Anba Yusab Al-Abahh

• He was born in Al-Nekhela, South of Abu-Teeg in Upper Egypt; and was educated in the “kottab” annex to the church.

• He was inflamed by divine love and earnestly desired the celibate life. At the age of 25 he went to the city of Bush (in 1760) where the abbot of St. Anthony’s monastery lived.

• He was admitted to the monastery and he devoted his life to worship along with continuous reading and study, and a sincere desire of serving his brothers. He focused his attention on the study of manuscripts, research into the teachings of the Church, and theology.

• He was ordained priest, then protopriest without changing his name “Yussef.” He was filled with divine grace and news of his good reputation reached Pope Youannis XVIII (the 107th Pope of Alexandria). The Pope chose him to assist in the running of some of the affairs of the Church and the patriarchate; and to educate believers and confirm them in the Orthodox faith. For this purpose, Anba Yusab visited many dioceses throughout Egypt.

• Pope Youannis admired him for his spiritual virtues, deep theological sense, zeal for the Orthodox faith, and his rich knowledge. When the chair of the bishopric of Akhmin and Girga became vacant, the Pope ordained him against his will under the name of “Anba Yusab” in 1791.

• His predecessor was Anba Antonius who sided with Catholicism and the people revolted against him. The ruler became doubtful and ordered his imprisonment until the French Consul intervened on his behalf and he was released. However, he could not bear the fact that his people neglected him and denounced his actions, and he left to Rome.

• As the new bishop of Akhmim and Girga, Anba Yusab discovered that the Copts had many close dealings with heretics and Roman Catholic missionaries; and so he worked tirelessly to restore his flock to the Coptic Orthodox faith.

• Anba Yusab visited his people and explained to them the Orthodox dogmas and erased the confusion caused by Anba Antonius. He participated in the election of Pope Mark VIII, who succeeded Pope Youannis as Pope of Alexandria on 2 October, 1796. He took part in the election of Pope Butrus VII, who was well known as El Gawli . He attended Pope Butrus’ enthronement on 24 December, 1809.

• Anba Yusab was extremely merciful towards the poor; he did not own anything except the clothing on his body and kept in his possession only what he required for each day.

• He built a large church in his diocese and ordained a great number of priests for the pastoral care of his people. When the Pope of Rome sent a letter to the Alexandrian Pope (Youannis XVIII) to join under the former’s authority, the Pope of Alexandria asked Anba Yusab to explain to Rome the Orthodox dogmas. He wrote a very powerful reply discussing the most important points of conflict on dogma.

• Anba Yusab shepherded his people with the best spiritual and pastoral care, and when God willed that he depart from this world, he fell

Anba Yusab Al-Abahh

• ill for a short time and then returned to his monastery where he died. The monks performed his funeral prayers on 24 January, 1826.

• He lived for 91 years and was the contemporary of five popes in the See of Saint Mark the Apostle. These popes were: Youannis XVII (the 105th Pope of Alexandria), Mark VII (106th), Youannis XVIII (107th), Mark VIII (108th), and Butrus VII (109th).

• The Church has honored this great father and teacher of theology by commemorating him in the Synaxarium.

• Many books, letters and articles were written by this bishop, although he related some of them to Pope Youannis XVIII as a kind of humility and self-denial.

• Anba Yusab was the author of over thirty brief treatises on exegesis, moral theology, pastoral theology, and liturgy.

• They were collected, and usually appear in manuscripts with the title Silah al-Mu’minin (The Weapon of the Faithful).

• No particular system is evident in the order of these collections, and they may be purely chronological. This means that Anba Yusab may have added his treatises to a manuscript gradually, as he wrote them.

• There are four manuscripts in the Coptic Patriarchate Library, Cairo (Theology 137 - the most complete manuscript, Theology 138, Theology 226, and Theology 316). Two manuscripts are in the National Library, Paris (Arabe 4711 – the oldest manuscript of all; and Arabe 4790).

• Amongst Anba Yusab’s works are:

1. Silah Al-Mu’minin (The Weapon of the Faithful): These are treatises, sayings and solutions to remedy problems in the faith. It also includes information on the faith of the Coptic Orthodox Church and her teachings.

2. Al-Darrag : Anba Yusab wrote this book, but attributed the work to Pope Youannis.

3. A treatise on the existence of God, and the Trinity, and His attributes.

4. Treatises on the Incarnation of the Lord Christ: They clarify difficult points in the faith and provide an interpretation of verses from the Bible.

5. Individual commentaries on many verses from the Old and New Testaments, especially from Matthew.

6. A treatise on the Last Judgment.

7. A treatise against heretics who deny the resurrection.

8. A treatise on the sins of pride, slander, and attachment to wealth.

9. An emotional panegyric of Pope Youannis XVIII (1769-1796) for the day of his death, which occurred on 7 June, 1796. 10. Panegyric of the honorable lay leader Ibrahim El Gohari for the day of his death. 11. Panegyric of Pope Mark VIII for his funeral on 21 December, 1809.

12. A treatise on the sins that result from pride and on the benefits of humility. 13. A treatise on Confession. 14. A treatise on the fall of Satan. 15. A treatise on patience and perseverance in time of trials and tribulations.⁵ Among his sayings are:

Muallem Rizk

• Brethren, if we break the fast when the Church is fasting, we ostracize ourselves, become a stumbling block for others, and cause the weak to deteriorate .

• Do not fast with bread and salt while you are eating the flesh of people through judging and slander. Do not say, ‘I am fasting a pure fast’ while you are unclean with all types of sin .

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