DEACON MIKHAEL
Sunday, October 08, 2006
DEACON MIKHAEL
Mikhael the head deacon (maalem) was born in 14 September 1873. Before he was three years old he suffered
from an eye disease which made him totally blind. But this loss of vision did not stop his
intense courage. He went to school (kotap) to learn the psalms and the Coptic language. His
father even brought him to the cupric school where he studied for four
years. His courageous spirit made him
master the Arabic language in the Azher.
By this time the Pope has
heard about his exceptional voice and accurate knowledge of the psalms and
hymns that he made him a deacon. Pope Kyrolos made him the soloist at St Mark’s cathedral with a
monthly salary. Because of his
brilliance he was made to teach hymns and the Coptic language. In 1985 he
became a teacher of the Arabic and Coptic languages in the school for the
blind. He introduced Braille for the
Coptic and Arabic languages.
One day Khedwey
Abas (Egypt’s ruler at this time) visited the school and Mikhael
wrote and read for him a poem in Coptic which he also translated in
Arabic. Khedwey
was so impressed and so happy that he conferred him the title “beak”, a title
which many wished to have. He was always
surrounded by people happy to listen to him sing the hymns making them feel
spiritually blessed. One day when he was
83 yrs old he asked to visit Father Saleb Sorreal. Father Saleb told him he lived in the 4th floor but Mikhael said he only wanted to make sure that Father Saleb was fully knowledgeable of the holy week’s dogmatic
theology. Towards the end he devoted his life in the study of the Coptic dogmas
imparting to his students this knowledge with such passion and enthusiasm.
As someone said, “you see him
a humble man in humble clothes and also see him as Anba
Rewase”.
Dear reader,
As Copts we must all learn and
pass all our Coptic dogmas faithfully and zealously to our children.
