Abāmūn of Toukh is a Coptic

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

known only from a mention of him in the '' Synaxarion'' of Mikhail of Atrib. His feast day is 20 July (13 Abib).

Biography

He was from Toukh in the diocese of Banha. He is said to have been visited by the archangel

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name * Michael (bishop elect)">Michael (surname)">he He ..., a given nam ...

, who told Abāmūn that he would be martyred at Ansena. Abamun traveled to Ansena, There he was

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

d by the governor Eukhious by a variety of means, including the rack, fire, red-hot irons, flogging, flaying, and the furnace before he was finally beheaded. He is also said to have worked a number of miracles. After his execution, another Christian, Julius of Aqfahs, wrapped the body in cloths and had it carried back to his homeland, Toukh. Vagaries of translation have led some to believe that Mikhail went on to imply that Abāmūn's body had been taken there immediately, although other translators have made it clear that the intended meaning was more likely that the body was moved from Toukh sometime in the thirteenth century.

Veneration

Abu al-Makarim records that in the thirteenth century there was a church dedicated to Abamūn (note the spelling difference) at El-Bahnasa. He went on to say that he himself was not sure whether the church was dedicated to Abāmūn of Ṭoukh or his namesake

Abāmūn of Tarnūt Abāmūn of Tarnūt is a saint and was a martyr of the fourth-century Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Coptic Church. He is known only from his name being mentioned in the ''Synaxarion'' of Mikhail of Atrib (c.1240). His feast day is 3 August ...

. The evidence available makes it seem more likely that it was named after Abāmūn of Ṭoukh, for several reasons. One is that Julius of Aqfahs personally took care of this martyr's body, but not the other's. Another is that Mikhail specifically mentions that this Abāmūn was at the time of his writing in the Said, which indicates that there was a

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

extant at the time venerating this Abāmūn, but not the other. Lastly, there is the existing reference to this individual working a number of miracles, with no such reference made to any miracle by the other Abamun.

References

* Atiya, Aziz S. ''The Coptic Encyclopedia.'' New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1991. {{DEFAULTSORT:Abamun of Tukh Saints from Roman Egypt Angelic visionaries Michael (archangel) Torture victims Christian martyrs executed by decapitation