Gazman Issaq Sarabamoun was born on 19 May 1919 in the village of Rahmaniya Qibli in Nag-Hammadi, Upper Egypt.
Following his schooling in Nag-Hammadi, and eager for a life of monasticism, he followed the advice of his godfather, who was a monk, to join the monastery of Saint Macarius (Abu-Maqar) in Wadi-Natroun in the Western Desert. He went there carrying a recommendation letter from Anba Abra’am, bishop of Baliana from 1921 to 1943.
Life of service
On 30 April 1939, Sarabamoun became a monk under the name Luqa al-Maqari (Luke the Maqarian). In November of the same year he was appointed a priest. Due to his piousness and owing to the love of the monks for him, he was promoted archpriest in 1943 and was appointed the Monastery Keeper.
In 1945, Father Luqa joined the seminary in the Cairo suburb of Helwan and earned a clerical degree.
After serving in various places in Egypt—Father Luqa served at St Metta’ous (St Matthew) al-Fakhouri monastery in Esna in Upper Egypt, Minshaat Ghali in Sharkiya east of the Delta, and at Mar-Girgis (St George’s) church in Agouza, Giza—Pope Kyrillos VI (patriarch from 1959-1971) appointed him his secretary.
His father confessor Abdel-Messih al-Maqari—today considered among the modern-day saints of the Coptic Church—predicted he would be a bishop and, on Sunday 7 August 1960, Pope Kyrillos VI appointed Father Luqa archbishop of Girga, Bahjoura and Farshout under the name Anba Mina.
Anba Mina looked after the congregation diligently; he was a father to all and loving to the poor. He built several churches in his bishopric and initiated a much-needed spiritual renaissance.
Living on
In May 1977, he went to live as a hermit near the village of Manahra in Mattai, Minya. He wrote many books, especially about the life and miracles of Saint Abdel-Messih al-Maqari. On 6 January 1981 Anba Mina returned to his seat in Girga where he resumed his direct responsibility towards his flock and, in May 2001, left Girga to the nearby monastery of Archangel Mikhael where he settled down for the rest of his life.
Anba Mina died on 7 November 2003 after a long struggle with illness, and was buried in the church of Abdel-Messih al-Maqari in Girga. There his body remains today, in a shrine that has become a destination for countless people who come seeking his blessings and intervention with the Divine. For them as well as for many others, Anba Mina lives on to Eternity.
That extraordinary power
Robeir al-Faris
As a secular person, I feel wary of tackling the spiritual side of a member of the clergy. But it is somehow different when the matter concerns Anba Mina, since I was party to a first-hand experience of his extraordinary power.
As a university student in Sohag, Upper Egypt, in 1997, I shared a room with a young man whom I shall call Nadi, since I am not authorised to use his real name. Nadi came from the hamlet of Naj Abu-Ali, and lived in a constant state of depression, since his father was working abroad and his mother was psychologically disturbed. She roamed the hamlets and villages aimlessly, a deed which is seen as a social disgrace and which exposed her and her family to indignity and censure.
Nadi finally decided he would go to a local witch to cast a spell that would make his mother stay home. When I knew, I managed to persuade him it might be better to go to a ‘man of God’ instead, to pray for his mother.
I had never met Anba Mina before; I had just heard of him. As we boarded the minibus to Girga I uttered a silent prayer that my friend’s hopes would not be shattered.
We reached the bishopric at 8:00pm, and were told Anba Mina had retired for the evening. No amount of pleading could persuade the secretary to let us see him. Brokenheartedly, we turned away to leave. Suddenly we heard a voice calling us, and there was Anba Mina standing at the foot of the staircase, a very thin, old man with shaking hands and eyes so sharp they seemed to go right through you. As we turned to face him he looked at Nadi and said: “Is it about your mother? Do you want me to let her settle down at home?” He prayed for Nadi’s mother then gave him a bottle of holy water for her.
We turned back and left, each gone to his home. My friend’s problem was forever resolved, and the memory of Anba Mina was forever in my heart.
WATANI International
9 November 2008