Saints, Coptic

(CE:2081a-2087b)
SAINTS, COPTIC, holy men and women recognized in Egypt who died peacefully, as distinguished from MARTYRS, also saints, who met a violent end. The saints continued to reflect their faith throughout their lives, leaving behind them information that could help posterity record their labors for Christianity. Any listing of saints is an infinitesimal fraction of the true number, who were not concerned with what posterity would say about them. Prominent among them are members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose history can be compiled from contemporary sources. They include PATRIARCHS of Alexandria, who bore the brunt of pressure from both Byzantine rulers and Islamic rulers after the Arab conquest in the seventh century. Below them ranked BISHOPS of cities and ABBOTS of monasteries. Lower than these were priests and then deacons.
In addition to these churchmen there is a tremendous number of self-denying holy persons who lived in remote monasteries in the Egyptian desert or who chose to live alone, secluded from the rest of the human race in concealed desert caves. When these solitary figures died, they left no trace of their religious existence.
The Coptic church, despite its antiquity and its major role in preserving the Christian faith in its early centuries, has suffered from the oblivion imposed on it after the Arab conquest and its consequent separation from the rest of the Christian world. Only recently has the Western world discovered the Copts and their church. A study of their saints, still in its infancy, offers unlimited possibilities for throwing light on this important area of the Christian heritage.
The following list is based essentially on De Lacy O'Leary's The Saints of Egypt in the Coptic Calendar (1937). It is an attempt to round up as many saints as the sources may yield. A considerable number do not figure in famous dictionaries of Christian saints, such as F. G. Holwek's A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints (1924), which appeared before the beginning of major inquiry into the realm of Coptic saints. Each saint is given an official commemoration day (feast day), if known. Many appear in the Copto-Arabic SYNAXARION but not all. The spelling is not necessarily that used by O'Leary, but alternatives are given. When a saint has a separate biography in the encyclopedia, the name is printed in small caps.
ABABIUS, a monk of Scetis.
ABILIUS, Auilius, Minius, Milius, or Milianos (feast day: 1 Tut), first-century patriarch of Alexandria.
ABRAAM I, or Aphraam (feast day: 3 Ba’unah), nineteenth-century bishop of the Fayyum noted for his devotion to the poor.
Abracas, or Abrakiyus (feast day: 13 Kiyahk), a native of Upper Egypt who became a monk at twenty and lived until seventy.
ABRAHAM (feast day: 6 Kiyahk), tenth-century reforming patriarch of Alexandria.
ABRAHAM OF MINUF (feast day: 30 Babah), a monk and hermit.
ABRAHAM AND GEORGE OF SCETIS (feast days: 9 Tubah and 18 Bashans respectively), monks who shared a cell at Dayr Anba Maqgar for many years.
ACHILLAS (feast day 19 Ba’unah), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Agathon (feast day: 16 Babah), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
AGATHON, anchorite.
AGATHON THE STYLITE (feast day: 15 Tut), an ascetic who lived on a pillar.
ALEXANDRA (feast day: 7 Amshir), a fourth-century recluse.
AMMONAS, a disciple of Saint ANTONY OF EGYPT.
Ammonius of Aswan (feast day: 11 Hatur), ascetic.
AMMONIUS OF KELLIA, a disciple of Saint PAMBO, a monk of Scetis.
AMMONIUS OF TUNAH (feast day: 20 Bashans), a recluse.
AMUN, or Ammon (feast day: 20 Bashans), a fourth-century church father who lived chastely with his wife for eighteen years and then at her urging became a monk in Wadi al-Natrun. Feeling too close to the well-traveled road, he went deeper into the desert to Niri or Nimone, or Kellia, where he lived alone for twenty-two years.
ANASTASIA (feast day: 26 Tubah), a sixth-century ascetic virgin, born in Constantinople.
ANBA RUWAYS (Feast day: 32 Babah), fourteenth-century monk.
ANDREW OF CRETE, seventh- to eighth-century hymn writer and theologian.
ANTONY OF EGYPT (feast day: 22 Tubah), abbot.
APOLLINARIA (formally unrecognized by the Coptic church but recognized by the Orthodox church), a "woman monk" whose life seems to recapitulate that of Saint HILARIA. According to legend she was the elder daughter of the fifth-century Western emperor Anthemius who disguised herself as a monk, Father Dorotheus, at the Monastery of Saint Macarius in Wadi al-Natrun. Her identity remained secret and she gained fame for her sanctity and miracles of healing. Her father sent her younger sister, possessed by a devil, to the monastery, where she was placed in Dorotheus' cell and healed. On returning to her father, he questioned Dorotheus and discovered "he" was his long-lost elder daughter. He allowed her to go to Scetis, where she died.
Apollo (feast day: 5 Amshir) an ascetic who was a companion of Anba Abib.
Apollo of Bawit, a native of Akhmim who was a monk at Mount Abluj or Bawit. He is the namesake of a martyr commemorated 25 Babah. He had many disciples and received a consolatory letter from Saint MACARIUS THE EGYPTIAN.
Apollonius, abbot of the Monastery at Monchosis, who helped produce a schism among the successors of Saint Pachomius over the handling of monastic properties.
Apollonius of Nitrea, an ascetic in Wadi al-Natrun for twenty years, who subsequently was a peddlar to monks in Alexandria.
Archebius, an ascetic who was later bishop of Panephysis.
ARCHELLIDES (feast day: 14 Tubah), a Roman noble who became a monk.
ARSENIUS OF SCETIS AND TURAH (feast day: 13 Bashans), fifth-century saint who was a tutor to royal children.
Athanasia of Minuf, or Ba’issah (feast day: 2 Misra), rich woman who turned her big house into a shelter for traveling monks. Later it became known as a brothel and was investigated by Hegumenos John of Scetis. She received him in her bedroom but was persuaded by his preaching to spend the rest of her life as a solitary nun. She accompanied him to the desert, where one night as she slept, John saw a pillar of light descend from heaven to her body and heard a voice declare that she was forgiven.
ATHANASIUS I THE APOSTOLIC (feast day: 7 Bashans), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
ATHANASIUS II (Feast day: 20 Tut), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Barnabas (feast day: 22 Kiyahk) a native of Qift, who was bishop of ’Aydhab. He ministered to mariners and merchants sailing the Red Sea.
Barsum the Naked, or Barsuma (feast day: 5 Nasi), saint.
BASIL THE GREAT, or Basil of Caesarea (feast day: 13 Tut), one of the doctors of the Eastern church, who performed many miracles.
BENJAMIN I (feast day: 8 Tubah), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
BESSARION (feast day: 25 Misra), disciple first of Saint ANTONY OF EGYPT and later of Saint MACARIUS THE EGYPTIAN.
Bessus, son of a slave who became hegumenos of the Monastery of Saint John Kama in Scetis in the eleventh century. He resisted al-Mustansir's black mercenaries and refused election as patriarch because of his lowly birth.
Bishoi (feast day: Abib), monk.
Bishoi, see Pshoi, below.
CASSIAN, JOHN, fourth-century monk and author.
CELADION (feast day: 9 Abib), second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CERDON (feast day: 21 Ba’unah), first-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Christodorus, saint.
Christodoulus (feast day: 14 Kiyahk), a jeweler who became an ascetic in the desert.
Chrysostom, John, see John Chrysostom, below.
CLEMENT I, or Clement of Rome, bishop of Rome at the end of the first century.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, second- to third-century writer. Cleopas, saint.
Cornelius the Centurian (feast day: 23 Hatur), saint.
Corpus, Apollo, and Peter, or Carpus, Papylus, and Peter (feast day: 16 Babah), disciples of Anba Isaiah.
COSMAS I (feast day: 30 Ba’unah), eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
COSMAS II (feast day: 21 Hatur), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
COSMAS III (feast day: 3 Baramhat), tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CRONIUS OF NITRIA, ascetic of Scetis who later served Saint ANTONY OF EGYPT and went to Alexandria, where he met PALLADIUS.
CYRIL I THE GREAT, or Cyril of Alexandria (feast day: 3 Abib), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CYRIL II (feast day: 22 Baramhat), eleventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (feast day: 18 March), fourth-century bishop of Jerusalem.
Cyrus (feast day: 8 Abib), brother of Theodosius the Great, emperor of Constantinople. He lived many years in the desert SCETIS, where PAMBO discovered him.
DAMIAN (feast day: 18 Ba’unah), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
DANIEL OF SCETIS (feast day: 8 Bashans), sixth-century abbot of Dayr Anba Maqar who was thrice seized in Berber raids. As a leader of the rejection of the Tome of Leo proposed by Justinian, he was driven from his monastery but returned after the emperor's death in 565. During another Berber invasion about 570 he was sold into slavery in Pentapolis.
DEMETRIUS I (feast day: 22 Babah), third-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Dermataus of Pemje (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), ascetic. Didymus of Tarshjebi, saint.
DIOSCURUS I (feast day: 7 Tut), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Elias of Bishwaw (feast day: 17 Kiyahk), monk of exceptional austerity.
Elias of Jeme (feast day: 17 Kiyahk), a native of Iskhim who was a recluse on Mount Shamah. His disciple, John, wrote his biography.
ELIAS OF SAMHUD (feast day: 13 Kiyahk), a sixth-century (?) monk whose birth was foretold by an angel.
EPHRAEM SYRUS, or the Syrian (feast day: 15 Abib), an important religious writer of the fourth century.
Epiphania, or Euphemia (feast day: 12 Ba’unah), a devout and charitable widow.
Epiphanius of Salamis (feast day: 17 Bashans), bishop of Cyprus who spent most of his monastic life in Egypt and introduced Egyptian monasticism to Palestine. He supported the speculative theology of ORIGEN in opposition to Saints JEROME and RUFINUS.
EUMENIUS (feast day: 10 Babah), second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Euphrasia (feast day: 26 Baramhat), the daughter of Emperor Honorius who went with her mother to Alexandria, stayed in a convent, and remained there as an ascetic.
EUPHROSYNA (feast day: 10 Babah), a fifth-century holy woman of Alexandria who lived disguised as a monk.
Ezekiel of Armant (feast day: 14 Kiyahk), ascetic.
FIS, monk.
GABRIEL I, tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
GABRIEL II IBN TURAYK (feast day: 10 Baramudah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Gelasius (feast day: 12 Amshir), saint.
GEORGE, or Jirjis al-Muzahim.
George of Scetis, see Abraham and George of Scetis, above.
Gregory (feast day: 24 Tut), a monk of Upper Egypt closely connected with Saint PACHOMIUS and Saint MACARIUS.
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, fourth-century writer. He is not commemorated with a feast day by the Coptic church.
GREGORY OF NYSSA, fourth-century theologian and younger brother of Saint BASIL THE GREAT.
HADRA OF ASWAN (feast day: 12 Kiyakh), a fifth-century bishop.
HADRA OF BENHADAB (feast day: 3 Amshir), the first monk of the mountain of Benhadab.
HARMINA (feast day: 2 Kiyahk), a wandering monk.
HERACLAS, or Theoclas (feast day: 8 Kiyakh), third-century patriarch of Alexandria.
HILARIA (feast day: 21 Tubah), a daughter of the fourth-century emperor Zeno, who lived disguised as a monk.
HILARION (feast day: 24 Baramhat), fourth-century monk of Palestine.
HOP OF TUKH, or Apa Hub (feast day: 16 Hatur), hermit.
HOR, APA (feast day: 4 Ba’unah), a native of Bahjurah who was a hermit.
HOR, APA THE ASCETIC (feast day: 2 Kiyahk), a native of Nitrea who was a disciple of Saint Pachomius.
HOR OF ABRAHAT (feast day: 2 Kiyahk), fifth to sixth-century monk.
HORSIESIOS, fourth-century monk who was the successor of Saint PACHOMIUS.
Irenaeus of Scetis, monk who fled from the Berbers to Gaza in 570.
ISAAC (feast day: 9 Hatur), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria whose life was recorded by Menas, bishop of Pshati.
ISAAC, or Isaac of al-Qalali (feast day: 19 Bashans), a fourth- to fifth-century monk and priest of Kellia.
ISAAC OF HURIN, or Ishaq al-Hurini (feast day: 22 Baramudah), an ascetic in the desert who was not discovered till shortly before his death.
ISAAC OF SCETIS (feast day: 10 Baramudah), hermit who was a disciple of Anba Apollos for twenty-five years.
Isaac the Presbyter (feast day: 19 Bashans), an adherent of ORIGEN who was expelled by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria but returned in 408, the year of the Berber invasion of Scetis.
ISAIAH OF SCETIS, or Isaiah the Hermit (feast day: 11 Abib), fifth-century anchorite whose writings influenced Eastern Christianity.
Isidorus of Hermopolis, a bishop who succeeded Dracontius and preceded Dioscorus. He met Saint Jerome, who mentioned him in epistles.
ISIDORUS OF PELUSIUM, fifth-century monk, priest, and author of a large body of letters.
ISIDORUS OF SCETIS, a fourth-century monk and priest credited with miraculous spiritual healing powers.
JACOB (feast day: 14 Amshir), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JAMES (feast day: 3 Amshir), an ascetic of Nitrea.
James of Antioch, or Jacob (feast day: 11 Babah), patriarch of Antioch and opponent of Arianism.
James of Nisibis, or Jacob (feast day: 18 Tubah), fourth-century bishop of Nisibis and teacher of Saint Ephraem Syrus. He attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
JAMES OF SCETIS, or Jacob (feast day: 5 Nasi), bishop of Misr.
JEREMIAH, fifth- to sixth-century monk.
JEROME, fourth- to fifth-century biblical scholar.
JOHN I (feast day: 4 Bashans), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN II (feast day: 27 Bashans), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN III THE MERCIFUL, seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN IV (feast day: 16 Tubah), eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN VI (feast day: 11 Tubah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN IV THE FASTER, or John Jejunator, patriarch of Constantinople.
JOHN (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), bishop of Armant.
John (feast day: 11 Baramudah), bishop of Gaza.
John (feast day: 13 Ba’unah), bishop of Jerusalem.
John (feast day: 3 Baramudah), second-century bishop of Jerusalem under Emperor Hadrian.
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (feast day: 12 Bashans), patriarch of Constantinople.
John Colobus, or John the Little (feast day: 20 Babah).
JOHN KAMA, or John the Black (feast day: 25 Kiyahk), monk of Scetis.
JOHN OF LYCOPOLIS (feast day: 21 Hatur), a fourth-century saint in the time of Emperor Theodosius.
JOHN OF PARALLOS (feast day: 19 Kiyahk), bishop of Nikiou, called bishop of Parallos in the Synaxarion. He compiled the Synaxarion.
John of the Golden Gospel (feast day: 17 Tubah), son of a Roman named Hadrian, he became a monk. He copied the Gospel of John in golden letters.
John the Confessor (feast day: 12 Kiyahk), saint.
JOSEPH THE CARPENTER (feast day: 26 Abib), spouse of the Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ.
JOSEPH OF BISHWAW (feast day: 5 Hatur), monk who lived with Saint Elias of Bishwaw.
Joseph the Bishop, or Anba Yusab (feast day: 17 Baramhat), bishop.
JUDAS CYRIACUS, second-century bishop of Jerusalem associated in legend with the discovery of the cross.
JULIAN (feast day: 8 Baramhat), second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JUSTUS, second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Justus (feast day: 10 Tubah), an ascetic.
Kha’il I, or Michael (feast day: 16 Baramhat), eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Kha’il II, or Michael II (feast day: 20 Baramhat), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
LATSON, or al-Bahnasawi (feast day: 17 Ba’unah), a native of Oxyrhynchus (al-Bahnasa).
LEO I THE GREAT, fifth-century pope.
LONGINUS (feast day: 2 Amshir), abbot of Enaton.
MACARIUS I, or Anba Maqarah (feast day: 24 Baramhat), tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MACARIUS II, or Abba Maqarah (feast day: 4 Tut), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MACARIUS ALEXANDRINUS (feast day: 6 Bashans). Macarius of Tkow, saint.
MACARIUS THE EGYPTIAN, Macarius the Great, or Macarius of Scetis (feast day: 27 Baramhat).
Macrobius (feast day: 7 Baramudah), son of a governor of Tkow in the sixth-century who became a monk and abbot of Dayr al- Balyana.
MANASSEH, sixth-century archimandrite.
Marcellus, an ascetic in Scetis who was seized in the Berber raid of 570 and sold into slavery in Pentapolis.
Marina, or Mary (feast day: 15 Misra), a "woman monk" for forty years whose sex was revealed only at her death.
MARK I (feast day: 30 Baramudah), one of the Twelve Apostles, traditionally regarded as author of the Gospel of Mark and first patriarch of the Coptic church.
MARK II (feast day: 22 Baramudah), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria. He was previously a monk of Dayr Anba Maqar in Syria.
MARK III (feast day: 6 Tubah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MARK (feast day: 10 Hatur), ascetic who left the desert to live as a beggar in Alexandria.
MARK THE SIMPLE (feast day: 10 Hatur), sixth-century monk who simulated madness as a penitence.
Martha the Egyptian (feast day: 3 Ba’unah), a dissolute woman who repented and lived in a convent for twenty-five years.
MARY OF ALEXANDRIA (feast day: 24 Tubah), a recluse.
MARY THE EGYPTIAN (feast day: 6 Baramudah), a saint.
MASIS (feast day: 11 Misra), an ascetic of Scetis.
MATTHEW I THE POOR (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), an ascetic who was a fourteenth- to fifteenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MAURITIUS (feast day: 25 Tut).
MAXIMUS (feast day: 14 Baramudah), third-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MAXIMUS AND DOMITIUS (feast day: 17 Tubah), ascetics of Scetis.
Menas, saint related to a monastery near Jeme.
MENAS (feast day: 7 Hatur), bishop of Tmuis.
Menas of Pshati, bishop of Nikiou following John. He was inspector of the monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun and the author of a Life of Anba Isaac and a Eulogy of Saint Macrobius of Pshati.
Mercurius (feast day: 1 Baramhat), an ascetic and a bishop.
MERCURIUS OF CAESAREA, or Abu Sayfayn (feast day: 25 Hatur).
MICHAEL, archangel.
Michael I, see Kha’il I, above.
Michael II, see Kha’il II, above.
MICHAEL IV, or Mikha’il IV (feast day: 30 Bashans), eleventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MICHAEL V, or Mikha’il V (feast day: 3 Baramudah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Michael (feast day: 22 Baramhat), bishop of Naqadah.
Michael of Qamulah, patron saint of Dayr al-‘Ayn at Jeme.
MINA I, or Menas I, eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MISA’IL (feast day: 13 Kiyahk), an ascetic of Dayr al-Qalumun.
Narcissus (feast day: 1 Baramhat), third-century bishop of Jerusalem who retired to the desert but returned to Jerusalem to administer its diocese again before his death about 222.
Nathaniel, ascetic of Nitria.
ONOPHRIUS, or Abu Nofer or Naber (feast day: 16 Hatur), ascetic in the inner desert.
PACHOMIUS (feast day: 14 Bashans, 14 May in the West, 15 May in the East), fourth-century abbot who established Koinonia, a community of many monasteries, which was the beginning of cenobitic monasticism.
PALAMON, fourth-century hermit in the Eastern Desert who was the mentor of Saint PACHOMIUS.
PALAMON (feast day: 30 Tubah), hermit.
PAMBO, or Pamo or Pano (feast days: 1 July in the West, 18 July in the East), fourth-century anchorite who with Saint AMMON was among the first settlers in Wadi al-Natrun.
Pambo, or Pamo or Bamfu, a fifth-century ascetic of Nitria who is often confused with the earlier Pambo.
PAPHNUTIUS OF PBOW, a fourth-century monk who was first steward of the Pachomian Koinonia.
Paphnutius, leader of a small community of ascetics at Heracleopolis.
PAPHNUTIUS THE HERMIT, or Paphnutius the Ascetic or Babnuda (feast day: 15 Amshir), an anchorite in the Western Desert.
PAPHNUTIUS OF SCETIS, fourth-century disciple of Saint Macarius of Egypt. He is known by some authors as Paphnutius Kephalas.
Paphnutius of Tabennese, saint.
PAPHNUTIUS (feast day: 11 Bashans), tenth-century monk and bishop.
Paphnutius Kephalas, fourth-century hermit, a disciple of Saint Antony, who later lived as a solitary at Scetis. Known by some authors as Paphnutius of Scetis.
Papohé, disciple of Apa Apollo and said to be the author of a Life of Apa Phib.
PATASIUS (feast day: 23 Tubah), a hermit credited with many miracles.
PATERMUTHIUS, or Termoute (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), a desert father.
PAUL OF BENHADAB (feast day: 17 Hatur).
PAUL OF THEBES, or Paul the Great or Anba Bula (feast day: 2 Amshir), the first hermit in the Eastern Desert.
PAUL THE SIMPLE, an elderly peasant who became a monk and a follower of Saint Antony.
Paul the Solitary, see Bulus al-Habis, above.
Pelagia (feast day: 11 Babah), a fifth- or sixth-century woman who dressed as a monk.
PETER II (feast day: 20 Amshir), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
PETER IV (feast day: 25 Ba’unah), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Peter (feast day: 6 Babah), ascetic who was a disciple of Anba Isaiah.
PETER OF SCETIS, or Peter the Ascetic (feast day: 25 Tubah), a sixth-century tax collector who became a monk at Scetis.
Peter the Great, an unidentified saint whose tomb is on the Rock of Benhadab.
PETER OF THE PRESBYTER (feast day: 5 Baramhat), a saint of Upper Egypt.
PETRONIUS (feast day: 27 Abib), a fourth-century monk who was a disciple and successor of Saint Pachomius.
PHIB, or Abib (feast day: 25 Babah), a monk associated with Saint APOLLO OF BAWIT and Papohé.
Philas, or Philip (feast day: 14 Babah), first-century saint, one of the seven deacons described in Acts.
PHIS, a hermit on the east bank of the Nile.
PIDJIMI (feast day: 11 Kiyahk), fifth-century ascetic and a recluse who was visited by Saint SHENUTE.
Pior, a fourth-century disciple of Saint Antony who was a solitary at Kellia for thirty years.
PISENTIUS (feast day: 20 Kiyahk), seventh-century monk and bishop of Armant.
PISENTIUS (feast day: 13 Abib), seventh-century bishop of Coptos (Qift) who was an outstanding preacher, administrator, letter writer, and servant of the poor.
PISENTIUS, fourth-to-fifth century bishop of Hermonthis.
Pitiryon, ascetic, who succeeded Saint Ammonius.
POEMEN, or Pamin or Bimin (feast day: 4 Nasi), an anchorite of the fourth and fifth centuries who was famous for his spiritual counsel to other monks.
PROCLUS (feast day: 20 November in the East, 24 October in the West), fifth-century patriarch of Constantinople.
PSHOI, or Bishoi or Peter of Akhmim (feast day: 5 Amshir), a monk who founded a monastery.
PSHOI OF TUD (feast day: 25 Kiyahk), ascetic of Upper Egypt.
Ptolemy (feast day: 24 Abib), bishop of upper Minuf.
REGULA (feast day: 1 Tut), third-century missionary who, along with her brother FELIX, was a member of the THEBAN LEGION.
Ruways, Anba, see Anba Ruways, above.
SAMUEL OF BENHADAB (feast day: 21 Kiyahk), bishop of Qift.
SAMUEL OF QALAMUN, or Samuel (feast day: 8 Kiyahk), a monk.
Sansno, a saint to whom churches are dedicated at Ballas and Fayyum.
SARAH (feast day: 15 Baramhat), an ascetic.
SARAPAMON OF SCETIS (feast day: 5 Baramhat), an ascetic of the fourteenth century or later who was hegumenus, or presbyter, of Dayr Abu Yuhannis.
SARAPION, or Serapion (feast day: 21 March), fourth-century bishop of Tmuis, disciple of Saint Antony, and friend of Saint Athanasius, who upheld the orthodox position in the Arian controversy.
SEVERIAN OF JABALAH, or Severianus (feast day: 7 Tut), bishop of Jabalah who was a great orator.
SHENUTE (feast day: 7 Abib), fourth to fifth-century abbot of Dayr Anba Shinudah, Suhaj, who was a writer and reformer.
SHENUTE I, or Sanutius (feast day: 24 Baramudah), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
SILVANUS OF SCETIS (feast day: 1 Baramudah), ascetic who was a companion of Saint Macarius the Egyptian.
Simon, or Simeon the Stylite (feast day: 29 Bashans), pillar saint of Mount Antioch.
SIMON I (feast day: 24 Abib), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
SIMON II, ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
SOPHIA, see MARTYRS, COPTIC.
Stephen (feast day: 18 Tut), presbyter.
Susinius (feast day: 21 Abib), fourth- to fifth-century eunuch and tutor of Emperor Theodosius who lived at Scetis until the Berber raid of 408. He accompanied Saint CYRIL I to the Council of Ephesus in 431.
Syriacos (feast day: 29 Tubah), saint.
Theoclas, see above "Heraclas."
THEODORA (feast day: 11 Tut), a fifth-century woman who passed as a monk at Scetis until her death.
THEODORA (feast day: 11 Baramudah), a third-century woman of Alexandria who passed as a monk.
Theodore, eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
THEODORUS, eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Theodorus, disciple of Saint Amun and first colonizer of Nitria.
THEODORUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ascetic of Scetis who fled to
Tabennese from the Berber invasion of 520.
THEODORUS OF TABENNESE, or Tadrus (feast day: 2 Bashans), ascetic in a Pachomian monastery.
THEODORUS OF PHERME, fourth- to fifth-century anchorite.
THEODOSIUS I (feast day: 28 Ba’unah), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
THEOGNOSTA (feast day: 17 Tut), fifth-century virgin who introduced Christianity to Georgia.
THEOPHILUS (feast day: 18 Babah), fourth- to fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
THEOPHILUS (feast day: 14 Tubah), a monk of Enaton.
TIMOTHEUS (feast day: 23 Kiyahk), anchorite.
TIMOTHY I (feast day: 26 Abib), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
TIMOTHY II AELURUS (feast day: 7 Misra), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
TIMOTHY II (feast day: 12 Amshir), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
VERENA, (feast day: 1 September and Easter Tuesday), fourth-century Egyptian holy woman associated with the THEBAN LEGION martyred in Switzerland.
VICTOR OF SHU, early fourth-century saint.
Warshenufe (feast day: 7 Ba’unah), saint.
Xene, fourth- to fifth-century Roman virgin who adopted monastic life in Alexandria.
Yusab (feast day: 5 Hatur), a native of Qift and a disciple of Anba Isaiah at Mount Banhadah.
YUSAB I, or Joseph (feast day: 22 Babah), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
ZACHARIAS (feast day: 13 Hatur and 9 Tubah), eleventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Zacharias, seventh-century bishop of Sa.
ZACHARIAS (feast day: 21 Amshir), eighth-century bishop of Sakha.
Zanufius (feast day: 6 Babah), ascetic who founded a convent for women at Akhmim.
ZOSIMUS (feast day: 9 Baramudah), a monk of Palestine who was closely acquainted with Saint Mary the Egyptian.
AZIZ S. ATIYA

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

(CE:2081a-2087b)
SAINTS, COPTIC, holy men and women recognized in Egypt who died peacefully, as distinguished from MARTYRS, also saints, who met a violent end. The saints continued to reflect their faith throughout their lives, leaving behind them information that could help posterity record their labors for Christianity. Any listing of saints is an infinitesimal fraction of the true number, who were not concerned with what posterity would say about them. Prominent among them are members of the ecclesiastical hierarchy, whose history can be compiled from contemporary sources. They include PATRIARCHS of Alexandria, who bore the brunt of pressure from both Byzantine rulers and Islamic rulers after the Arab conquest in the seventh century. Below them ranked BISHOPS of cities and ABBOTS of monasteries. Lower than these were priests and then deacons.
In addition to these churchmen there is a tremendous number of self-denying holy persons who lived in remote monasteries in the Egyptian desert or who chose to live alone, secluded from the rest of the human race in concealed desert caves. When these solitary figures died, they left no trace of their religious existence.
The Coptic church, despite its antiquity and its major role in preserving the Christian faith in its early centuries, has suffered from the oblivion imposed on it after the Arab conquest and its consequent separation from the rest of the Christian world. Only recently has the Western world discovered the Copts and their church. A study of their saints, still in its infancy, offers unlimited possibilities for throwing light on this important area of the Christian heritage.
The following list is based essentially on De Lacy O'Leary's The Saints of Egypt in the Coptic Calendar (1937). It is an attempt to round up as many saints as the sources may yield. A considerable number do not figure in famous dictionaries of Christian saints, such as F. G. Holwek's A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints (1924), which appeared before the beginning of major inquiry into the realm of Coptic saints. Each saint is given an official commemoration day (feast day), if known. Many appear in the Copto-Arabic SYNAXARION but not all. The spelling is not necessarily that used by O'Leary, but alternatives are given. When a saint has a separate biography in the encyclopedia, the name is printed in small caps.
ABABIUS, a monk of Scetis.
ABILIUS, Auilius, Minius, Milius, or Milianos (feast day: 1 Tut), first-century patriarch of Alexandria.
ABRAAM I, or Aphraam (feast day: 3 Ba’unah), nineteenth-century bishop of the Fayyum noted for his devotion to the poor.
Abracas, or Abrakiyus (feast day: 13 Kiyahk), a native of Upper Egypt who became a monk at twenty and lived until seventy.
ABRAHAM (feast day: 6 Kiyahk), tenth-century reforming patriarch of Alexandria.
ABRAHAM OF MINUF (feast day: 30 Babah), a monk and hermit.
ABRAHAM AND GEORGE OF SCETIS (feast days: 9 Tubah and 18 Bashans respectively), monks who shared a cell at Dayr Anba Maqgar for many years.
ACHILLAS (feast day 19 Ba’unah), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Agathon (feast day: 16 Babah), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
AGATHON, anchorite.
AGATHON THE STYLITE (feast day: 15 Tut), an ascetic who lived on a pillar.
ALEXANDRA (feast day: 7 Amshir), a fourth-century recluse.
AMMONAS, a disciple of Saint ANTONY OF EGYPT.
Ammonius of Aswan (feast day: 11 Hatur), ascetic.
AMMONIUS OF KELLIA, a disciple of Saint PAMBO, a monk of Scetis.
AMMONIUS OF TUNAH (feast day: 20 Bashans), a recluse.
AMUN, or Ammon (feast day: 20 Bashans), a fourth-century church father who lived chastely with his wife for eighteen years and then at her urging became a monk in Wadi al-Natrun. Feeling too close to the well-traveled road, he went deeper into the desert to Niri or Nimone, or Kellia, where he lived alone for twenty-two years.
ANASTASIA (feast day: 26 Tubah), a sixth-century ascetic virgin, born in Constantinople.
ANBA RUWAYS (Feast day: 32 Babah), fourteenth-century monk.
ANDREW OF CRETE, seventh- to eighth-century hymn writer and theologian.
ANTONY OF EGYPT (feast day: 22 Tubah), abbot.
APOLLINARIA (formally unrecognized by the Coptic church but recognized by the Orthodox church), a "woman monk" whose life seems to recapitulate that of Saint HILARIA. According to legend she was the elder daughter of the fifth-century Western emperor Anthemius who disguised herself as a monk, Father Dorotheus, at the Monastery of Saint Macarius in Wadi al-Natrun. Her identity remained secret and she gained fame for her sanctity and miracles of healing. Her father sent her younger sister, possessed by a devil, to the monastery, where she was placed in Dorotheus' cell and healed. On returning to her father, he questioned Dorotheus and discovered "he" was his long-lost elder daughter. He allowed her to go to Scetis, where she died.
Apollo (feast day: 5 Amshir) an ascetic who was a companion of Anba Abib.
Apollo of Bawit, a native of Akhmim who was a monk at Mount Abluj or Bawit. He is the namesake of a martyr commemorated 25 Babah. He had many disciples and received a consolatory letter from Saint MACARIUS THE EGYPTIAN.
Apollonius, abbot of the Monastery at Monchosis, who helped produce a schism among the successors of Saint Pachomius over the handling of monastic properties.
Apollonius of Nitrea, an ascetic in Wadi al-Natrun for twenty years, who subsequently was a peddlar to monks in Alexandria.
Archebius, an ascetic who was later bishop of Panephysis.
ARCHELLIDES (feast day: 14 Tubah), a Roman noble who became a monk.
ARSENIUS OF SCETIS AND TURAH (feast day: 13 Bashans), fifth-century saint who was a tutor to royal children.
Athanasia of Minuf, or Ba’issah (feast day: 2 Misra), rich woman who turned her big house into a shelter for traveling monks. Later it became known as a brothel and was investigated by Hegumenos John of Scetis. She received him in her bedroom but was persuaded by his preaching to spend the rest of her life as a solitary nun. She accompanied him to the desert, where one night as she slept, John saw a pillar of light descend from heaven to her body and heard a voice declare that she was forgiven.
ATHANASIUS I THE APOSTOLIC (feast day: 7 Bashans), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
ATHANASIUS II (Feast day: 20 Tut), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Barnabas (feast day: 22 Kiyahk) a native of Qift, who was bishop of ’Aydhab. He ministered to mariners and merchants sailing the Red Sea.
Barsum the Naked, or Barsuma (feast day: 5 Nasi), saint.
BASIL THE GREAT, or Basil of Caesarea (feast day: 13 Tut), one of the doctors of the Eastern church, who performed many miracles.
BENJAMIN I (feast day: 8 Tubah), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
BESSARION (feast day: 25 Misra), disciple first of Saint ANTONY OF EGYPT and later of Saint MACARIUS THE EGYPTIAN.
Bessus, son of a slave who became hegumenos of the Monastery of Saint John Kama in Scetis in the eleventh century. He resisted al-Mustansir's black mercenaries and refused election as patriarch because of his lowly birth.
Bishoi (feast day: Abib), monk.
Bishoi, see Pshoi, below.
CASSIAN, JOHN, fourth-century monk and author.
CELADION (feast day: 9 Abib), second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CERDON (feast day: 21 Ba’unah), first-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Christodorus, saint.
Christodoulus (feast day: 14 Kiyahk), a jeweler who became an ascetic in the desert.
Chrysostom, John, see John Chrysostom, below.
CLEMENT I, or Clement of Rome, bishop of Rome at the end of the first century.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, second- to third-century writer. Cleopas, saint.
Cornelius the Centurian (feast day: 23 Hatur), saint.
Corpus, Apollo, and Peter, or Carpus, Papylus, and Peter (feast day: 16 Babah), disciples of Anba Isaiah.
COSMAS I (feast day: 30 Ba’unah), eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
COSMAS II (feast day: 21 Hatur), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
COSMAS III (feast day: 3 Baramhat), tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CRONIUS OF NITRIA, ascetic of Scetis who later served Saint ANTONY OF EGYPT and went to Alexandria, where he met PALLADIUS.
CYRIL I THE GREAT, or Cyril of Alexandria (feast day: 3 Abib), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CYRIL II (feast day: 22 Baramhat), eleventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (feast day: 18 March), fourth-century bishop of Jerusalem.
Cyrus (feast day: 8 Abib), brother of Theodosius the Great, emperor of Constantinople. He lived many years in the desert SCETIS, where PAMBO discovered him.
DAMIAN (feast day: 18 Ba’unah), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
DANIEL OF SCETIS (feast day: 8 Bashans), sixth-century abbot of Dayr Anba Maqar who was thrice seized in Berber raids. As a leader of the rejection of the Tome of Leo proposed by Justinian, he was driven from his monastery but returned after the emperor's death in 565. During another Berber invasion about 570 he was sold into slavery in Pentapolis.
DEMETRIUS I (feast day: 22 Babah), third-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Dermataus of Pemje (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), ascetic. Didymus of Tarshjebi, saint.
DIOSCURUS I (feast day: 7 Tut), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Elias of Bishwaw (feast day: 17 Kiyahk), monk of exceptional austerity.
Elias of Jeme (feast day: 17 Kiyahk), a native of Iskhim who was a recluse on Mount Shamah. His disciple, John, wrote his biography.
ELIAS OF SAMHUD (feast day: 13 Kiyahk), a sixth-century (?) monk whose birth was foretold by an angel.
EPHRAEM SYRUS, or the Syrian (feast day: 15 Abib), an important religious writer of the fourth century.
Epiphania, or Euphemia (feast day: 12 Ba’unah), a devout and charitable widow.
Epiphanius of Salamis (feast day: 17 Bashans), bishop of Cyprus who spent most of his monastic life in Egypt and introduced Egyptian monasticism to Palestine. He supported the speculative theology of ORIGEN in opposition to Saints JEROME and RUFINUS.
EUMENIUS (feast day: 10 Babah), second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Euphrasia (feast day: 26 Baramhat), the daughter of Emperor Honorius who went with her mother to Alexandria, stayed in a convent, and remained there as an ascetic.
EUPHROSYNA (feast day: 10 Babah), a fifth-century holy woman of Alexandria who lived disguised as a monk.
Ezekiel of Armant (feast day: 14 Kiyahk), ascetic.
FIS, monk.
GABRIEL I, tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
GABRIEL II IBN TURAYK (feast day: 10 Baramudah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Gelasius (feast day: 12 Amshir), saint.
GEORGE, or Jirjis al-Muzahim.
George of Scetis, see Abraham and George of Scetis, above.
Gregory (feast day: 24 Tut), a monk of Upper Egypt closely connected with Saint PACHOMIUS and Saint MACARIUS.
GREGORY OF NAZIANZUS, fourth-century writer. He is not commemorated with a feast day by the Coptic church.
GREGORY OF NYSSA, fourth-century theologian and younger brother of Saint BASIL THE GREAT.
HADRA OF ASWAN (feast day: 12 Kiyakh), a fifth-century bishop.
HADRA OF BENHADAB (feast day: 3 Amshir), the first monk of the mountain of Benhadab.
HARMINA (feast day: 2 Kiyahk), a wandering monk.
HERACLAS, or Theoclas (feast day: 8 Kiyakh), third-century patriarch of Alexandria.
HILARIA (feast day: 21 Tubah), a daughter of the fourth-century emperor Zeno, who lived disguised as a monk.
HILARION (feast day: 24 Baramhat), fourth-century monk of Palestine.
HOP OF TUKH, or Apa Hub (feast day: 16 Hatur), hermit.
HOR, APA (feast day: 4 Ba’unah), a native of Bahjurah who was a hermit.
HOR, APA THE ASCETIC (feast day: 2 Kiyahk), a native of Nitrea who was a disciple of Saint Pachomius.
HOR OF ABRAHAT (feast day: 2 Kiyahk), fifth to sixth-century monk.
HORSIESIOS, fourth-century monk who was the successor of Saint PACHOMIUS.
Irenaeus of Scetis, monk who fled from the Berbers to Gaza in 570.
ISAAC (feast day: 9 Hatur), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria whose life was recorded by Menas, bishop of Pshati.
ISAAC, or Isaac of al-Qalali (feast day: 19 Bashans), a fourth- to fifth-century monk and priest of Kellia.
ISAAC OF HURIN, or Ishaq al-Hurini (feast day: 22 Baramudah), an ascetic in the desert who was not discovered till shortly before his death.
ISAAC OF SCETIS (feast day: 10 Baramudah), hermit who was a disciple of Anba Apollos for twenty-five years.
Isaac the Presbyter (feast day: 19 Bashans), an adherent of ORIGEN who was expelled by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria but returned in 408, the year of the Berber invasion of Scetis.
ISAIAH OF SCETIS, or Isaiah the Hermit (feast day: 11 Abib), fifth-century anchorite whose writings influenced Eastern Christianity.
Isidorus of Hermopolis, a bishop who succeeded Dracontius and preceded Dioscorus. He met Saint Jerome, who mentioned him in epistles.
ISIDORUS OF PELUSIUM, fifth-century monk, priest, and author of a large body of letters.
ISIDORUS OF SCETIS, a fourth-century monk and priest credited with miraculous spiritual healing powers.
JACOB (feast day: 14 Amshir), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JAMES (feast day: 3 Amshir), an ascetic of Nitrea.
James of Antioch, or Jacob (feast day: 11 Babah), patriarch of Antioch and opponent of Arianism.
James of Nisibis, or Jacob (feast day: 18 Tubah), fourth-century bishop of Nisibis and teacher of Saint Ephraem Syrus. He attended the First Council of Nicaea in 325.
JAMES OF SCETIS, or Jacob (feast day: 5 Nasi), bishop of Misr.
JEREMIAH, fifth- to sixth-century monk.
JEROME, fourth- to fifth-century biblical scholar.
JOHN I (feast day: 4 Bashans), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN II (feast day: 27 Bashans), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN III THE MERCIFUL, seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN IV (feast day: 16 Tubah), eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN VI (feast day: 11 Tubah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JOHN IV THE FASTER, or John Jejunator, patriarch of Constantinople.
JOHN (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), bishop of Armant.
John (feast day: 11 Baramudah), bishop of Gaza.
John (feast day: 13 Ba’unah), bishop of Jerusalem.
John (feast day: 3 Baramudah), second-century bishop of Jerusalem under Emperor Hadrian.
JOHN CHRYSOSTOM (feast day: 12 Bashans), patriarch of Constantinople.
John Colobus, or John the Little (feast day: 20 Babah).
JOHN KAMA, or John the Black (feast day: 25 Kiyahk), monk of Scetis.
JOHN OF LYCOPOLIS (feast day: 21 Hatur), a fourth-century saint in the time of Emperor Theodosius.
JOHN OF PARALLOS (feast day: 19 Kiyahk), bishop of Nikiou, called bishop of Parallos in the Synaxarion. He compiled the Synaxarion.
John of the Golden Gospel (feast day: 17 Tubah), son of a Roman named Hadrian, he became a monk. He copied the Gospel of John in golden letters.
John the Confessor (feast day: 12 Kiyahk), saint.
JOSEPH THE CARPENTER (feast day: 26 Abib), spouse of the Virgin Mary and foster father of Jesus Christ.
JOSEPH OF BISHWAW (feast day: 5 Hatur), monk who lived with Saint Elias of Bishwaw.
Joseph the Bishop, or Anba Yusab (feast day: 17 Baramhat), bishop.
JUDAS CYRIACUS, second-century bishop of Jerusalem associated in legend with the discovery of the cross.
JULIAN (feast day: 8 Baramhat), second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
JUSTUS, second-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Justus (feast day: 10 Tubah), an ascetic.
Kha’il I, or Michael (feast day: 16 Baramhat), eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Kha’il II, or Michael II (feast day: 20 Baramhat), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
LATSON, or al-Bahnasawi (feast day: 17 Ba’unah), a native of Oxyrhynchus (al-Bahnasa).
LEO I THE GREAT, fifth-century pope.
LONGINUS (feast day: 2 Amshir), abbot of Enaton.
MACARIUS I, or Anba Maqarah (feast day: 24 Baramhat), tenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MACARIUS II, or Abba Maqarah (feast day: 4 Tut), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MACARIUS ALEXANDRINUS (feast day: 6 Bashans). Macarius of Tkow, saint.
MACARIUS THE EGYPTIAN, Macarius the Great, or Macarius of Scetis (feast day: 27 Baramhat).
Macrobius (feast day: 7 Baramudah), son of a governor of Tkow in the sixth-century who became a monk and abbot of Dayr al- Balyana.
MANASSEH, sixth-century archimandrite.
Marcellus, an ascetic in Scetis who was seized in the Berber raid of 570 and sold into slavery in Pentapolis.
Marina, or Mary (feast day: 15 Misra), a "woman monk" for forty years whose sex was revealed only at her death.
MARK I (feast day: 30 Baramudah), one of the Twelve Apostles, traditionally regarded as author of the Gospel of Mark and first patriarch of the Coptic church.
MARK II (feast day: 22 Baramudah), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria. He was previously a monk of Dayr Anba Maqar in Syria.
MARK III (feast day: 6 Tubah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MARK (feast day: 10 Hatur), ascetic who left the desert to live as a beggar in Alexandria.
MARK THE SIMPLE (feast day: 10 Hatur), sixth-century monk who simulated madness as a penitence.
Martha the Egyptian (feast day: 3 Ba’unah), a dissolute woman who repented and lived in a convent for twenty-five years.
MARY OF ALEXANDRIA (feast day: 24 Tubah), a recluse.
MARY THE EGYPTIAN (feast day: 6 Baramudah), a saint.
MASIS (feast day: 11 Misra), an ascetic of Scetis.
MATTHEW I THE POOR (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), an ascetic who was a fourteenth- to fifteenth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MAURITIUS (feast day: 25 Tut).
MAXIMUS (feast day: 14 Baramudah), third-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MAXIMUS AND DOMITIUS (feast day: 17 Tubah), ascetics of Scetis.
Menas, saint related to a monastery near Jeme.
MENAS (feast day: 7 Hatur), bishop of Tmuis.
Menas of Pshati, bishop of Nikiou following John. He was inspector of the monasteries of Wadi al-Natrun and the author of a Life of Anba Isaac and a Eulogy of Saint Macrobius of Pshati.
Mercurius (feast day: 1 Baramhat), an ascetic and a bishop.
MERCURIUS OF CAESAREA, or Abu Sayfayn (feast day: 25 Hatur).
MICHAEL, archangel.
Michael I, see Kha’il I, above.
Michael II, see Kha’il II, above.
MICHAEL IV, or Mikha’il IV (feast day: 30 Bashans), eleventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MICHAEL V, or Mikha’il V (feast day: 3 Baramudah), twelfth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Michael (feast day: 22 Baramhat), bishop of Naqadah.
Michael of Qamulah, patron saint of Dayr al-‘Ayn at Jeme.
MINA I, or Menas I, eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
MISA’IL (feast day: 13 Kiyahk), an ascetic of Dayr al-Qalumun.
Narcissus (feast day: 1 Baramhat), third-century bishop of Jerusalem who retired to the desert but returned to Jerusalem to administer its diocese again before his death about 222.
Nathaniel, ascetic of Nitria.
ONOPHRIUS, or Abu Nofer or Naber (feast day: 16 Hatur), ascetic in the inner desert.
PACHOMIUS (feast day: 14 Bashans, 14 May in the West, 15 May in the East), fourth-century abbot who established Koinonia, a community of many monasteries, which was the beginning of cenobitic monasticism.
PALAMON, fourth-century hermit in the Eastern Desert who was the mentor of Saint PACHOMIUS.
PALAMON (feast day: 30 Tubah), hermit.
PAMBO, or Pamo or Pano (feast days: 1 July in the West, 18 July in the East), fourth-century anchorite who with Saint AMMON was among the first settlers in Wadi al-Natrun.
Pambo, or Pamo or Bamfu, a fifth-century ascetic of Nitria who is often confused with the earlier Pambo.
PAPHNUTIUS OF PBOW, a fourth-century monk who was first steward of the Pachomian Koinonia.
Paphnutius, leader of a small community of ascetics at Heracleopolis.
PAPHNUTIUS THE HERMIT, or Paphnutius the Ascetic or Babnuda (feast day: 15 Amshir), an anchorite in the Western Desert.
PAPHNUTIUS OF SCETIS, fourth-century disciple of Saint Macarius of Egypt. He is known by some authors as Paphnutius Kephalas.
Paphnutius of Tabennese, saint.
PAPHNUTIUS (feast day: 11 Bashans), tenth-century monk and bishop.
Paphnutius Kephalas, fourth-century hermit, a disciple of Saint Antony, who later lived as a solitary at Scetis. Known by some authors as Paphnutius of Scetis.
Papohé, disciple of Apa Apollo and said to be the author of a Life of Apa Phib.
PATASIUS (feast day: 23 Tubah), a hermit credited with many miracles.
PATERMUTHIUS, or Termoute (feast day: 7 Kiyahk), a desert father.
PAUL OF BENHADAB (feast day: 17 Hatur).
PAUL OF THEBES, or Paul the Great or Anba Bula (feast day: 2 Amshir), the first hermit in the Eastern Desert.
PAUL THE SIMPLE, an elderly peasant who became a monk and a follower of Saint Antony.
Paul the Solitary, see Bulus al-Habis, above.
Pelagia (feast day: 11 Babah), a fifth- or sixth-century woman who dressed as a monk.
PETER II (feast day: 20 Amshir), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
PETER IV (feast day: 25 Ba’unah), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Peter (feast day: 6 Babah), ascetic who was a disciple of Anba Isaiah.
PETER OF SCETIS, or Peter the Ascetic (feast day: 25 Tubah), a sixth-century tax collector who became a monk at Scetis.
Peter the Great, an unidentified saint whose tomb is on the Rock of Benhadab.
PETER OF THE PRESBYTER (feast day: 5 Baramhat), a saint of Upper Egypt.
PETRONIUS (feast day: 27 Abib), a fourth-century monk who was a disciple and successor of Saint Pachomius.
PHIB, or Abib (feast day: 25 Babah), a monk associated with Saint APOLLO OF BAWIT and Papohé.
Philas, or Philip (feast day: 14 Babah), first-century saint, one of the seven deacons described in Acts.
PHIS, a hermit on the east bank of the Nile.
PIDJIMI (feast day: 11 Kiyahk), fifth-century ascetic and a recluse who was visited by Saint SHENUTE.
Pior, a fourth-century disciple of Saint Antony who was a solitary at Kellia for thirty years.
PISENTIUS (feast day: 20 Kiyahk), seventh-century monk and bishop of Armant.
PISENTIUS (feast day: 13 Abib), seventh-century bishop of Coptos (Qift) who was an outstanding preacher, administrator, letter writer, and servant of the poor.
PISENTIUS, fourth-to-fifth century bishop of Hermonthis.
Pitiryon, ascetic, who succeeded Saint Ammonius.
POEMEN, or Pamin or Bimin (feast day: 4 Nasi), an anchorite of the fourth and fifth centuries who was famous for his spiritual counsel to other monks.
PROCLUS (feast day: 20 November in the East, 24 October in the West), fifth-century patriarch of Constantinople.
PSHOI, or Bishoi or Peter of Akhmim (feast day: 5 Amshir), a monk who founded a monastery.
PSHOI OF TUD (feast day: 25 Kiyahk), ascetic of Upper Egypt.
Ptolemy (feast day: 24 Abib), bishop of upper Minuf.
REGULA (feast day: 1 Tut), third-century missionary who, along with her brother FELIX, was a member of the THEBAN LEGION.
Ruways, Anba, see Anba Ruways, above.
SAMUEL OF BENHADAB (feast day: 21 Kiyahk), bishop of Qift.
SAMUEL OF QALAMUN, or Samuel (feast day: 8 Kiyahk), a monk.
Sansno, a saint to whom churches are dedicated at Ballas and Fayyum.
SARAH (feast day: 15 Baramhat), an ascetic.
SARAPAMON OF SCETIS (feast day: 5 Baramhat), an ascetic of the fourteenth century or later who was hegumenus, or presbyter, of Dayr Abu Yuhannis.
SARAPION, or Serapion (feast day: 21 March), fourth-century bishop of Tmuis, disciple of Saint Antony, and friend of Saint Athanasius, who upheld the orthodox position in the Arian controversy.
SEVERIAN OF JABALAH, or Severianus (feast day: 7 Tut), bishop of Jabalah who was a great orator.
SHENUTE (feast day: 7 Abib), fourth to fifth-century abbot of Dayr Anba Shinudah, Suhaj, who was a writer and reformer.
SHENUTE I, or Sanutius (feast day: 24 Baramudah), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
SILVANUS OF SCETIS (feast day: 1 Baramudah), ascetic who was a companion of Saint Macarius the Egyptian.
Simon, or Simeon the Stylite (feast day: 29 Bashans), pillar saint of Mount Antioch.
SIMON I (feast day: 24 Abib), seventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
SIMON II, ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
SOPHIA, see MARTYRS, COPTIC.
Stephen (feast day: 18 Tut), presbyter.
Susinius (feast day: 21 Abib), fourth- to fifth-century eunuch and tutor of Emperor Theodosius who lived at Scetis until the Berber raid of 408. He accompanied Saint CYRIL I to the Council of Ephesus in 431.
Syriacos (feast day: 29 Tubah), saint.
Theoclas, see above "Heraclas."
THEODORA (feast day: 11 Tut), a fifth-century woman who passed as a monk at Scetis until her death.
THEODORA (feast day: 11 Baramudah), a third-century woman of Alexandria who passed as a monk.
Theodore, eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
THEODORUS, eighth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Theodorus, disciple of Saint Amun and first colonizer of Nitria.
THEODORUS OF ALEXANDRIA, ascetic of Scetis who fled to
Tabennese from the Berber invasion of 520.
THEODORUS OF TABENNESE, or Tadrus (feast day: 2 Bashans), ascetic in a Pachomian monastery.
THEODORUS OF PHERME, fourth- to fifth-century anchorite.
THEODOSIUS I (feast day: 28 Ba’unah), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
THEOGNOSTA (feast day: 17 Tut), fifth-century virgin who introduced Christianity to Georgia.
THEOPHILUS (feast day: 18 Babah), fourth- to fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
THEOPHILUS (feast day: 14 Tubah), a monk of Enaton.
TIMOTHEUS (feast day: 23 Kiyahk), anchorite.
TIMOTHY I (feast day: 26 Abib), fourth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
TIMOTHY II AELURUS (feast day: 7 Misra), fifth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
TIMOTHY II (feast day: 12 Amshir), sixth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
VERENA, (feast day: 1 September and Easter Tuesday), fourth-century Egyptian holy woman associated with the THEBAN LEGION martyred in Switzerland.
VICTOR OF SHU, early fourth-century saint.
Warshenufe (feast day: 7 Ba’unah), saint.
Xene, fourth- to fifth-century Roman virgin who adopted monastic life in Alexandria.
Yusab (feast day: 5 Hatur), a native of Qift and a disciple of Anba Isaiah at Mount Banhadah.
YUSAB I, or Joseph (feast day: 22 Babah), ninth-century patriarch of Alexandria.
ZACHARIAS (feast day: 13 Hatur and 9 Tubah), eleventh-century patriarch of Alexandria.
Zacharias, seventh-century bishop of Sa.
ZACHARIAS (feast day: 21 Amshir), eighth-century bishop of Sakha.
Zanufius (feast day: 6 Babah), ascetic who founded a convent for women at Akhmim.
ZOSIMUS (feast day: 9 Baramudah), a monk of Palestine who was closely acquainted with Saint Mary the Egyptian.
AZIZ S. ATIYA