St_Andrew the Samualite

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The Life & Virtues of a Modern Saint:

Fr. Andrew the Samualite


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The Life of

Fr. Andrew the Samualite

Born in a simple poor family in1887 with the name YoussefKhaleel Ibrahim.

He rested in the Lord in 1989living to be over 100 years old.

Came from a village in UpperEgypt.

He lost his sight at the age of 3years old.


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His Monastic Life Because he was tutored by a Church

instructor in the Monastery of St. Samuelthe Confessor, he grew to lovemonasticism and decided to join themonastery at age 22.

The monastery of St. Samuel at that timewas one of the most difficult to live in. Itwas nearly deserted with only a smallnumber of monks. To reach themonastery, one had to go by animal. Thewater there was undrinkable and had tobe brought from other areas.

Because of his strong build and notedobedience, Fr. Andrew was given some ofthe hardest tasks at the monastery.

He was known for totally isolating himselffrom any disputes in the monastery, livingthere in total peace for over 70 years.


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His Monastic Life

He learned the Church Hymns by heart and

especially loved to chant the Psalms, which he often

did in a loud voice throughout the night.

He had the gift of spiritual tears and was often

found weeping out of repentance.

He was friends with the animal creation as evidenced

by:

He was often stung by scorpions which caused

him no harm.

He was often found sleeping next to serpents

which didnt touch him.

For some time, he had a cat which would sleep

under the sleeve of his monastic garb and lead

him to wherever he needed to go.

When the head of the monastery heard of the cats

story, he, at first, did not believe it until he saw her

himselfand so he hurried, while he was confused,

towards Fr. Andrew, and kissed him saying, Our

father, it is not a cat, this is an angel.


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Why people were so

attracted to himFrom his biography:

When you see, my dear reader, this saint, for the firsttime, you find yourself before an elder, advanced inyears, with his white beard pending on his breast.Never do you observe at all that he is blind. If you arein his company for a whole day, and no dialogue

occurs between you and him, you are not bored tolook at him, as his face is angelic with pleasantfeatures.

He spoke very little, and hours might probably passwithout his uttering a word. He did not speak unlessspoken to, or asked to pray for your own sake. He

might stay silently, in deep quietude, without movingrestlessly, and so he would make you feel how farbeyond he enjoyed astonishing inner peace. He wasnot a man of moods, one day calm and on anotherfurious. He was never seen glad in one hour, and sadand depressed in another, but firmly settled all thetime were his heart, image and life. Thus, it is true to

say that he was a closed treasure.


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The Virtues of our Father

St. Andrew the Samualite

Bishop Gregorios said of Fr. Andrew:

He is a typical monk. Indeed he is an asceticforsaking worldly pleasures. He is blind but hisinner eyes are open. His heart is illuminating and

enlightened. He dreams Godly dreams seesheavenly visions. He is truly a blessing in ourgeneration. He is a rare spiritual personality in ourtime whom God granted talents of recovery, andequipped him with a sorting and discriminatingspirit. He lived a righteous simplicity. He passedmore than one hundred years enjoying spiritualpeace.

He had a spirit of prophecy, and so he prophesiedprivate matters, and public ones as well. Whenone sees him, one immediately remembers Christ,Glory be to Him, saying except you be converted,and become as little children, you shall not enter

the Kingdom of Heaven.


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Life of Prayer

He was always praying. Sometimes he wasseen sitting quietly moving his lips withoutbeing heard. Some other times he washeard chanting Psalms in a loud voice forlong hours, by day, or at night. He was

astonishing as his incessant prayers wereconcerned in spite of his old age, and wornout health. Dr Kamal Abdalla relates: "Ithappened that when I shared his room inSaint Mina's monastery with him, he wenton with psalms in an audible voice, withoutstopping from the moment we went to bed

at ten o'clock p.m. until the dawn of thefollowing day.

Once I saw father Andrews with a sweetsmile on his face. So when I asked him whyhe was smiling, he replied that the angels

were bantering, and joking with him.


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Life of Prayer (cont)

As to his love for the church, it is notsurpassed by any other love, as it is hisheavenly father's home, and no wonder,it is therein he passed his life chanting,worshipping and thanksgiving to God allthe time. In the church he finds trueconsolation, and enjoyment, and meetswith angels, and saints. Whenever youtell him: "Let us go to church", he neverhesitates for a moment. Hiscontemporaries admit that when theliturgy, or the Psalmody comes to an

end, he does not show any concern to goout of the church, and he repeats: "Insideit we are protected, this is Noah's ark,inside which there is security, andoutside it there is the flood".


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Blessed Humility His penitence made of him a man without

enemies. We never noted him speakviolently to anybody, nor did he imposehis opinion on anybody, nor did he try tomaster a discussion about any subject.

He had no ambitions, or gains to realize,

and so he did not enter into heateddiscussion with anybody.

In addition, he had no desire or likingwhatsoever to posses anything thatmight lead into difference of opinion orquarrels.

Fr. Matthew the Poor says, "FatherAndrew does not know the word"condemnation", as he never condemnedanybody, or revealed his error, or sin tohis face". Or as Fr. Kyrillos Al-Makarysaid: "He is too shy to tell a man that heis in the wrong, as he himself isoversensitive concerning his own sins".


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His Fasting

The principal monks' dish wascheese whey', as the monks usedto sit round the cheese whey dishin the middle of which there was asmall piece of old cheese, none of

them dared to touch out ofpoliteness. At times when the jarsbecome empty, they wash themwith water to be food for themonks.

Fr. Andrew used to commithimself to more restrictions, as hedid not eat except once daily.

He used to eat if food was servedto him, but if the fathers happenedof forget him, he never askedanybody for it.


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Poverty and Thanksgiving

Nothing worth mentioning was in his cell, as henever cared for bed or food. On very manyoccasions he used to sleep, and sit on the floor.He considered that all he possessed was God'sgrant. Many a time did Dr Kamal Abdalla see himtake off his cap to give it to a visitor who asked

for it. Even his outer garment, he was about totake off, in order to give it to the person whoadmired it, or wished to have one like it.

Throughout five years We never heard him utterone of our phrases that we say ignorantly whenwe are compassed by troubles, "What have Idone, my God? or Why, my God, do you do this

to me whereas all my life I have not caused anyharm to anybody?". On the other hand, wheneverwe asked him if he felt any pain, he would refutethis completely and would reply, "Thanks are dueto God".


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Faithfulness

When cruel conditions in the monastery ,once, deteriorated to such an extreme thatthe stay therein was an impossibility, all themonastery occupants deserted it, but thatblind monk who refused to yield to hismaster's efforts to convince him to

accompany them, reminding him of hishandicap.

Our saint stayed alone, bearing such life, forfour months. This incident is quite anevidence to prove that he is consideredamong the martyrs.

What a faithful man!! He preferred to live

lonely in the deserted monastery, to feed ondry bread, and drink salty water rather thanto leave the monastery seeking forperishable food, because the food of the likeof this holy man is to do the will of God: "Mymeat is to do the will of him that sent me,and to finish his work". (John 4:34).


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Faithfulness (cont)

He did not leave the monastery for fear of theBedouins settling down around it. So, he used toring the bell, as usual, twice a day to prove that theplace was inhabited, and populated, in spite of thehardships he met, and the long time he took toreach the bell each time. Moreover he was subject

to stumbling over hindrances that hurt his body,and caused his feet to bleed. Nobody knows whatwould have been the fate of the monastery if thebedouins had found out that it was deserted, andits gates were open.

When Archpriest Isaac Maksimos returned, afterhis tour for collecting contributions, father Andrews

received him with gaiety, embracing one anotherand kissing each other. Immediately the head ofthe monastery asked him, "Why didn't you desertthe monastery with the rest of the monks?" Withhis well known, familiar simplicity, Father Andrewreplied: "It would have been a disgrace, and a bigshame, my father, if I had left my monastery, andgone away".


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His Love Father Archpriest Elia of Alexandria

said, "Father Andrews was endowedwith entire love for the Moslem and theChristian, the Orthodox, the Catholicand the Protestant, the sinner and thesaint, the old and the young".

We can add without any exaggerationthat it is not possible at all that he hatedanybody, or that he knew hatred. Hisholiness related to us that Arch priestIsaac Maximos, the monastery head,once, slapped him so severely that hefell down on the ground although he hadnot done anything wrong worthy of

punishment. So, Arch priest Isaac feltsorry for that, and hurried towards himasking for pardon. Then father Andrewssaid to him, "Nothing has happened.You are my father, and you are entitledto punish me to improve the rules of mybehavior". Soon after that, Father Isaac

started crying out of penitence.


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Beloved of the Saints

He also told a female physician, once, that wheneverhe called on the Virgin, he felt she smiled to him, andadded that she was very pleasant, kind, and gentlelike a soft blowing breeze.

Since Father Mina the Solitary (Pope Kyrillos VI)came to be the head of the monastery for some time,

love had grown between both of them. When weasked Father Andrew to tell us about his memoir withhis Holiness, he said, "Pope Kyrillos VI, may his soulrest in peace, stayed for some time with us in SaintSamuel's monastery during which period he was verypleasant, and he loved me too much. He used tolaugh with me, and to take me with him to pray in thechurch. I used to call him: "Our Lord", but he (may

God bless his soul) used to object by saying "Why doyou say", Our Lord, when you speak with me? "Ialways replied, in the near future you will see that youwill become (our lord)".

Pope Kyrillos left the monastery, and so I becamevery sad, and cried for his going away. in the streamof days Father Mina the Solitary came to be Patriarch,and visited Saint Samuel's monastery. When he saw

me, he laughed with me, and told me, "Here, I havebecome "Our lord", as you always called me andpredicted in the past".


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Beloved of the Saints (cont)

On Father Andrews first visit to Saint Mina monastery during his treatment inAlexandria, he headed to the burial place of the Pope. His face was radiatingwith happiness while he was feeling the marble of the grave, and then hekissed it many times, stood up to pray, and repeated many times, "May his soulrest in peace". Afterwards he requested to sleep beside the bed of his beloved,Pope Kyrillos, as he called him, and so we left him for half an hour.

On our way back to Alexandria, he said to his pupil, "Father, I met PopeKyrillos in his Shrine, and talked with him". We were surprised by this suddennews, and his pupil asked him what the Pope had told him. He replied "While Iwas sleeping beside the burial place of Pope Kyrillos, he came to me and said,"Have you come, my beloved?" I replied, "If I am your beloved, ask Christ tocall me so that I may be comfortable beside you. In his reply he said, "It is notyour turn, or time yet, Andrew". I, then asked him to intercede, and call me, but

he firmly answered that I had still a long time to go. Archpriest Athanasios, oneof Alexandria fathers who was in our company, commented by saying: "FatherAndrew is going to live not less than five years as long as Pope Kyrillos toldhim this remark".But Dr Kamal Abdalla, as a physician, did not take these words for granted dueto his irremediable diseases, and he kept his opinion to himself, and prayedGod to prolong the life of Father Andrew. In the end what the Pope alreadysaid was realized, and Father Andrew lived five years more starting that day.


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His Sufferings

Beginning in 1980 Fr. Andrew

was afflicted with many diseases,

including heart failure, difficulty

breathing, edema, arterio

sclerosis, and circulatory failures.

Despite the pain and discomfort,

he never once complained.

His health continued to

deteriorate until his departure.


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His Departure

Reposed in the Lord onFebruary 7, 1989 at10:00PM in Alexandria.

Several thousands

received his holy body atSt. Samuels Monastery.

The next day, theFathers of themonastery noticed asweet perfumed odorsimilar to scents used onsaints relics emanatingfrom Fr. Andrews bodyin a noticeable manner.


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His Miracles

Healings

Clairvoyance

Spirit-Borne


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Pray for us

St_Andrew the Samualite

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