Abraham of Egypt or Abraham of Minuf was a fourth-century monk and hermit of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, is known only from the

Synaxarion Synaxarion or Synexarion (plurals Synaxaria, Synexaria; el, Συναξάριον, from συνάγειν, ''synagein'', "to bring together"; cf. etymology of ''synaxis'' and ''synagogue''; Latin: ''Synaxarium'', ''Synexarium''; cop, ⲥⲩⲛⲁ ...

. He was a native of Minuf in the Delta, born of Christian parents who held an important position in the world. We do not know at what age he joined the monastic life. From the ancient text we know only that "when he grew up, he went off to the land of

Akhmim Akhmim ( ar, أخميم, ; Akhmimic , ; Sahidic/Bohairic cop, ) is a city in the Sohag Governorate of Upper Egypt. Referred to by the ancient Greeks as Khemmis or Chemmis ( grc, Χέμμις) and Panopolis ( grc, Πανὸς πόλις and Π� ...

, to join the great

Pachomius Pachomius (; el, Παχώμιος ''Pakhomios''; ; c. 292 – 9 May 348 AD), also known as Saint Pachomius the Great, is generally recognized as the founder of Christian cenobitic monasticism. Copts, Coptic churches celebrate his feast day on ...

, who gave him the religious habit." He remained there for twenty-three years. Then he asked the permission to leave and live as a hermit in a cavern, where he stayed for sixteen years, leaving it only to receive communion every two or three years. He had at his service only a secular brother who was making fishing nets, and selling them to buy beans for him, giving alms with the rest of the money. When Abraham felt his death coming, he sent for Abba Theodore, disciple of Pachomius, then he lay down facing the east. He was buried by the monks in the cemetery of the monastery. The mention of Theodore indicates that Abraham lived at the end of the fourth century.Abraham of Minuf, Saint
Retrieved on 5 March 2018. He is considered a

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

in the

Coptic Church The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

, who hold his

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

on May 21.

References

External links

* Holweck, F. G. ''A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints''. St. Louis, MO: B. Herder Book Co. 1924. * The Coptic Encyclopedia / Aziz S. Atiya editor in chief. — Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991. — Vol. I-VIII. — . * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abraham of Egypt Christian saints in unknown century Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Saints from Roman Egypt Egyptian Christian monks 4th-century Christian saints