The Twenty-Sixth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramhat
Baramhat 26
Departure of St.Euphrasia (Eupraxia),
the virgin
On this day the blessed
St. Euphrasia (Eupraxia) the virgin departed. She was the daughter of a
noble family in the city of Rome, who was related to Emperor Honorius.
Before her father's departure, he asked the Emperor to care for her. Her
mother went to Egypt to collect the revenues and rent of her estates and
orchards, which her husband had left her. She took her daughter, who was
nine years of age, with her, and they lodged in one of the houses of virgins.
The nuns of that convent were on high degree of asceticism, piety and devoutness,
they never ate food with meat, oil, fruits, at no time drank wine and slept
on the floor. Eupraxia loved the life in that convent, and she was pleased
with the nun that served her. That nun told her: "Promise me that you will
not leave this convent"; and she promised her that. When her mother finished
her work that she came to achieve, her daughter refused to return with
her and she said to her mother: "I have vowed myself to Christ, and I have
no need for this world, for my true Bridegroom is the Lord Christ." When
her mother knew that, she gave all her money and goods to the poor and
needy, and she lived with her daughter in the convent for many years, then
departed in peace.
When Emperor Honorius heard
that, he sent asking for her. She answered back saying that she had vowed
her self to the Lord Christ, and she can not break her covenant. The Emperor
marvelled at her wisdom and righteousness and allowed her to stay. Eupraxia
contended strenuously in the ascetic life, she fasted two days at a time,
then three, then four, and afterwards she fasted for a week at a time,
and during the Holy Lent she did not eat anything which was cooked. Satan
was jealous of her, and he smote her with an illness in her feet, gave
her pain for a long time, until God had compassion on her and healed her.
God granted her the gift of healing the sick, and she was beloved by all
the sisters and the abbess for her humility and obedience to them. One
night the abbess saw in a vision crowns which had been prepared, and she
asked: "Who are these for?", and she was told: "These crowns for your daughter
Eupraxia, she will be coming to us after a short while." The abbess told
the nuns of the vision which she had seen, and commanded them not to tell
Eupraxia about it. When her time came to depart of this world, she fell
sick of a slight fever. The abbess and the nuns gathered around St. Eupraxia
and asked her to remember them before the Divine Throne, then she departed
in peace. Then right after her departure the nun her friend departed, and
shortly after, the abbess fell sick, so she gathered the nuns and told
them: "Choose whom will be abbess over you, for I am going to the Lord."
When they came on the following morning to visit her, they found that she
had departed.
May Their prayers be with us. Amen.
Departure of Pope Peter VI, the One Hundred
and Fourth Pope of Alexandria
On this day also the church
commemorates the departure of Pope Peter VI (Petros), the one hundred and
fourth Patriarch in the year 1442 A.M. (April 2nd., 1726 A.D.). This blessed
father and spiritual angel was the son of pure and Christian parents from
the city of Assiut. They raised him well, educated him with ecclesiastic
subjects and manners and he excelled in them. His name was Mourgan, but
later on he became known by the name Peter El-Assuity. The grace of God
was on him since his young age, and when he came to the age of maturity,
he forsook the world and what in it, and longed to the monastic life. He
went to the monastery of the great St.Antonios in the mount of El-Arabah,
he dwelt there, became a monk and put on the monastic garb. He exerted
himself in worship, and when he achieved the ascetic life, purity, righteousness,
and humility, the fathers the monks chose him to be a priest. They took
him against his will to Cairo, and he was ordained a priest, for the monastery
of the great Saint Anba Paula the first hermit, among others, by the hand
of Pope Yoannis El-Toukhy (103), in the church of the Lady the Virgin in
Haret El-Roum. He increased in virtues and he became well known among the
people.
When Pope Yoannis, the above
mentioned, departed, the Chair became vacant after him for two month and
six days. They went on looking for whom was fit for this honorable rank
so they chose some priests and monks. They wrote their names on pieces
of papers, placed them over the alter and celebrated the Divine Liturgy.
On the third day after asking and supplicating God to raise the one He
chooses, the lot fell on this father, so they realized that he was the
chosen one by God. He was ordained Patriarch for the See of St. Mark on
sunday the 17th. of Mesra 1434 A.M. (August 21st., year 1718 A.D.) at the
church of St. Marcurius in Old Cairo. It was a great joy for his enthronement,
which was attended by the Christian mass, foreign dignitaries, Catholics,
Greeks, Armenians, and the military. Afterwards, Pope Peter went to visit
the cities of Lower Egypt, visited the churches, and at the end he arrived
to Alexandria to visit the church of St. Mark the evangelist in the 11th.
of Baramouda year 1438 A.M. He kissed the pure holy head of St. Mark, and
he did extensive renovation inside the church. When he was about to return
he was informed that a group in Alexandria planning to steal the holy head
so he hid it in the monastery since that time. Then he gave a lamb made
of silver as a gift and lit it over the tomb of the Evangelist, and he
encircled it by a partition with windows looking inside. He went to Lower
and Upper Egypt and the people of Egypt rejoiced.
During the days of this
father, a group of priests and deacons came, delegated by the Emperor of
Ethiopia, with extravagant gifts and a letter from the Emperor, asking
for a Metropolitan. He deliberated the subject with Mr. Lotf-Allah Abu-Yousif
a prominent notable of Cairo and others, and they all agreed on the honorable
father Khristozolo bishop of Jerusalem. He was a blessed father, and knowledgeable
teacher, so Pope Peter ordained him Metropolitan, and called him Khristozolo
III. They went with him to Ethiopia happy and joyful, and he cared for
that parish from 1720 - 1742 A.D. Pope Peter ordained Anba Athanasius bishop
for Jerusalem. During the papacy of this Pope many churches were built
and consecrated with his blessed hand. Among those churches, the church
of St. Mary on the Nile in the district of El-Maady, the church of Michael
the archangel in Babylon, and the church of St. Mina the wonder worker
in Fum El-Khalig - Cairo. The last two churches were built by the noble
and charitable Mr. Lotf-Allah Abu-Yousif by his private funds, also he
built the church of the Apostles in the monastery of St.Antonios, and also
assumed and paid the cost of the enthronement festivals of the Patriarch.
The days of this Pope were peaceful and tranquil, and he worked on implementing
the church cannons especially he stopped the divorce, for whatever the
reason. For that purpose he went to the Governor Ebn-Eiwaz and discussed
the subject with the Muslim scholars, so they gave him a formal legal opinion
and a decree that the No Divorce only apply to the Christians, and no one
can object him for that in courts. He ordered the priests not to wed except
in his presence. That was because a man, who was the son of a priest, protested
against him. The man had divorced his wife and married another without
the Patriarch's knowledge in the church. He ordered them to come before
him so he might dissolve the illegal marriage, but the man refused and
did not come. The Pope excommunicated the man, his wife and his father
the priest for he had married them. This man died after sever illness in
his mouth, and his father the priest went to the Pope, asked for his forgiveness,
the Pope absolved him and shortly after he died. This pope shepherded the
flock of Christ with the best of care, and when he completed his strife,
he fell sick for a short sickness and departed on the 26th. of Baramhat,
year 1442 A.M. in the Holy Lent. His body was placed in the tomb of the
Patriarchs in the church of St. Marcurius in Old Cairo. He remained on
the Chair for 7 years, 7 month and 11 days. He was charitable, generous
and merciful to his people as his predecessor. Pope Peter (Petros) El-Assuity
was approximately forty six years old, and he was a contemporary of Sultan
Ahmed III the Ottoman.
The Chair remained vacant for 9 month and 11 days after him. The year
this pope departed, there was an outbreak of Plaque in the land along with
severe drought, many bishops and priests departed and death befell the
people from Alexandria to Aswan.
May the lord have mercy on his people and benefit us with the prayers
and blessings of Pope Petros El-Asuity, and Glory be to God forever. Amen.