Quick Facts
Biography
Father Abdel Messih El-Makari (or El-Manahri) was a Coptic Orthodox monk and priest, and a 20th-century Coptic saint. Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria testified as to his holiness and asceticism.
Life
Father Abdel Messih El-Makari was born in 1892 in the village of Abou Shehata, Matai district, El-Menya governorate, Egypt. His father, Henein, and his mother, Esther, were both Christians. As a young adult, El-Makari left his home town for the Monastery of St. Abba Samuel the Confessor in El-Kalamoun mountain. He did this several times, whereupon his father would come to the monastery to take him back home (events associated with the death of a large number of his father's cattle). His father later relented and allowed him to join the Monastery of St. Abba Makar (Macarius) the Great in the desert of Scetes (Wadi El-Natrun), becoming a monk.
He later moved to El-Manahra village, Matai. El-Makari was known for his humility and asceticism. It is said that he had the gifts of prescience, discerning of spirits and healing the sick. He was very compassionate and gave everything he was given to the needy.
He died on Easter Sunday morning on April 14, 1963— (the 6th of Parmouti 1669 A.M. according to the Coptic calendar).