SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

1976 and was buried in the monastic Taphos , or graveyard. His uncorrupted body, according to his biographer, Fr. Maximous, was moved by a papal decree to one of the seven monastic churches there. His Saintly Example: The ultimate contribution a saint can leave behind is the example of his life, to shine for us who are struggling in the path of righteousness. Fr. Yustus despite his simple lifestyle and humble appearance left a lasting and profound impression on all that has the privilege of interacting with him even briefly. However the lessons he left us will live till the end of life. In particular, the following aspects of life represent part of the legacy that he left us: Life of voluntary poverty Life of rejecting worldly honors Most of the above points simply portray the life of the monk that St. Antony has practiced and envisioned for those dwelling in that place after him. What is remarkable here is not that he followed the example set by St. Antony in the 4 th century, but rather he did it in middle of the 20 th century when such virtues were stories read not examples set. Dealing with specific events to illustrate these virtues will be deferred to future articles. Love of the Coptic Language: One of the remarkable attributes of his life was his love for the use of the Coptic Language, primarily in praising God in liturgical setting. This began early in his lay days, when he learned Coptic and Arabic and was ordained a reader in his church. He never concealed his beautiful and careful reading of the Coptic Scriptures during the liturgy or the singing of the hymnology. No doubt he felt at such time, he was in the presence of whom he was praising. His singing was described by one of the senior monks in the monastery, "No Life of silence Life of Prayer Life of liturgical participation Life of earnest and voluntary handiwork Life of concealed ascetic practices

faithful. The mere deletion of what may seemingly sounds fantastic to people, in the modern way of thinking, is both presumptuous and historically inaccurate. This is due to the fact that God does honor his saints by the performance of miracles or mighty acts by them or in their name. Also the long passage of time complicates this matter even more. So the proper study of such precious evidence of the Living Bible may be as delicate as brain surgery. However, we are presented a golden opportunity to preserve such accurate records, by the study and careful documentation of such vitae that occurs in our lifetime and among us, though not always visible or known to us. The life of Fr. Yustus el-Antony is a good example. Sources: The bibliographical sources for the life of Fr. Yustus is limited, but the first mention of him in a book was over 40 years ago, by Prof. Otto Meinardus in his study about Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Desert . Fr. Maximous el-Antony wrote his biography in Arabic in 1989. This served as the major source that Fr. John Watson used in his 1993 smaller monograph about our saint as well as the substantial space he devoted to him in his 2000 book, Among the Copts . Biographical Information: He was born in 1910 in Zarabi Dir ul-Mahraf, in Asyut with the name Naguib Shah-hat. He lived in the world for 29 years. He worked in the family business of tailoring with his father. His piety showed at a young age. He learned both Arabic and Coptic and was specially known for his beautiful Coptic reading of the Scriptures in the liturgy, as a consecrated Reader. In 1939, he entered the monastery of St. Paul the Hermit at the Red Sea. In 1941, he transferred to the neighboring monastery of St. Antony. There he became a monk under the name of Justus on November 17, 1941. He lived an austere life in the monastery in a simple, quiet, devout, and content life. He worked hard, prayed often, and gave all he had to those that he thought they needed it more than he did. He left our temporal world on December 17,

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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