Muslims loved him before Christians did! He was a great scholar and a virtuous man. He was granted many talents through which he could serve Egypt and his Coptic Church. He did not save them, so he managed to spontaneously draw a picture of faithful honest work that shed light on the pages of Egyptian history, narrating to us and the upcoming generations the story of “The University Professor Priest”.
The Beginning
In 1928, on the 22nd of September, Adib Abdullah Fadlallah was born in Minya Governorate, with super mental talents granted to him that rewarded him with a high degree in the field of mathematics through which he made his way: He received his Bachelor of Mathematics with honors in 1949 from Faculty of Science, Cairo University; followed by Masters degree of Applied Mathematics in the subject of General Theory of Relativity from Ain Shams University in 1959 and then the PHD in one of the most difficult and complex mathematical specialties: Complex Variables from Göttingen University, Western Germany in 1962, becoming one of the rare specialists in that field .
Practical Life
He began his career as a mathematics secondary teacher, then a teaching assistant, then a lecturer of Mathematics Department at Faculty of Science, Cairo University. In 1968, he became an assistant professor in the college and was predicted to have a great scientific future and incomparable efficiency. However, the days came carrying a surprise that Fr. Adib had never expected: Pope Kyrillos VI summoned him to be ordained a priest and to be dedicated to religious service.
Many thoughts may have stormed his mind, accompanied by a series of questions from those surrounding him: what about the prestigious job sought by many and reached by none? What about his family and his future! He had no answers, but he put all his trust in God.
Rejection and Acceptance
The next step for Dr. Adib was to submit his resignation to the Head of Mathematics Department, being totally sure that it would be accepted, but the second surprise came in the resignation being rejected, as the Department Head told him: “I have no alternative for you. Scientific Integrity requires me not to accept your resignation.” After a conversation with the College Dean, he received a letter saying: “Dr. Adib expressed his apology for not resuming his occupation in the faculty, however, for the department’s strong need for the services of Dr. Adib, he decided to combine religious service and his duties at the faculty. The department expresses thanks to Dr. Adib for this generous cooperation, it believes that performing his religious service would not at all oppose his duties in the faculty. So I ask you to address Dr. Adib that the faculty does not mind him combining religious service and working at the college, and the faculty does not mind him to come and give lectures dressed in priesthood garments.”
Thus, the University accepted Dr. Adib to combine religious and scientific work, and to give lectures in priesthood garments, followed by a similar acceptance from Pope Kyrillos VI to continue giving lectures at the university! Moreover, the Church’s plan in Dr. Adib’s ordination had changed, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate issued a certificate stating: “In 1970, the church chose Dr. Adib Abdullah Fadlallah to perform religious service in the United States of America, and was ordained a priest for this purpose. However, as Cairo University insisted then on keeping him because of its urgent need for his services and presence among the teaching staff of the university, the Church then decided to refrain from sending him abroad, in favor of the public interest.”
An thus, Adib was ordained a priest in the name of Reverend Priest Makary Abdullah, and started a life of service in both religious and scientific fields in an unprecedented incident. Al-Ahram newspaper reported then: : “It is the first time in which a priest gives lectures of Pure Mathematics at Cairo University; the story of Dr. Adib, assistant professor at the university who was converted to Priest Makary, he submitted his resignation to Faculty of Science to devote himself to religious service, however, the faculty abode him.”
An Ambassador for Egypt and the Church
A new phase in the life of Priest Makary began, in which he devoted all his talents in serving the church and the nation. He invested time, which was precious to him, in working hard to carry out this great responsibility. He bore great fruit until he became ambassador for Egypt at scientific conferences, and represented the Church in the events she passed through.
In 1973, Priest Makary received the degree of Mastership. In 1976, he became the Head of Mathematics Department for more than a period. In September 1988, he was appointed as a Tenured Professor and a member of the Mathematics Committee of the Supreme Council of Universities. He was also elected as a member of the Permanent Scientific Committee of the Sadat Academy.
The world’s major magazines have published his scientific researches, and he is universally known as Professor Fadlallah. Priest Dr. Makary travelled to represent Egypt in many conferences and seminars in many countries, including: Denmark, Poland, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Morocco, Iraq, and Senegal. He also gave lectures as a visiting professor in France, West Germany, Greece, Hungary and Cairo University Branch in Khartoum.
As for the church side, he was a member of the Coptic Ecclesiastical Delegation sent by Pope Kyrillos in November 1970 to pay tribute to the death of Catholique of Abyssinia, and he was a member of the delegation sent to the World Council of Churches on Church Education in 1971. In the countries where he travelled, he served the immigrant Coptic people who were in dire need of religious services.
His Honoring
In 1970, he won the State Incentive Award and the First Class Order of Science and Arts for his scientific researches. Newspapers stated then: “Awards granted to the winners of the State Prizes in Science: Order of the Republic of the First Class: A present from President Anwar El Sadat, Presented by Dr. Ahmed Mostafa, Minister of Scientific Research to Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, the winner of the State Merit Award for Science, and the Order of Sciences and Arts of the First Class, also to Priest Dr. Adib Fadlallah, the winner of the State Incentive Award In Mathematics, and to fourteen young scholars in different branches of science.”
He also received the Best Scientific Research Award in 1995. In appreciation of his continuous journey of giving, a solemn celebration was held for him in which he was honored by Faculty of Science, Cairo University in 2013 as one of Mathematics pioneers in Egyptian universities for his achievements and scientific researches. At the church level, Priest Makary was promoted to be Archpriest by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II on 5/3/2013.
On April, 9th, Archpriest Makary Abdullah departed from our world, yet he didn’t depart from the memory history or of those who have dealt with him: whether in religious fields, as Pope Kyrillos was reported to tell him on his ordination day: “Do you know why I will call you Makary? Because you will be beatified!”, or in scientific fields, as someone wrote: “Scientific Integrity requires me to bear witness for such virtuous teacher and great professor who taught me great science in 1999. He is a m`an of morals, modesty and science…”
Stories never end in beautiful Egypt
The General Bishop
Head of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
