I would like to wish you a blessed Virgin Mary’s fast, which began yesterday and will last for two weeks, leading to Virgin Mary’s Feast which lies on August, 22. It is one of the cherished fasts to the Egyptians; Muslims and Christians due to the deep love they keep for Virgin Mary.
She is the character mentioned with reverence and honor in the Pentateuch, the Bible and the Quran, and described with many attributes unparalleled with any character throughout history!
Solomon the Sage wrote about her in his Book of Proverbs: “Many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.” In his prophecy about her, Isaiah the Prophet said: “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel”
David the King and Prophet described her as the Queen sitting at the right hand of the King. In the Bible, Luke the Evangelist mentioned to us the conversation held between Archangel Gabriel and Virgin Mary when he preached her with the Lord Christ’s birth; He initiated his preaching with words indicating the Heaven’s honoring for her: “blessed are you among women…Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
The Quran also greatly exalts Virgin Mary, it is said about her in Al-Imran Chapter: “Behold! the angels said: “O Mary! Allah hath chosen thee and purified thee- chosen thee above the women of all nations”. In At-Tahrim Chapter, it is said: “And Mary the daughter of ‘Imran, who guarded her chastity; and We breathed into (her body) of Our spirit; and she testified to the truth of the words of her Lord and of His Revelations, and was one of the devout servants”.
And thus, Virgin Mary has occupied a unique rank and has great love and exaltedness in the hearts of all Egyptians.
The Story behind This Fast
This fast has a story: the father Apostles, and Disciples of the Lord Christ were all gathering at the departure of Saint Virgin Mary on the 21st of Tuba (30/1) except for Thomas the Apostle who was then preaching in India. On his return, he saw a heavenly scene in which the angels carried the body of Saint Virgin Mary to heaven. When Thomas the Apostle returned to the rest of the apostles, he did not tell them about what he had seen, but asked them about Saint Virgin Mary. They told him that she had departed while he was at his service, he asked them to take him to her graveyard, where they didn’t find her blessed body! At that moment, he told them about what he had seen, so the Apostles decided to fast from the first day of Masra (7/8), pleading for the Christ to allow them to see that wondrous scene; indeed, they saw it on Masra, 16th (22/8), which became a feast for Saint Virgin Mary, celebrated annually.
Saint Virgin Mary’s Life
As for the life of the Virgin Mary, it was full of righteousness and saintliness since her birth of the righteous Joachim and Hannah, who offered her to God. She lived in the Temple, serving of the House of God, and as she grew, her soul also grew up in grace, uprightness and righteousness. Thus, child Mary had lived in the temple amidst prayers, fasts and a life of righteousness and saintliness, until she left the temple and moved to live in the house of the righteous Joseph the Carpenter. The life of the Virgin was featured by many virtues, like purity, faith, service, patience, and other virtues. But I would like to talk about the endurance virtue throughout the life of Saint Virgin Mary.
Endurance
Linguistically, endurance means longsuffering and patience; this indicates the presence of difficult circumstances and hardships which man would overcome. The life of Saint Virgin Mary was never easy, but rather it was filled with troubles and sufferings that she has borne thankfully since her childhood … And … stories about beautiful Egypt never end!
The General Bishop
Head of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
