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The Martyrs of Fayyom

“Their bodies were buried in peace, and their name lives on, from generation to generation.”

(Sirach 44:14)
Painting of the Icon of the Martyrs of Fayyom at St. Mary and St. Joseph Coptic Orthodox Church

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The Church of Martyrs

The Coptic Orthodox Church is known as "The Church of Martyrs" due to the huge number of martyrs in the church history who offered their lives for the sake of the faith, starting with the first Pope "Saint Mark the Apostle". He is the founder of the Coptic Church, and he was martyred in the streets of Alexandria in the first century. Persecution in the Coptic Church has occurred throughout the ages and persists in our current time.

The word "Martyr" is a Greek word, which means, "Witness". The last commandment of our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples before His ascension in the Heaven was:

“You shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

(Acts 1:8)

The early Church thought of the death of the Christians for the faith as the complete and final act of witnessing, thus the term, "Martyr" has come to mean one who witnesses for the Lord Jesus Christ by dying for His Holy Name.

Honoring the Relics of the Martyrs

The Martyrs have a special position in the Church tradition and prayers.

“As this, O Lord, is the command of Your only begotten Son, that we share in the commemoration of Your Saints.”

(Saint Basil Divine Liturgy)

Honoring the relics of the Martyrs has a biblical background as well. We read in the Old Testament, at 2 Kings 13:20-21, how a dead man came back to life when he was put in the tomb of Elisha the prophet and touched his bones:

"Then Elisha died, and they buried him. And the raiding bands from Moab invaded the land in the spring of the year. So it was, as they were burying a man, that suddenly they spied a band of raiders; and they put the man in the tomb of Elisha, and when the man was let down and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet."

And in the New Testament, at Acts 19: 11-12, we read about the healing miracles that God worked through the handkerchiefs that touched Saint Paul's body. That is why the Church honors and celebrates the relics of the Saints and Martyrs.

The Monastery of Archangel Gabriel

The monastery of Archangel Gabriel in Fayyom is an ancient monastery, also known as "Abu Khashaba", which means "the one with wood". This name refers to an old story about a piece of wood in the ceiling of the church which was an indicator of the Nile flood. It is believed that the monastic life in this monastery started in the fourth century at the time of Saint Anthony, the founder of monasticism, as some manuscripts were found in the monastery containing the rules of monasticism written by Saint Anthony to the monks living in the Fayyom desert.

The architectural form and paintings inside the church of the monastery suggest that it dates back to the tenth or the twelfth century. Fayyom city is also well known for its great late Bishop Abraam, who was a great Saint and well known for his many virtues. He departed in 1914 A.D.


Discovering the relics

During some construction work at the monastery of Archangel Gabriel in 1991, the relics of these martyrs were discovered. They were dressed in monks' clothing with crosses and leather girdles. The bodies had signs of torture; some of them were beheaded which means that they were monks who lived in the monastery at an earlier time and have been tortured to death for their Christian faith.

A body of a young child was discovered with signs of torture too. It is known in the church history that some boys used to join the monastic life at a young age, as in the story of Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite.

Some bodies were buried in old cascades made of palm sheets. The bodies were put in new caskets and the church celebrated them with a great ceremony. Many of these relics were distributed among different churches inside and outside Egypt to receive their blessings.

Their Commemoration

The church celebrates the commemoration of discovering their relics on September 1st, the 26th of the Coptic Month of Mesore.

References

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