Saint Yostos El Antony, Yustos El Anthony, or Abouna Yustos or The Silent Monk ar, يسطس الانطونى (1910 – 1976) was a
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
from
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 ...
.
Hagiography
St Yustos was born in Zarabie El-Muharraq. His father named him Nagyib. His father was a tailor, and this was the trade in which Naguib was trained in his early years.
He left his father, mother and brother around the age of 30 and went to the
Monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite
The Monastery of Saint Paul the Anchorite in Egypt is a Coptic Orthodox monastery located in the Eastern Desert, near the Red Sea Mountains. It is about south east of Cairo. The monastery is also known as the Monastery of the Tigers.
Foundati ...
. There, he lived and worked for about 2 years but was not permitted to become a monk. As he rang the bell for prayer one day, the rope broke and after this he was required to leave this monastery.
He walked to the nearby
Monastery of Saint Anthony
The Monastery of Saint Anthony is a Coptic Orthodox monastery standing in an oasis in the Eastern Desert of Egypt, in the southern part of the Suez Governorate. Hidden deep in the Red Sea Mountains, it is located southeast of Cairo. The Monas ...
in November 1941 where the head of the monastery accepted him. After some years Naguib received the veil of a monk. Subsequently, he became known for his saintly life,
silence
Silence is the absence of ambient audible sound, the emission of sounds of such low intensity that they do not draw attention to themselves, or the state of having ceased to produce sounds; this latter sense can be extended to apply to the ce ...
and
asceticism
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
. In particular, he was known for frequently asking, "What time is it?" to remind people to be careful about every deed as this life is short and "people must give an account to God for it."
"Saint: Abouna Yostos El-Antony", ''The Rock'', SMSJ Youth Magazine, January 2020, #3
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Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
Pope Shenouda III (; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ '; ar, بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث '; 3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See ...
said of Saint Yustos that "he is the living example of the 4th century monks".
Veneration
The 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 ...
of St Yustos is celebrated on 8 Kiahk according to the Coptic Calendar
The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is a liturgical calendar used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and also used by the farming populace in Egypt. It was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoption of the Gregoria ...
used by 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 ...
. Throughout the 20th century, this will correspond to 4 December of the Julian Calendar
The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius Caesar in 46 BC, was a reform of the Roman calendar. It took effect on , by edict. It was designed with the aid of Greek mathematicians and astronomers such as Sosigenes of Alexandr ...
and 17 December of the Gregorian Calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian calendar. The principal change was to space leap years dif ...
or the day after on both if the previous year of the Coptic Calendar
The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is a liturgical calendar used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and also used by the farming populace in Egypt. It was used for fiscal purposes in Egypt until the adoption of the Gregoria ...
was a leap year
A leap year (also known as an intercalary year or bissextile year) is a calendar year that contains an additional day (or, in the case of a lunisolar calendar, a month) added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical year or s ...
.
References
External links
"Film The Silent Monk" (arabic sound + english subtitle)
{{authority control
1906 births
1976 deaths
Coptic Orthodox saints
20th-century Christian saints