The perfect man, the beloved lover of our good Saviour.
He was born in Shansha, a village in Menoufia Governorate, around 320 A.D. He was one of six brothers whose father passed away and their mother raised them. The mother saw an angel asking her: ‘The Lord says to you, ‘Give me one of your children to be his servant all the days of his life.’ Her answer was: ‘They are all the Lord’s, sir, whomever He wants, He will take.’ The angel reached out his hand and placed it on this saint, saying: ‘This is a good worker for the Lord.’ She asked him to choose another, and he replied: ‘The strength of the Lord is in weakness: ‘The strength of the Lord is made perfect in weakness.’
At the age of twenty, in 340 A.D., the young Bishoy went to the wilderness of Shehit to be discipled by St. Anba Moa, the disciple of St. Macarius. The saint devoted himself to worship in solitude for three years, during which time he did not leave his cell, grew in virtue, and his heart was inflamed with love for God.
As he loved to pray, he made a hole in the top of the cave, made a peg in it, and tied a rope to his head hair, so that if he fell asleep and his head became heavy, the rope would pull it and he would wake up, and as for fasting, he practised it until he fasted all week to eat on the Sabbath. His prayers and fasting were mixed with his intense love for the Word of God, so he memorised many books of the Bible, and the Book of Jeremiah had a special place in his heart. It is said that he often saw Jeremiah the prophet while reading the book, and he was called ‘Bishoy the Jeremiahite’.
He would meet Jesus on the level of friendship, enter into dialogue with him, enjoy his divine revelations, and behold him. It is said that as he persevered in his intense hermitage and prayers, Christ appeared to him to say: ‘My chosen one, Bishoy, peace be with you, I have seen your toil and labour, and behold, I am with you.’
Again, when our saint had been fasting for a long time, the Master appeared to him and said, ‘I am very tired, my beloved Bishoy.’ The saint replied, ‘I am very tired.’ The Master appeared to him and said, ‘I am very tired.’ The saint answered him: ‘You are the one who tired with me, Lord, but I did not get tired at all.’
A third time, the Master appeared to him and said: ‘Rejoice, Bishoy, are you waiting for this mountain? I am sending you monks to fill it and worship me.’ The saint said to him: ‘Lord, will you provide for them in this wilderness?’ The Lord answered: ‘If they love one another and keep my commandments, I will provide for them and sustain them in all things.’ He said: ‘Will you deliver them from all the adversities mentioned in the Gospel?’ The Lord said to him: ‘He who fears me and keeps my commandments, I will save him, and I will deliver him who obeys me from all his trials.’ Then he blessed him and rose up.
The Lord appeared to him again, and the saint prostrated himself, then took water and washed his feet, and the Lord comforted him, blessed him, and disappeared. When the disciple came, the saint asked him to drink from the water in the vase inside the cave, and insisted on him, and when he did not obey, he finally went to find the vase empty. When the disciple came, the saint asked him to drink from the water in the vase in the cave.
The monks knew about the saint that he frequently saw Christ, so they asked him to intercede for them so that they could have the privilege of seeing him like him. When he asked this for their sake, the Lord promised him that he would appear on the mountain at a date he had set, so the brothers were very happy, and all set off towards the mountain. Everyone met an old man who showed signs of fatigue and inability to walk, but no one cared for him, but Saint Anba Bishoy approached him and asked him if he would carry him, and indeed he carried him and walked with him and did not feel tired. Suddenly, the old man became heavier and heavier, and he realised that it was Jesus Christ who had come in this form. He looked at him and said: ‘The heavens cannot accommodate you, and the earth trembles at your majesty, so how can a sinner like me carry you?’ Jesus smiled at him and said: ‘Because you carried me, my beloved Bishoy, your body will not see corruption.’ Then he disappeared. His body is still preserved in his monastery and does not see corruption. When the brothers learnt what had happened, they were saddened because they had passed by the sheikh and did not receive the blessing of carrying him. The saint remained in exile until he died on 8 Abib 417 AD, at the age of 97 years.
