He was born in a town called Nehisa in the Nile Delta. He was the only son of good Christian parents who died when he was a young child. At age twelve Abanoub entered the church to hear the priest asking the congregation to remain faithful during the persecutions provoked by Diocletian, the Roman emperor.
Journey of Martyrdom:
Saint Abanoub received the Holy Sacraments, then he prayed to God to guide him to where he can confess his faith in Jesus our Lord. After that Saint Abanoub went out, and gave all his possessions to the needy. Then he set off to a city called Samanoud, on foot. While he was walking, he saw the Archangel Michael in celestial glory. The sight was so extraordinary that Saint Abanoub fell to the ground, but the Archangel raised him up, and told him that he must suffer for three days in Samanoud and he would witness to Jesus Christ in other places also.
Upon arriving in Samannoud, St. Abanoub declared his faith openly in front of the Governor. The Governor ordered that Abanoub be tortured in many and diverse ways, but Archangel Michael would miraculously heal him after torture. The Governor then put him in jail with other Christians. In jail, St. Abanoub despite his young age, encouraged the other Christians to remain faithful to Christ (later on, those Christians were martyred for the name of Christ.
The following day, the ruler took Saint Abanoub on a boat to a city called Atrib, and as punishment, he hung Saint Abanoub upside down from the sail of the boat. The soldiers, along with their ruler, started drinking and dancing and hitting Abanoub on the mouth. Saint Abanoub’s nose bled, but then unexpectedly, the soldiers became blind and the ruler became paralyzed.
In their agony they cried to him and said, “Please Abanoub, pray to your God to heal us. For if we are cured, we will become Christians.”Saint Abanoub replied, “This will only happen in Atrib, so that everyone there should know that there is no other God but Christ.” When they arrived in Atrib, they were all healed, and they cried with joy, “We are Christians! We believe in the God of Abanoub” then they took off their uniforms and threw them on the ground in front of the ruler of Atrib. The governor got very mad, and ordered them to be killed.
The Governor of Atrib continued to torture the saint severely, but God showed His power many times and stretched His Healing Hand to St. Abanoub. Many of those who witnessed the miraculous healing of St. Abanoub and his steadfast faith became Christians, and were martyred as a result. Finally, the Governor ordered the soldiers to kill St. Abanoub by the sword.
The Great St. Julius of Ekfahs, who recorded the biographies of many of the martyrs, wrapped the young martyr’s body in fine linen and sent him to his hometown, Nehisa, where he was buried. In 960 A.D., his body was transferred to the church of Saint Mary in Samannoud, where it still lies until today. St. Mary and St. Mina Coptic Church in Syracuse, NY is blessed to have St. Abanoub’s relics. May the prayers and supplications of this great Martyr, the Child Saint Abanoub be with us. Amen
