The Twenty-Third Day of the Blessed Month of Tubah
Tubah 23
Martyrdom of St. Timothy the Apostle
On this day, of the year
97 A.D., St. Timothy, the Apostle, was martyred. He was born in the city
of Lystra of the district of Lycaonia in Asia Minor, to a Greek father
who worshipped the stars and a Jewish mother whose name was Eunice.
(Acts
16:1-2) and
(Timothy 1:5) When St. Paul preached in Lystra, this saint heard
his teachings and saw the signs that God wrought by his hands. He believed
and was baptized. Timothy rejected the gods of his father and forsook the
faith of his mother. He became a disciple of St. Paul the Apostle, followed
him in his travels, and shared his labors. In the year 53 A.D., St. Paul
ordained St. Timothy bishop over the city of Ephesus and the neighboring
cities. St. Timothy preached there and converted many to the Christian
faith and baptized them. St. Paul wrote two epistles to St. Timothy: the
first of which was in 65 A.D., and the second was shortly before 67 A.D.,
urging him, "Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine, continue in them,
for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you."
(1Tim. 4:16) He also wrote to him about the qualifications of bishop, priest,
deacon, and the widow. He cautioned him also about false prophets and commanded
him not to lay his hand on one in haste but only after thorough examinations
and testing. St. Paul called Timothy his son and his beloved. St. Timothy
delivered four epistles for St. Paul: the first was the Epistle to Corinth,
the second to Philippi, the third to Thessalonica, and the fourth to the
Hebrews. St. Timothy shepherded the flock of Christ extremely well, and
he illumined minds by his teachings, instructions, and admonitions. He
continued to rebuke the Jews and the Greeks, therefore they envied him
and congregated against him and started beating him until he was martyred
in the city of Ephesus. The believers took his body and buried it.
May His prayers be with us all. Amen.
Departure of Pope Kyrillos (Cyril) the
Fourth, the One Hundred and Tenth Pope of Alexandria
On this day also, the great
father Pope Kyrillos IV (Cyril), 110th Pope of Alexandria, departed. He
was born in the town of Sawamaa of the district of the city of Girga, to
righteous parents in the year 1816 A.D. They gave him the name David (Daoud)
after his grandfather. His father brought him up and educated him well.
He grew up despising the things of the world and its vanities. When he
was 22 years old, he went to the monastery of St. Anthony, where he conducted
himself virtuously and lived an ascetic life, which convinced the abbot
of the monastery, Father Athanasius (El-Kalousni), to clothe him with the
garb of the monks. He
continued to read and to study the holy books. Two years after David's
ordination as a monk, the abbot of the monastery departed. David (Daoud)
was chosen, by the consensus of the monks, to become their abbot. Pope
Petros "El-Gawli" (Anba Petros VII), 109th Pope of Alexandria, ordained
him a priest, and he appointed him as abbot of the monastery. He took care
of the state of affairs of the monastery and those concerning the monks.
He was very sharp intellectually
and was very well versed in religious matters. When a problem transpired
among the Ethiopians concerning some doctrinal issues, the Pope, Anba Petros
called upon him to go to Ethiopia to solve these problems. He performed
his duty admirably. Father Daoud returned on July 13, 1852, to find that
Pope Petros had departed on April 15, 1852. When they tried to choose a
successor to the Pope, there was a split in the people's opinions. Some wanted Father Daoud and others wanted to choose someone else.
Finally they decided to ordain Father Daoud an auxiliary bishop in the
year 1853. He performed his duties as such, for a year and two months,
during which, he showed discretion and good conduct, that made him worthy
to be chosen patriarch on the 28th of Bashanse of 1571 A.M. (1854 A.D.).
He devoted all his efforts to disciplining the youth and educating them.
He established the great Coptic school in the patriarchate. He also established
another school in Haret-El-Sakkayeen. He paid great attention to the teaching
of the Coptic language. He also established a great printing house and
printed many church books. Generally, the progress of the Copts at that
time attributed to his efforts. He demolished the old church in the Patriarchate
and built another, but he could not complete it because of his absence
in Ethiopia for the second time. This great pontiff upheld the canons of
the church, and was charitable to the poor and the needy, and was deeply
loved by his flock. He departed on the 23rd of Tubah in 1577 A.M. (1861
A.D.)
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.