Born 11 November 1892 in Abou Shehata, Matai district, El‑Menya governorate, Abdel Messih repeatedly sought monastic life against familial resistance and spent time at the Monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor on el‑Qalamun mountain before joining the Monastery of Saint Macarius in Scetes (Wadi El‑Natrun). Later he moved to El‑Manahra village in Matai. Ecclesiastical recognition of his holiness is recorded by Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria. He died on Easter Sunday morning, 14 April 1963 (6 Parmouti 1669 A.M.).
The sources do not provide a detailed physical description. Contextually he would have appeared as a Coptic monk and priest—clad in monastic habit and clerical dress appropriate to mid‑20th century Coptic monasticism, living the life of a hermit/ascetic in monastery and village settings—but no direct contemporary descriptions of his height, facial features, or specific garments are supplied in the cited texts.
Sources ascribe to him ecclesiastical charisms rather than folkloric supernatural powers: he is reported to have had gifts of prescience (foreknowledge of events), discerning of spirits (spiritual discernment), and healing the sick. He is also recorded as notable for humility, strict ascetic practice, and extraordinary charity—regularly giving what he received to the needy. These features are presented within Coptic hagiography as marks of personal sanctity.
Weaknesses
- othernone recorded
Wards
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Abaddon
In Hebrew scripture Abaddon is primarily a noun meaning 'destruction' or a section/condition of the underworld paired with Sheol; in the New Testament Book of Revelation Abaddon is personified as an angelic figure (Greek Apollyon) described as the king of an army of locusts released from the abyss during the apocalypse.
Abadir
Abadir is a polysemous name attested in distinct cultural contexts: a legendary founding saint and clan ancestor in eastern Ethiopia (Sheikh Abadir Umar Al‑Rida / Aw Abadir), a term applied to cone‑shaped cult stones in Phoenician religious description, and a personal name of a martyr (Abadir/Apater) in the Coptic Synaxarium. The attestations are independent usages of the same name rather than a single supernatural being.
Abadiu of Antinoe
Abadiu of Antinoe was a fourth‑century bishop of Antinoe (Antinoopolis, in Roman Egypt) commemorated as a martyr and saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church, with a feast day on 26 December. Sources record that he was killed during a theological dispute with Arian opponents and reference him in collections of Egyptian martyrs.
Abagtha
Abagtha (Hebrew: אבגתא, ’Ǎḇaḡṯā) is a named human court official in the Hebrew Bible’s Book of Esther, listed among seven chamberlains who ministered before King Ahasuerus and were commanded to bring Queen Vashti before the king. He is attested only in Esther 1:10 and is presented as an institutional palace attendant rather than a supernatural being.
Abanoub
Abanoub is a 4th‑century Egyptian Christian child martyr venerated in the Coptic tradition. Remembered for his public confession of Christ, miraculous healings associated with his passion, and the translation and veneration of his relics, his feast is observed on July 31 (Epip 24) and his cult centers include Nehisa and Samanoud.
Abaskhiron the Soldier
A Coptic Orthodox martyr venerated for refusing imperial idolatry during the Diocletian persecution; reputedly healed by the Archangel Michael, preserved in monastery relics, and commemorated on 14 June (7 Paoni).
Abel
Abel is the second son of Adam and Eve in the Genesis narrative, a shepherd whose accepted offering and subsequent murder by his brother Cain form the biblical account of the first death. Later interpretive traditions expand his role, treating him as an archetypal righteous victim, a postmortem avenging or adjudicating figure, and in some systems (notably Mandaean) identifying him with an angelic lightbeing.
Abib and Apollo
Abib and Apollo are Christian ascetics and hagiographic saints of Akhmim (Upper Egypt) attested in Coptic sources and the Historia Monachorum. Remembered for extreme asceticism, monastic leadership, angelic encounters, and inclusion in the Coptic Synaxarion (feast day November 4).
Abiel
Abiel is attested in the supplied sources only as a male given name — borne by several historical American individuals and listed as two minor biblical figures. The provided materials contain no evidence presenting Abiel as a supernatural, mythological, or folkloric entity.
Abijah of Judah
Abijah (also Abijam or Abiah) is presented in the biblical and later interpretive traditions as a short-reigning human king of Judah from the Davidic line. He is portrayed as a dynastic successor whose military actions (notably the battle at Mount Zemaraim) and moral evaluation in rabbinic literature are interpreted theologically in relation to the Davidic covenant.
Abimelech
Abimelech is a Hebrew personal name and occasionally a regnal title attested in the Hebrew Bible and later traditions. It appears as the name/title of Philistine rulers in the patriarchal narratives (the "king of Gerar" who interacts with Abraham and Isaac) and as the personal name of Abimelech son of Jerubbaal (Gideon) in Judges, a dynastic usurper whose brief rule ends in violent death.
Abishai
Abishai is a personal name attested in several distinct sources: a biblical individual described as the eldest son of Zeruiah (sister of King David); a Semitic chief named in an inscription at Beni-Hasan in Middle Egypt; and modern cultural uses including a named monster in Dungeons & Dragons and as an artist/stage name. The supplied materials do not present Abishai as a supernatural being within a living cosmology.
Community Record
- [1]Abdel Messih El-Makari. Wikipedia, article 'Abdel Messih El-Makari'.wiki
- [2]Abdel Messih El-Makari (Wikidata). Wikidata entry Q4664764 for Abdel Messih El-Makari.other
- [3]Abouna Abdel Messih El-Makari, Coptic Saint and Hermit | Citydesert. Citydesert blog post 'Abouna Abdel Messih El-Makari, Coptic Saint and Hermit' (Jan 2014).folk
- [4]January 2014 | Citydesert | Page 4. Citydesert archive page referencing the same material.folk