Beautiful Egypt 152 – «They Will Never Kill Us!» April 17, 2016

   In the previous article, we spoke about Pope Khail’s tribulation and imprisonment with Abba Moses and other Copts, which enticed some of them to rebel against the proconsul. Likewise, we dealt with rebellions against Marawan after he had fled to Egypt and his escape from Egypt after burning Fustat. He crossed the Nile to burn and ruin some cities in East Delta. This took place after the Abbasid troops had approached Gaza. Marawan ordered his troops to burn all the ships of Egypt, the greatest number of cities and villages, and ruin what they could in Lower Egypt. Marawan brought about horrible destruction unto Egypt, for he thought that if Khorasanians arrived to the Nile’s East bank to find it void of people, animals, plants and ships, they would return to their country.

   Marawan tortured and humiliated Pope Khail and the Coptic prisoners before the two armies. But, when he decided to kill them, his son Ubayd Allah asked him to be patient. So, he retracted and sent them back to prison.

   One manuscript recounts how at that time a renowned Copt called bin Costas, a good, brave man, used to serve Pope Khail and the prisoners by visiting them and offering them what they needed.

   While the two armies were fighting, Marawan left his troops to ruin Egypt, killing people, robbing and burning everything. So fierce were his atrocities that Egyptians’ started to moan loudly. One historian maintains, “Violence was not bound to the place where Marawan set his camp. It extended far in Upper Egypt. So, Egyptians were tormented by his sentries. These sentries tortured nuns and monks, and continued burning monasteries.” Thus, that era was one of the worst that Egyptians faced due to the severity of hardships they went through.

   Moreover, Marawan burned the bridges that linked Fustat with both Al-Roda island and Giza. Yet, the Abbasid army was able to cross the western bank of Nile, which compelled Marawan to flee to Upper Egypt, after he had put Giza parks on fire in an attempt to deter his enemies from following him. At that time, the number of his sentries had shrunk from 8000 to 400. Marawan left Pope Khail and the rest in prison. So, some Muslim Egyptians opened the prison gates and set them free. Likewise, they courteously escorted them to the residence of Abba Botros, the bishop of Giza at that time.

   With the end of the Umayyad tenure, one last battle broke out near Abu Sir which is located in Fayyum. It ended in the Abbasid’s triumph over Marawan. It had come to pass that after fleeing to Upper Egypt, he sought refuge in a church in Abu Sir. But, some of his sentries betrayed him and relinquished him to the Abbasids who besieged and killed him. On the other hand, his two sons fled to Ethiopia. One of them was killed, and the other fled to Palestine. Many of the Umayyads’ supporters in Egypt were killed, while others were imprisoned. After Marawan had been killed and his head sent to Iraq, the Umayyad State receded after a ninety-one year sovereignty. The Abbasid tenure began. This was mentioned by Taghribirdi.

   With the advent of the Abbasids, they contacted Pope Khail, treated him decently. The exempted the Peshmurians from paying “jizya”. Yet, matters did not continue peacefully. Some incidents, which we will tackle in due course, happened to that patriarch. Historians describe him as a man with, “a smiling face, adequate length. He was quiet and respectable. His teachings were like sharp swords to heretics and like salt to the faithful. God stood by him wherever he went.”

   At that hard time, Abba Moses, bishop of Usim, was a remarkable figure, not only on the ecclesiastical level, but also at proconsuls’ courts.

Abba Moses, Bishop of Usim

   He was one of the most famous personae of that time. He was born to a good Christian family. He grew up to be loving, pure, and brave. When he decided to become a monk, his parents encouraged him. So, he went to Sceti Desert where he became a disciple of a saintly monk, staying with him for eighteen years. He became known for his virtue and piety. So, he was chosen bishop of Usim during the papacy of Pope Theodorus, the forty-fifth patriarch of St. Mark’s See.

   Abba Moses cared about his congregation, refusing to have possession of anything. He cared about the soundness of faith. So, he catechized the followers of Melito who protested against the Church. He advised them to repent, but they refused. So, he excommunicated them. He had gift of working miracles. So, he healed many sick people. He was loved by all Egyptians, be they Christians or Muslims. They used to meet him on Saturdays and Sundays. He prophesied many incidents. He never abandoned his congregation during tribulations. Rather, he would keep strengthening them. He prophesied the end of tribulations and the perishing of persecutors, which did happen. When proconsul Hawtharah got to know of this, he kept Abba Moses close to him and used to consult him on some important issues. 

   It came to pass that a conflict broke out between the Melchites and the Orthodox Church over churches. Melchites used bribery to obtain permission to seize these churches. Some people asked Abba Moses to pay a bribe lest the churches be taken. But he refused, and advised them not to do so, telling them that God would intervene. Thus, it ended.

   When Abba Moses saw Marawan’s sentries taking the Pope to jail, he followed him, saying, “I expected this day to come. Whoever wants to sacrifice can follow me, for I have always longed that my tainted blood be shed for the pure Blood that was shed for us. Yet, I grieve a lot: for the time of saints had gone. We have become poor, finding nobody to share in the sacrifice.” The good elder was beaten before the proconsul. He was tortured, but he endured patiently and silently. Both he and Pope Khail were insulted and humiliated and had their beards hair plucked off before the people. When sentries saw what Abba Moses was going through, they asked him to offer some of the Church’s money against evading being beaten or tortured. Yet, he would answer saying that this money was not his, but God’s, and he was a steward. He could not spend them otherwise. They used to marvel at his honesty and love for God more than himself, being unwilling to save himself.

   When the proconsul ordered that Pope Khail be beheaded, Abba Moses hurried to him. But the executor tried to forbid him. Yet, he insisted on accompanying the Pope. However, God intervened in the nick of time. So, the proconsul retracted his decision. Yet, he put them in jail, after having their legs tied with iron chains. Amidst this pain and tribulation, Abba Moses prophesied that they would be released safely. He said, “They will never kill us. We shall remain in prison until Marawan dies.” This took place after the Abbasids came to Egypt. Abba Moses accompanied the Pope during several situations that occurred during the Abbasid tenure. Thus, the story went… Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center