The previous article talked about St. Antony the Father of monks and his meeting with St. Paul the First Hermit, who died and St. Antony buried him then he presented his biography to us. We also talked about Pope Athanasius the Apostolic who was St. Antony’s disciple for almost three years;and about the support he got from St. Anthony againstthe deceptive teachings of Arius.
When St. Anthony felt that he is departing this world, he asked his disciples to hide his body! In addition he asked themto give his stick to St. Macarius the Great, his garment to Pope Athanasius, his cloth whichwas made of fleece to bishop Serapion whilst he left his wool garment to his two disciples. As for what St. Antony left to the world: he presented the system of monasticism which he started by the end of the third Century AD; and it flourished in the fourth century with the spreading of hundreds of monasteries, thousands of monks cells and caves throughout our beloved Egypt!
That was how the name of St. Antony was associated with the name of every monk detached himself fromthe world to be united with God throughout the whole world.
And today; I would like to talk about a contemporary monk who is considered to be from the fourth century! A monk who truly knew the meaning of monastic life and lived it in complete separation from all and unity to the One in a marvelous simplicity, an outstanding wisdom and carried out his monastic vows: poverty, chastity and obedience; he is the Thrice Beatified Ischemic monk Fr. Zosima Ava Mina.
Fr. Zosima was born on 12/1/1939 in Cairo having the name Fekry from two Christian Orthodox parents; who were Mr. Abd Allah and his mother Mrs. Elizabeth. He graduated from the faculty of Engineering, Ain Shams University in 1961; then he joined the army in 1968. He participated in the glorious October War 1973;he also participated with engineer Baqi Zaki Yusuf Major General and Chief of Staff in thinking of the way to destroy the Bar Lev Line to defend his homeland and share its victories. He talked a lot about Major General Baqiand how the people of Egypt succeeded in defending their homeland; then he worked at Egyptian National Railways.
Fekry loved the life of solitude, loneliness and longed to monastic life; so he left his family and his successful career as an engineer and went to St. Mina monastery in Marriot on 18/7/1977and he was named brother Antony.
On 24/6/1978, he was ordained as a monk among the seventh group of the monastery’s ordinations; his sequence was the fifteenth among his fellow monks. Since then he led an accurate monastic life.
His monastic life had a clear purpose: he received the Little Ischeme, and then the heavenly grace guided the Thrice Beatified Pope Shenouda III to grant him the Big Ischeme on 9/1/2005.
He used to reciteall the Holy Book of Psalms, praises, he did five hundred Metania (a complete prostration), he complied with silence and praises and he abstained from eating meat. He was a hermit, an ascetic as well as modest; who escaped priesthood, saying that he was not worthy of that Grace. He was so complied,accurate in his life, abstinent in his food, who used to distributeall the food that came on others and his cloth was very simple! Moreover he complied with prayers especiallythe Holy Pascha. He wrote many books and several meditations; from his sayings: “Do not be overcome by evil”; and he repeated: “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace.”
Moreover, he declined hearing any news about the world during all his life as he reminded himself that the monk had died from the world. He learnt that the plots of satan were too many and he continued his abstinence and worship with great jealousy.
When satan was unable to deceive his heart with physical pleasures, he fought him various fights, exhausting his body but he endured all the burdens just as Anthony. He was a unique monk from the fourth century rare to findnowadays.
Fr. Zosima departed this world after a long monastic life that extended more than four decades; on 30/1/2020, the eve of the commemoration of St. Anthony the Great father of all monks. That’s how monasticism passes from one generation to another.
Stories about Beautiful Egypt never end!
General Bishop,
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
