TAWFIK COZMAN
Sunday, October 08, 2006
TAWFIK COZMAN
(EL MANSOURA SAINT)
Tawfik was born in 1903 from a
family full of love and sharing. He was
married with 7 children, 5 boys and 2 girls.
After investing his inheritance he became one of the wealthiest in Mansoura. By the
1930s his wealth made him the biggest shoe manufacturer in Mansoura. His habit was to gather all the poor in his
house after Sunday mass to feed and provide them with their needs. His house was always open for strangers
coming to Mansoura like
1. Nazer
Gayed who is now His Holiness Pope Shenouda
2. Wahid Attala
(passed away as Anba Aghrghoryos)
3. Ramsey Azoz
(passed away as Anba Yohannas).
God put him to the
test three times.
1. As he was rich, a trader from Morocco asked
him to be a guarantor in one big transaction.
Because he was not doing well after a few days the Moroccan trader went
bankrupt. At this point Tawfik’s legal team asked him to lie to the court to
protect his wealth. He strongly refused
to lie so he went home losing everything except for what he was wearing.
2. One of his sons got very sick with typhoid
fever. He went to church crying before
the icon of the Virgin Mary asking her to look after his son and cure him. When he went home he found his son who told
him that the Virgin Mary came to him saying “stay where you are” but he said “I
want to go with you”. That same day his
son passed away.
3. In his last days he caught TB and went
through much suffering but this did not stop him to pray 7 times everyday. One day he
called his confessor and his confession was that he did not pray the six
o’clock prayer because he was too ill.
When Anba Philopous
visited him his soul went to God and at that moment his private room was filled
with a very unusual sweet smelling incense lasting for
3 days. This happened on the 5th
of April 1973.
Dear reader,
Mr Tawfik
did good in his social and spiritual life. He lost all
his wealth so as not to lie because he knows that lying will send you out of
heavenly Jerusalem. May his prayer stay
with us.
