I would like to felicitate all of you on the fast of Saint Virgin Mary, which begins on August 7 and lasts for two weeks, ending with her feast on August 22. Saint Virgin Mary has a lot of love, appreciation and dignity in the hearts of all Egyptians; they seek her intercessions and blessings. Saint Virgin Mary set foot on Egypt and toured its parts with Lord Christ when He was a child. Egypt’s lands and people received great blessings, which were recorded in its history in letters of light and eternity like brightness.
Religions have honored Saint Virgin Mary with great dignity, as heavens declared that she was “blessed by God” – blessed be His holy name. The Bible mentions that Archangel Gabriel was sent to her and described her in his greeting to her: “…blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God…” She replied in great modesty, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word”
Afterwards, Saint Virgin Mary chanted her immortal song praising God who lifts up every humble soul; she said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, ad my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; for behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty…” We spot an appreciation of Saint Virgin Mary’s dignity in the Quran in Surat Al-Imran: “And when the angels said, “O Mary, indeed Allāh has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds.” In Surat Al-Tahrim, “And Mary, the daughter of ʿImrān, who guarded her chastity, so We blew into [her garment] through Our angel, and she believed in the words of her Lord and His scriptures and was of the devoutly obedient.” In Surat Al-Anbiya’, “And the one who guarded her chastity. So We blew into her through Our angel, and We made her and her son a sign for the worlds.” Thus, Saint Virgin Mary has obtained unparalleled dignity throughout ages and generations.
The holy disciples and apostles of Lord Christ were the first to found the fast of Saint Virgin Mary, after Apostle Thomas told them that he had seen the angels carrying the pure body of Saint Virgin Mary after her departure. He was on his way back from India after he preached there. When Apostle Thomas met the other apostles, he asked them about Saint Virgin Mary, and he was told she departed, yet he asked to see the location of her tomb. Arriving there, they could not find the blessed body of Saint Virgin Mary, Apostle Thomas told them that he had seen angels carrying her body to heaven. The apostles longed to see that sacred scene, so they fasted, prayed to God to obtain that blessing, and fifteen days later, God showed them the body of Saint Virgin Mary and they were blessed by it.
Saint Virgin Mary never tasted comfort; her life was rather filled with many pain, difficulties and hardships, which all she endured humbly and thankfully. She used to cast all her worries upon God who always protected her. She obediently fled from Palestine to Egypt carrying Baby Jesus to escape from the soldiers seeking to kill Him, she followed Lord Christ everywhere when he was going about teaching people and curing their diseases out of compassion for them, she is the mother through whose soul a sword pierced when she saw her son being persecuted by the Jew chiefs and priests, conspiring together to kill Him. The sword cut through her heart and uprooted it while she saw Him hanged on the cross guiltless although He went about doing good for all! Saint Virgin Mary is truly the unique model for every human being who traverses the path of grief and pain. She is the one who intercedes for people and prays for all of them, so that they may find mercy and help in life pains, trials, and hardships.
Have a blessed fasting, we plead for God to keep Egypt safe and peaceful, through the intercessions of Saint Virgin Mary who blessed our precious country through coming to it, and appearing recurrently, and… stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
