch,
"My honorable father,
go up the mountain and take
along with you the religious leaders, the deacons, and the archdeacons, and make them carry on high the Bibles, the crosses,
and the long candles, these being lit,
and the censers full of incense."
"And ask the king and his retinue to go up with you... So you shall stand on one side
of
the mountain, while
they stand on the side
opposite you. As for me, I will
stand among the people
behind your felicity, so that no one would recognize me.
"Then after administering the holy sacraments,
you
raise up your voice with all of the people, repeating,
"Kyrie Eleison"
(have mercy, Lord) four hundred
times.
"Then after that keep silent for some
moments,
and
worship, you and the
priests, before
the
Most High. Repeat this three
times,
and every time
you
stand up after worshipping, draw the sign of the
cross over the mountain,
and you shall see the glory of God."
The
Patriarch lifted up a prayer of thanksgiving to God, who allowed the trial
to come, but provided a way out
. (1 Co 10:13)
3) THE SUPERNATURAL
MIRACLE
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1) A great crowd of people:
The
Patriarch told the
caliph Al-Mu'iz Li Din Illah that he
was
ready to carry out his request by
the grace
of
God...
the
caliph went out on the back of his steed,
having with him
several men of his retinue, his great men
of honor,
and
his soldiers. He
met
the Patriarch and a great number of bishops, priests, deacons, archdeacons, the
common people, and among these
was
Saint Samaan the Tanner...
The two parties stood opposite one another on the mountain as Saint Samaan told them.
2) A great quake and the moving of the mountain: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
After administering the holy sacraments which the
Pope and the bishops lifted up,
the
prayers repeated with a
broken spirit and a crushed heart
the
"Kyrie Eleison" (heve mercy, Lord) prayer,
which means O Lord, show mercy, four hundred times; once
to the east, another to the
west, another to the north, and another to the south. Then they kept silent for a moment between the hands of the Most High...
And they started to worship and
stand up three
times,
while the Patriarch drew the sign of the cross. And behold a
great earthquake swept over the mountain, and at each worship
the mountain was thrust down, and every time they stood up the mountain would rise
up and the
sun
would be seen from under it. And every time it would go back to its place.(
27)
This was the power of faith which our teacher Paul declared when he said,
"I can do everything through him
who gives me strength." (Php 4:13)
3) The caliph and the crowds become frightened:
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When the miracle took place,
the
caliph Al-Mu'iz panicked and feared,
together with all the multitudes that
gathered with him; he
cried out at the
top
of his voice,
"God is great; may His name be
blessed."
And he entreated the Pope
to stop what he
was
doing, otherwise
the
city would be overthrown.
When the affairs became
calm once more, he said to the
Pope,
"You have proven that your faith is a true one. "
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After the souls of the gathered crowd calmed down, they began to come down the mountain and go back to their homes.
As for the Patriarch, he looking round about him searching for saint
Samaan the Tanner, who was standing behind him, but he
was
nowhere to be found,
and none has found him
ever after...
until the
grace
of
God revealed him afterward,
as we
shall
see.
5) Calling the mountain Al-Mokattam: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
A manuscript
in
the monastery of Anba Antonios relates that
the
Mokattam mountain was thus called because
its surface
was
level and connected,
but
it became divided
into
three
parts; one after the other, having a space
in between. (28)
The
Arabic dictionaries say that the
word "Mokattam" means "cut up." (29)
4) THE RESULTS OF THE MIRACLE
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This mighty miracle had many important results, of which we
list the following:
1) Renewing and restoring the churches:
After the miracle had been performed, the caliph Al-Mu'iz Li
Din
Illah took the
Pope aside and spoke to
him
privately, saying,
"Now, ask whatever you want
and
we will do it for you."
The
Pope answered wisely,
"The
only thing I ask is that
the Lord may lengthen your span of life, and give you victory over your enemies." The
caliph, however, insisted that the pope
should ask something, so the
Patriarch said,
"Since
you
press me to reveal my desire to you, allow me to say that I desire
that the
church of Saint
Markorios Abu Sifein (Babylon, Old Cairo) be rebuilt;
for
some mob and riffraff had torn it down, and used what
was
left of it as a storehouse
for
sugar-cane.
Also I would like the walls of the
Suspended Church to be restored, for they are now cracked."
As soon as the caliph heard these requests,
he
ordered a
clerk in his office to draw up a decree
immediately that would grant
the
Patriarch the right to do whatever he asked of the caliph.
He commanded that all
the expenses be provided for from the
state treasury... The Pope
took the decree
that
entitled him to build and restore the church, but apologized for not taking the money, and said to the
caliph,
"The
One
for
whom we
are
building the church is able
to help us complete it; he is in no need of the
money of the world."
The
church was rebuilt.
It is the life of contentedness and satisfaction with one' s portion; for Anba Abram
did not ask the caliph for any personal need or possessions.
The renewal of the
church of Markorios Abu Sifein a herald of a new age
of
building and renewal. A great
number of churches were restored, especially in Alexandria.
2) The peace of the
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The
miracle of moving the
Mokattam mountain had a profound effect on the all people,
and the fear of the
Lord fell upon all
the people
in
the country, big and small, for history records this, saying:
Peace replaced upheaval and war. And Anba Abram's heart was full of assurance toward his faithful people.. (30)
One of the reasons why peace
prevailed in the church was due to what
was
said about the caliph himself...
( 31) This reminds us of what happened with the Emperor the Roman empire Constantine the
Great, who,
after
seeing the
sign of the cross in his sleep,
and realized victory in his battles, believed in Christ.
There is nothing too difficult for the
Lord, for the
grace
of
God can enter into the courts of kings and emperors;
taking captivity captives and giving gift unto men.
Our
teacher the apostle
Paul wrote, "All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar's household." (Php 4"22)
5) RECORDING THE MIRACLE
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Providence willed it
that this miracle
should be eternalized down the ages and remain intact in the intellect of the people, untainted by the
years and undiminished by the forgetfulness of man. But remain a witness to
God's glory and surpassing power that can shake
and
move mountains. This miracle
will
remain to tell the whole
world in every generation that the gates of hell
shall not prevail against
the
church of God, but that every weapon that was formed against
it
shall not prosper...
H. H. Pope Shenouda III has reflected all these meanings in his poem "FOR THE CHURCH"
of which we quote the following excerpt:
The gates of hell shall not prevail
against you, So rest assured and relax ,
for the One crucified is with
you.
Ask about the time of Al-Mu'iz, for it knows it out of experience; Ask it how by faith you moved the Mokattam,
A mountain that shook because of you, and you willed it, You could break into pieces.
You who forget, understand the heart of history.
The means thereby this miracle
was immortalized are:
1) The three day fast that precedes the Christmas fast: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
The
Pope Anba Abram the
Syrian decided to make the three days which the church fasted on account
of
this miracle as a
continuing ordinance in the church, which all the
Copts should keep. After these
three days were added to the Christmas fast, it became
43 days after it has once
been 40 only. It
begins on November 25.
each year.
Here
is what history has to say about it:
Anba Abram has appended three
days to the Christmas fast, which used to be
forty days; these three
days being the days which the
Christians fasted under that Patriarch to remove the impending flail
from them which came about because of the wiles of the Jewish minister
Jacob Ibn Killis. (32)
2) The icon of the two saints,
Anba Abram and Samaan the Tanner: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP An icon adorns the northern wall in the
yard of the church of The Virgin Mary, which is known as "The
Suspended Church",
in
Old Cairo that dates back to the
fifteenth century AD (which is five centuries after the miracle, and it must have been drawn from another picture that we
do not have at present). This icon represents
Anba Abram and Saint
Samaan the Tanner, and together with them the Virgin Mary appears in the picture.
(33)
3) The building of a church in the name of Saint Samaan the Tanner
in the Mokattam mountain:
The
will of God decreed that
the
first
church to be built in the
memory of this miracle
after ten centuries of its
occurrence. It was built on the Mokattam
itself under H. H. Pope
Shenouda
III in 1974,
as we
shall
see later on.
6) A RESEARCH ON THE
DETERMINATION
OF THE DATE
OF THE MIRACLE
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History has recorded the miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain showing that it took place
under the caliph Al-Mu'iz Li
Din
Illah Al-Fatimi, which coincides with the time
of
Pope Abram the Syrian the
62.
Patriarch, at the hands of Saint Samaan the Tanner.
But history does not record the day, the month,
and the year in which the miracle was performed, which is a remarkable thing indeed!
Maybe the reason for this neglect is the fact that the miracle was such a supernatural
occurrence
to the
historians of that era that they deemed it
superfluous to back up historically, for
on that day an unforgettable earthquake shook the earth, and it was kept in people's minds by the power of its effect that shook the
souls.
So it was meant to
remain intact in the minds,
down the ages...
But forgetfulness is human,
therefore
history is found lacking in the determination of the date of the miracle.
In fact, it is
not difficult to know the
exact day, month, and year of the miracle, for we
can
get to know that by comparing the events that occurred at the time of the miracle. This we shall try to clarify in our research,
by
the
grace of God and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.
1) Determining the
year of the miracle: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
In order to be able to deduce
the
year in which the miracle
took place,
let
us review the following:
(A) The miracle must have happened
between year 975
and 979 AD.
The
miracle was performed under Pope Abram The Syrian who was ordained as patriarch in AD 975 and
rested in peace in AD 979. So the miracle
should be restricted to these two dates.
(B) The miracle must have happened in the same year of the renewal of the church of Abu Sifein:
The renewal of this church was one of the results of the miracle. When the caliph insisted the
Pope should ask
for him something which he
(the caliph) promised to carry out, the Pope
asked for a permission to renew the church of Markorios Abu Sifein in Old Cairo.
History says:
And he ordered, immediately, that
a legal paper
of
entitlement should written him... (34) And it also says:
The caliph commanded that he
should be given the church of Abu Sifein right away (35)
The
word "immediately" and the word "right
away" indicate that
the permission to renew the
church and hand
over took place directly after the miracle,
namely in the
same
year of the miracle.
It is well established from history that
the renewal of the church had begun also at
the time
of
the miracle, namely shortly after the
permission was issued and the
church was handed over. Our evidence of this is the historical record of the
events that occurred at the beginning of the renewal of the
church.
When the decree that Al-Mu'iz issued was read in front of the
church of Abu Sifein, the mobs gathered
in clamor and objection, declaring that they would not allow anyone to rebuild the church.
The caliph heard of what had happened,
and got furiously angry to the extent that he
rode his steed and headed his army to Babylon, to the spot where
Anba Abram wanted to work.
As soon as he arrived there, he ordered the builders to work i his presence and under his own supervision. When the mobs saw how firm the caliph Al-Mu'iz was,
they stood there in silence
and just looked at him as if stricken with awe. (36)
These facts confirm that
the building of the church of Abu Sifein was started directly after the miracle, for the
caliph was still so impressed and enthusiastic that he himself came
in
order to enable
the
pope to work on the building.
It is a historical fact that the rebuilding of the
Markorios Abu Sifein church was in AD 979.( 37)
(C) Then the
year the miracle took place was approximately AD 979:
This is because the year of the rebuilding of the church of Markorios Abu Sifein is supposed to have followed
the
miracle directly.
2) Determining the
day of the miracle: GO TOch3.html - UPch3.html - UP
(A) It is an established historical fact that the
Patriarch Anba Abram
called for a three day
fast for the miracle
to happen, saying to the bishops, the priests and the
people whom he gathered in the
Suspended Church:
"We are
to fast and pray these
three days which I have asked of the caliph as respite, so that the Lord
may
show mercy upon us in His grace,
and provide us a way of deliverance." (38)
(B) It is also estabished historically that
in
the third day of the
fast, the miracle happened ...
for
it is recorded
that " In the morning
of the third day the
Patriarch told the Caliph that he is going to move the montain
.." (39)
(C) It is also known historically that these
three days of fasting were
added to the Christmas fast, for it is
recorded that "three days
were appended to the Christmas fast, which used to be forty days only... These
three days are the days which the Christians fasted under the
Patriarch to remove the impending
flail
from them which came about because of the
wiles of the Jewish minister." (40)
(D) The question that concerns us here is that
why this three day fast of the miracle was added to the Christmas fast in particular?!!
Has this been done haphazardly, irrationally?!!
But how could we conceive
it has been so done?!! And could the church accept such an act?!!
Then, there
must be a reason and a relationship between these
three days and the Christmas fast.
(E) If it
were up to the church to append these
days
to any other fast, it would have rather added it to the fast
of
Jonah or the
fast of the Virgin; and this is for the following reasons:
1) The addition to the fast of Jonah:
The
fast of Jonah was introduced by Pope Abram the Syrian who himself introduced the three
day
fast of the
moving of the Mokattam mountain.
For
being Syrian himself,
he
kept up the
fast of Jonah which the Syrian
church observed. Now when he was ordained a Patriarch of the
Coptic
church, he observed it in its time, and the people
followed suit and kept this custom till this day. (41)
So then,
if were
the up to the Pope's choice to append this three
day
fast of the miracle,
he
would have added to the
fast of Jonah, especially
that the
two
fasts share a common nature, namely were
fasts in times of distress.
For the
fast of Jonah was observed because of
the distress that
the
people of Nineveh had to go through, for which they implored the tender mercies of God, and the
fast of the moving of the
Mokattam mountain was because of
the distress that
came over the
people of Egypt, for which they implored
the tender mercies of God. Furthermore,
it
is quite a small number of days of one
adds three to three, which six days in all, while
the
addition of three
to forty is quite the opposite. For 43 days are not a
short period of time at
all.
2) The addition to the fast of the
Virgin Mary:
If it were up to the church to add the three day
fast of the miracle to any other fast, it would have been in the
second place to add it to the fast of the Virgin Mary (42), since
it was the Virgin herself that
appeared to the Patriarch and guided him to Saint
Samaan the Tanner. So it would have rather added these three
days to her
fast to glorify her and in remembrance
of
her intercession.
But since
these three
days
were added to neither of these two fasts, which otherwise deserve that this fast be added to them,
then there remains the suspended question: why were
these three
days appended to the Christmas fast?!!
In attempt to
answer this question,
we say that the Patriarch Abram the Syrian seems, on historical accounts,
to
have been quite minute as to keeping the dates of the fasts on their occasions, for history says:
When the date
of
Nineveh's fast had fully come,
he fasted it and his children followed suit,
and
therefore the
Coptic church
kept this custom till
this day. (43)
So it is most probable, and in fact it is
a correct assumption,
that the three
day fast regarding the moving of the
Mokattam mountain was fasted by the
people just before the Christmas fast, and after the same
fashion which
our
church kept till this day.
The
Christmas fast used to begin on November28. each year and last till the
Christmas (January 7), which makes 40 days in all.
But
when the fast
of
the moving of the Mokattam was added to it, the sum total
became
43 days and people began to observe it starting from November 25 every year.
And since
the miracle took
place on the third day of the fast, then it took place
on
November 27.
So according to this research, it is true, the date of the miracle
would be Hatur 18. 695 ,
namely November 27.
979 AD.
3) Celebrating the
memory of this miracle:
At any rate, whether this assumption is correct or not, it is
still fitting to celebrate
the memory of this miracle
during the first three days of the
Christmas fast, namely from November 25.
till
November 27. every
year, simply because they are the
days that were
appended to the Christmas fast in remembrance
of
this great
miracle
of
moving the Mokattam mountain. F
or this reason, these
three days in particular should be a period of spiritual revival,
daily meetings, and divine masses for the memory of this supernatural wonder, for the
victories of faith,
and
for the church's triumph over all
the powers of evil,
and over every weapon that formed
against it, according to the
sure and faithful divine promises.
"And I tell
you
that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and
the gates of Hades will not overcome it." (Mt 16:18)
"No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute
every tongue that
will accuse you." (Is 54:17) My great God, I thank You because that which is impossible with men is possible
with You. However great the mountain may be, Your power is much greater.
My Lord, grant
my complete faith and confidence
in Your hand which raises mountains. Allow me, Lord, to
come
to You, imploring, "Lord, I believe. help my lack of faith." Let me place my small unable hand into Your big able hand that moves the mountains of weakness and doubt from my heart. And help me continue being confident
in You, trusting You, proud of You. Amen.
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{
P
R
I CHAPTER 4
T E
}
THE BUILDING OF ST. SAMAAN
CHURCH IN MOKATTAM
MOUNTAIN
1) The trash
collectors in Mokattam.
2) A trash collector calls a minister.
3) The confirmation of God of the calling.
4) Fleeing like Jonah.
5) The miracle of the New Testament piece of
paper.
6) Choosing
the site of the church.
7) Building a church of tin.
8) Replacing
tin with bricks.
9) The
present church building.
10) The miracle of the water needed for building.
11) The miracle of healing a smashed head.
12) His Holiness
the Pope visits the church.
"He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, with
the princes of their
people."
(Ps 113:8)
THE TRASH COLLECTORS LIVE ON A HILL ON THE MOKATTAM.
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At the end of 1969 his excellency the governor of Cairo issued a decree to the
end of removing all the trash collectors of Cairo to one of the hills of the
Mokattam to live there. So they built themselves primitive houses, simply
huts of tin that are called
in
their vernacular " Zaraayib" (namely pigsties). They were
thus named after the place where donkeys and pigs live,
and all
the
other livestock they reared up;
such as goats and cattle.
The number of the trash collectors that live in that area reached about 15,000 according to the research of the
International Bank which was carried out in July, 1987.
But, by the grace
of
God, this number has doubled
now.
Every person had a primitive trash cart that
looked like a wooden box carried on two wheels and pulled by two donkeys, or more,
depending on the difficult uphill to the mountain which was not paved in the past.
These trash collectors collect trash from the houses of many sectors of Cairo,
and upon returning to their huts, they sort out the trash and classify them.
They pick out from the trash all that is fitting for pigs and cattle to
eat, as for the paper,
glass, plastic, cloth and stuff like that, they are resold to specialized tradesmen,
after they are sorted
out, and the trash collectors live on what they get from selling them.
2) A TRASH COLLECTOR CALLS A MINISTER.
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A trash collector named Qiddees Ageeb Abd Al-Maseeh used to collect trash from Shubra,
and used to meet
a certain minister, who told him about the life with God and enjoying His love and grace through repen- tance. Qiddees invited this minister to visit the
Zabbaleen (the
Garbage City) area
in
the Mokattam, and he repeated
this invitation for the period of two years, from 1972-1974. But the minister would not respond.
3) GOD CONFIRMS THE CALLING
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In the morning of the first
Friday in February 1974, this trash collector met
the
same
minister, and urged him
to visit the area. The minister, then,
heard the
voice
of God inside him confirming that
this calling was from
Him.
The
minister asked
the trash collector how he
could reach this area,
and he
told how to take a bus to the foot of
the
Mokattam mountain and to wait
for
the bus line that would take him to the
Zaraayib area.
4) FLEEING LIKE JONAH.
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The
minister went to the
bus
stop and instead of taking the
bus
going to the
Mokattam he thought
better of it
and tried to escape
like Jona, he got on the bus going to the opposite direction: to Matariya!
But the divine inner voice
repeated its demand to get off this bus and go to the Zaraayib, as he was told before. He
obeyed and, when he reached the terminal, he
found Qiddees waiting for him. He
went up the hill, on
which the Zaraayib were erected.
At the entrance
of
this area, while the trash carts were tremendously active, carts going up and others coming down,
a great number of men, children, and girls; some
of
them were
driving the carts while
others helped
push the donkey uphill against the
difficulty of the road, the minister stood overwhelmed by a strange feeling
that God wanted to do something in this area!! But
what is it that God wanted in particular?!! He did not know. Therefore,
he
asked the trash collector to take him to a
quiet place to pray.
He took him to the highest place of this area, and there he
found a big gap under a huge rock.
It was a strange
cave (which is now in the monastery of Saint
Samaan the Tanner). But the minister found it a suitable
place for prayer,
and
he kept on praying in it every Sunday for three weeks, without ever talking to any of the trash collectors that
filled the place, and spread themselves over that
part of the mountain like locusts.
He would ask God in his prayers, "Lord, what do you want me to do?"
(Acts 9:6).
In
the third weeks, a strange
thing happened...
5) THE MIRACLE OF WHIRLWIND THAT CARRIED A HEAVENLY MESSAGE.
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In the third week, the minister went up to the cave, taking along two other persons.
During the prayer, a whirlwind arose causing all the
paper in the
area and the trash to be strewn everywhere.
When the
whirlwind subsided, a small piece
of
paper was cast
before the ones praying, which one of them took and gave to the minister to read its content.
To their surprise, it contained Acts 18! The minister's eyes fell upon the verses,
which read: "The Lord spoke to Paul
in
a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.
For
I am with you, and no-one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."
(Acts 18:9,10)
The
minister considered this to be God's voice
speaking to him,
or
as H. H. Pope Shenouda III has commented,
"It was not a mere piece
of
paper, but a heavenly edict." From that time on,
the minister began to take the ministry to this area
seriously.
6) CHOOSING THE SITE OF THE CHURCH.
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The minister,
together with another one, started to look for a place to minister,
even to Sunday School kids. They stood in a place at the edge
of
the area, and the
first minister remembered what he had heard from his father confessor when the latter preached,
reiterating the
saying in Joshua 1:3, "I
will give you every place where you set your foot."
In simplicity of faith, he began to set his foot on the place
where he
was
standing without telling his colleague
anything about what was going on inside him, especially that he found him moving in the opposite direction. Then they met while turning around the place in opposite direction. the minister asked his colleague
what he was doing, for which he gave an answer that astonished
the
other minister. he
said, "Isn't it
written in Joshua that "I
will give you every place
where
you
set your foot"?!!
The
minister was assured that this was the
place
that God appointed for him as a site of a church in the
Mokattam,
which has now come
true.
7) BUILDING A CHURCH OF TIN.
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After choosing the place, work was begun on a church made of tin,
with a roof made of reeds, just like
the roofs of the rest of the area, which brought back memories of the manger in Bethlehem.
The
ministry to the
Sunday School kids started, so on the first day eleven kids attended.
After that a general meeting for men and women was started. The attendance on the
first day was nine people, which was April
13.
1974.
Even though this was not an encouraging beginning,
yet it pushed these
two
ministers to pray all
the more,
and visit
the huts one
by one, speaking with everyone about the love of the
Lord Jesus Christ and about the way to repentance.
After nearly five
months, the place could no longer contain all who came. The Lord had blessed the work through the prayers of the
saint of this mountain, Samaan the Tanner.
8) REPLACING THE TIN WITH BRICKS.
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When the
place
became too small, the two ministers, together with a third one, whom the Lord added to them, were
obliged to enlarge the place by the help of the Lord. So they replaced the
tin
with bricks and reinforced concrete. But the roof was made of canvas, which made the place look like the Tabernacle on top of the holy mountain!
9) THE PRESENT CHURCH BUILDING
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After the
church was completely built with bricks, the minister went, along with his father cofessor, to H. H.
Pope Shenouda III
and told him everything that was done.
He greatly rejoiced and encouraged his children the
ministers and gave a certain sum
of
money to build a roof of concrete.
However, something happened that
obliged the
ministers to tear down that
building and erect the present church,
which was the third attempt
to build a place suitable for the holiness of God.
It so happened
the attendance
multiplied in an amazing way, and multitudes came
to the church,
which made the place too small for them all.
This compelled the minister to turn to one
blessed architect, who planned a
wonderful design for the church. Thus the building started till it became
that lofty one we
see now covering an area of about 1000 sq.m.
Many miracles took place to bring this gorgeous building to its present
state.
10) THE MIRACLE OF
PROVIDING
WATER FOR THE BUILDINGS.
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After buying the building materials,
namely gravel, cement,
steel, and bricks,
work could not have begun due
to the need for water.
This
was especially
so in that desert area whose inhabitants could not find water for their necessary needs at
that time.
Fervent prayers were lifted up and the miracle took place. One evening when the minister was returning,
he
found at the edge
of
the paved road leading up to the Mokattam City a tractor pulling a huge water container.
He asked the driver to provide him with the water necessary for the building of the church. The man agreed on the spot with no hesitation. This was the assistance of heaven!
11) THE MIRACLE OF
HEALING A SMASHED HEAD.
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One
of
the miracles that the
Lord performed
during the
building of the
church was the following. On Monday
January 19. 1967,
after the tractor had unloaded
its cargo of water, and while trying to back up,
there
was
a
child standing behind it named Adham
Kamel Abd Al-Maseeh, aged 6 years then,
who fell under the huge container's wheels. His head was bashed in under them,
and he
was
hurried to the hospital
in
a coma. The night meeting was turned into a praying meeting for Adham, so that
the
Lord may condescend and perform a
miracle.
On the fourth day, the
two
ministers went to visit the child in the hospital
and
found him
lying still on the bed
and his head was smashed, while
blood was gushing out of his nose, ears, and mouth.
The
two
minister
stood by the bed, asking the
Lord to perform a miracle
to this child,
and create him a new head,
through the intercession of Saint Samaan the Tanner the
patron saint of this church.
After seven days, the Lord glorified Himself and answered the prayer. Adham returned home in good health;
he remains a witness to our living God who can do everything and there is nothing to difficult for Him.
12) H. H. THE POPE VISITS THE CHURCH
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June
18. was
an unforgettable
day in the history of the
church, for on that day H. H. Pope
Shenouda
III visited the church. His visits of the
church were been repeated
every year on the feast of saint Samaan the Tanner
from 1978 till 1980.
The
church of Saint Samaan the Tanner receives a special attention from his holiness.
My great God,
I thank You because you are the same yesterday, today and for ever. You are with us always
and unto the end of the
age. You build Your church and the gates of hell
shall not
prevail against it. You lift it
up for ever, meeting all its needs according to Your riches in glory. I pray for this vineyard, which Your right hand has planted: Make it good and establish it, so that it might be
fruitful and that its fruit might continue in
it.
Through the
prayers of our father saints, and our father,
the
man of faith, Samaan the Tanner, do we pray. Amen.
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CHAPTER 5
THE DISCOVERY OF THE BODY
OF THE GREAT SAINT OF
FAITH SAMAAN THE TANNER
1) An erroneous
belief.
2)
How
the body of Saint Samaan the Tanner
was
discovered.
1)
1)
AN ERRONEOUS
BELIEF.
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Down
the
years, an
untrue
account of
the way
Saint
Samaan
the
Tanner
died
stuck
to the
minds
of many
members
of the
church.
In
short,
this
account
holds
that
the Saint threw
himself
under
the
Mokattam
mountain,
or
into
it,
so that
the present
people should not
honor
him for
the
miracle
of
moving the mountain.
Does
this
account
agree
with the
church
history
and
ordinance that were
handed
down
to
us
down
the generations?!
The
truth
is
that
this
account
contradicts the
church
completely. Our
proof
consists
in
the following:
First:
The
description
of
the
chroniclers
of
the
miracle:
The
first
one to write
down the
miracle
of
moving
the
Mokattam mountain was
Anba Saweeris
Ibn
Al-Muqaffaa, the
bishop
of
Ashmunin.
That
bishop
was the saint
who accompanied
Pope
Abram in his debate with Moses the Jew in the presence of the caliph Al-Mu'iz Li Din Illah Al-Fatimi, as we have mentioned above. He has recorded the
biography of Anba
Abram
in his book THE HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS.
This honorable scholar has, therefore, witnessed
the miracle
in all its stages, and written it down most clearly
in his writing
of the biography of Pope Anba
Abram
Ibn Zaraa.
All the chroniclers
and composers of church songs
have adopted
Anba
Saweeris' description of the miracle. None of them
mentioned anything contradictory to his description, for he was an eye-witness and a source for all of them as far as the miracle
is concerned.
In his description of the miracle:
1) He did not mention
anything
at all that agrees whatsoever with this
strange
account
that Saint Samaan
threw himself
under the mountain.
2) He mentioned
that Saint Samaan
posed a condition,
in his first
meeting with Pope Abram, to the Pope that no one should know
about
him until he is translated from
this world, which the Pope promised
to do:
The man, Saint Samaan,
stood,
and no-one of the multitude knew him, but for the Patriarch.
In the thirteenth century
AD, bishop
Usab, the bishop of Fuwwa,
said while describing the first
meeting
between
the Pope and Saint
Samaan, that
Saint
Samaan
said to the Pope:
Now I
ask you not to divulge
my secret,
and not to tell it to anyone. Let me be behind
you. When you worship, let me worship you, and when you draw the sign of the cross, let me do the same with
you; without letting
anybody know.
Then how could the
Saint
throw himself so that the people
might
not honor him, while no one knew him to start
with?
The only who knew about
him and his secret was the Pope.
Second: The description of
the chroniclers of the disappearance
of Saint Samaan
the Tanner after the performance of the miracle: Both
Anba Saweeris
and Anba
Usab described how Saint Samaan disappeared
directly after the miracle of moving the mountain.
In his book THE HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS says:
When they calmed down, the Patriarch
turned
around seeking the holy
man Samaan the
Tanner, but did not find him.
In a manuscript
in the
Syrian monastery,
Anba Usab
says:
Then the Patriarch turned around
looking for the Tanner [Saint
Samaan] but found him not.
From what was mentioned above in chapter 3 we know that Saint
Samaan was standing directly behind Anba Abram, for the Pope
turned around
and looked behind
him. Now, if Saint
Samaan threw himself under the mountain,
the
Pope
would have seen him. Also
the fact that he need to look
behind him searching for him, tells us either of these
two things:
1) Either Saint Samaan departed
in silence and great humility as soon as the miracle was performed, as his Lord Jesus
Christ of whom
the Bible says, "Jesus, knowing
that they intended
to come and make him king
by force, withdrew
again to a mountain by himself." (Jn
6:15)
2) Or maybe the chroniclers wanted to point to some sort of miraculous disappearance, such
the transference
of some of the Anchorite
Saints,
just as the Bible narrates the transference
of apostle
Philip (Acts 8:39) "The Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,
and the eunuch did not see him again."
2)
3) 2) HOW THE BODY OF SAINT SAMAAN THE TANNER WAS
DISCOVERED.
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First:
Locating the
burial-place of Saint Samaan the
Tanner:
In the beginning of 1989 Providence ordered it to lay it upon the heart of a certain minister to look for the remains of the saints and the martyrs buried in Old Cairo. So he looked also for the burial-place of saint Samaan the Tanner.
As a result of the guidance of Providence, he found out that great saint of faith
Samaan the Tanner was buried in a cemetery called Al-Habash in Old Cairo. Some of the most important references this minister depended on in his search were:
1) The Synaxarion (martyrologium) of Abib 19. on the death of Anba
Yo`annas the tenth Pope. (85)
On the same day as this in 1085 in July 13. 1369, the tenth Pope Yo`annas rested in peace and was buried next to Samaan the Tanner.
2) In THE HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS by Anba Usab, we read in the biography
of Pope Yo`annas X:
He died and was buried in Al-Habash next to the Tanner.
3) The Synaxarion of
Bashans
3. on the death of Pope Anba Ghubrial IV (86): On the same day as this
in 1094 in April 13.
1378, Pope Ghubrial rested
in
peace and was buried in Al-Habash next to the Tanner.
4) In THE HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS by Anba Usab, in the biography
Pope Ghubrial
IV, we read:
He rested in peace and was buried in Al-Habash next to the tanner.
The important result of this research is that:
1) Saint Samaan the Tanner was buried in Old Cairo.
2) Saint Samaan the Tanner was buried in Al-Habash cemetery in Old
Cairo.
3) Saint Samaan the Tanner was buried next to two Patriarchs.
The search was ended in the period from 1989 to 1991.
Second: The appearance of the body of saint Samaan the Tanner.
1991 was a very blessed year, for Providence had predestined it that the
restoration of the ancient church of Saint Mary in Babylon El-Darag in Old
Cairo should start that year. On Sunday August 4. 1991, during the restoration and excavating the Coptic wall of the church from the outside, exactly as deep
as 3 meters from the surface of the club adjacent to the wall, and as deep as 1 meter from the surface of the church, a skeleton of a buried person was found adjacent to the southern wall of the church from outside. When this skeleton appeared, divine awe and spiritual gladness came over all those present, and
we felt that the atmosphere was filled with invisible spiritual hosts hovering over the place.
This skeleton belongs to a person who died in his late forties, or in his
early fifties. He is short of stature, small in size, of brilliant
and beautiful
features. The miraculous
wonder is that the hair of his head
remained
intact and did
not disintegrate
because of the
high humidity of the place.
This indicated that this person had a bald head in the front, but had very thick hair in the back of his head that reached down to the back of his
neck.
The icon of Anba Abram with Saint Samaan
the Tanner, which is kept in the
Suspended church of Saint Mary, Old Cairo, confirms several features of Saint
Samaan the Tanner, which in turn are identical with the features of the discovered skeleton. These characteristics consist in his short stature, peculiar kind of
hair, and
anatomical arrangement of his skeleton.
There was also found beside the excavation, on another side outside the church of the saints Abakeer and Yohanna in the same place, a clay pot that is more that a thousand years old, which indicates that this body belongs to saint Samaan the Tanner- as Saint Mary told Pope Abram, before the miracle was performed. This pot is in the compartment belonging to Saint Samaan in his church in Mokattam, Cairo.
Up till that moment, it was not known for sure who this body belonged to, or if
it belonged to Saint Samaan.
What was left undone was to connect this burial-place and the so-called Al- Habash cemetery, so that it would be made sure that this body belonged to Saint Samaan the Tanner, especially that the icon of
Anba Abram
with Saint
Samaan the Tanner, which is kept in the Suspended church of Saint Mary, Old Cairo, confirms several
features of Saint Samaan the Tanner, which in turn are identical
with the features of the discovered skeleton. These characteristics
consist in his short stature, peculiar kind of hair, and the anatomical
arrangement of
his skeleton.
In a meeting between H. H. the honorable reverent Anba Mattaos, the general bishop of Old Cairo at the time and the abbot of the Syrian monastery now,
and the minister, who carried out this search on the where-abouts of Saint
Samaan's body, H. H. Anba Mattaos asked him to proceed with his search. The minister went out after that.
Only one hour after this meeting, the Lord sent an important reference book to this minister which located the cemetery called Al-Habash. The following is a quotation of it:
Al-Habash cemetery in Old Cairo is the same area in the excavation in the
church of saint Mary in Babylon El-Darag is being carried out. in this place the remains of
more than 13 saints were uncovered, among whom were Patriarchs,
a tube containing the head of a martyr child and the body of Saint Samaan the
Tanner. At that time we were wondering why the Patriarchs were buried outside the church.
Saint Samaan continued to appear to many of the fathers, confirming that this body belonged to him personally. The fathers were amazed of the way all the
features in the icon in the Suspended church of Saint Mary fit him. Furthermore, a copy of the research was handed to H. H. Pope Shenouda III which contained a detailed report on how the owner of this body was discovered and identified, and on the circumstances, the visions and the
appearances which accompanied this. H. H. studied the research and the report with utter thoroughness, after which H. H. declared the dependability of this research and his own belief in the fact that this
was truly the body
of Saint Samaan
the Tanner the mover of the Mokattam mountain. He declared this
during his holiness'
meeting with
the father priests in Cairo on Tuesday
July
1992, and H. H. Anba Mattaos was also present. It was such a great a day that the Lord has made, on which the heavenly beings and the earthly rejoiced and were glad.
Then H. H. the Pope ordered that the body should be divided between three
churches only, which were:
1) The church of Saint Mary in Babylon El-Darag.
2) The Suspended church of Saint Mary.
3) The church of Saint Samaan the Tanner in the Mokattam.
On Thursday July 1992, H. H. Anba Mattaos took it upon himself
to deposit
the body of
Saint
Samaan the Tanner in a tube in the church
of Saint Mary in Babylon El-Darag.
He also wrote the document that goes with it, and these are now next to the compartment
of Saint
Samaan the Tanner in the Mokattam, Cairo.
On Saturday, and in an awesome spiritual procession, the remains of Saint
Samaan the Tanner were removed to his church in Mokattam. It was a historic
day on which heaven rejoiced, and the believers were glad that the man of faith
and the example of
holiness and
temperance has come to them.
My God and Lor d Jesus Chr ist, how do I thank You for this blessed life of
whom You spoke to them. Now I feel how weak I am against this str ength of faith, and how sinful I am against this life of temper ance and holiness which Saint Samaan the Ta nner lived.
I put the lack of my faith and my many sins, or r ather my whole being, at Your
feet. My Lor d, re-for m me afr esh as
a vessel of honor suitable for the use of the master , so that I may be r eady for ever y good wor k, thr ough the blessing of my father s the apostles, the saints, the confessor s, and the mar tyr s, whose good
wor ks pleased You, thr ough the blessing of the patr on saint of this chur ch Samaan the Tanner , the blessing and pr ayer s of our blessed and honor able father Pope Shenouda III, together with the bishops and ar chbishops. Amen.
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THE INDEX
1) Forward by his holiness father Mattaos.
2) Introduction.
3) The Time of Saint Samaan the Tanner:
1) The destroying famine.
2) The construction of Cairo.
3) Chaos in Tanis.
4) The settlement of peace.
5) Religious freedom.
6) Handicrafts.
7) The state of the church.
4) Glimpses of the life of Saint Samaan the Tanner:
1) His upbringing.
2) His profession.
3) His purity.
4) His abstinence and asceticism.
5) The depth of his fellowship (A man of prayer).
6) His practical service.
7) His amazing humility.
8) His strong faith.
9) His end.
5) The miracle of moving the Mokattam mountain:
1) The incidents that paved the way for the miracle.
2) The distress is dispersed.
3) The supernatural miracle.
4) The results of the miracle.
5) Recording the miracle.
6) A research on the determination of the date of the miracle.
6) The building of the church of saint Samaan the Tanner in the Mokattam mountain:
1) The trash collectors in Mokattam.
2) A trash collector calls a minister.
3) The confirmation of God of the calling.
4) Fleeing like Jonah.
5) The miracle of the New Testament piece of paper.
6) Choosing the site of the church.
7) Building a church of tin.
8) Replacing tin with bricks.
9) The present church building.
10) The miracle of the water needed for building.
11) The miracle of healing a smashed head.
12) His Holiness the Pope visits the church.
7) The discovery of the body of Saint Samaan the Tanner:
1) An erroneous belief.
2) How the body of Saint Samaan the Tanner was discovered.
8) Footnotes. GO
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