Pishoy
Encyclopedia
Saint Pishoy known in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria as the Star of the Desert and the Beloved of our Good Savior, is an Egypt
ian desert father. He is said to have seen Jesus
and that his body is preserved to the present day in incorruptibility at the Monastery of Saint Pishoy
at the Nitrian Desert, Egypt
. He is venerated by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Coptic Orthodox Church and is known in the Greek Orthodox Church
as Saint Paisios. Some members of the Coptic church note parallels between the hagiographies
of Saint Pishoy and Saint Christopher
.
ian governorate of Al Minufiyah. Younger to six other brothers, he was weak and frail. His mother saw an angel
in a vision asking her to give God one of her children, and pointed at Pishoy. When the mother tried to offer one of her stronger children, the angel
insisted that Pishoy was the chosen one.
At the age of twenty, Pishoy went to the wilderness of Scetes and became a monk
by the hand of Saint Pambo, who also ordained Saint John the Dwarf
a monk. When Saint Pambo died, Pishoy was guided by an angel
to the site of the present Monastery of Saint Pishoy, where he lived the life of a hermit
. At this time, he became the spiritual father of many monks who gathered around him. He was famous for his love, wisdom, simplicity and kindness, as well as for his extremely ascetic life. He was also known to love seclusion and quietness. Pishoy's ascetism was harsh to the extent of tying his hair and hands with a rope to the ceiling of his cell, in order to resist sleeping during his night prayers. This ascetism made him so famous that he was visited by Saint Ephrem the Syrian
.
The Copt
s believe that Pishoy saw Jesus
a number of times. Once, an old monk asked him to help him climb a mountain, so Pishoy carried him on his shoulders and climbed, only to discover that the old monk was no one but Jesus
. The latter told him that, for the extent of his love, his body will not see corruption. The Copt
s also believe that Pishoy washed the feet of Jesus
who visited him as a poor stranger.
Saint Pishoy also saw Jesus when one day of all of the monks in his monetary heard that Jesus was coming so they all went to go see him. But, there was an old man that asked the monks to help him on the way but they ignored him. But, when Saint Pishoy saw the old man he helped him back to his room. He washed the old mans feet (as proper custom in those days). The old man then appeared to him as Jesus.
Pishoy is known as a defender of Orthodoxy
against heresies. Having heard of an ascetic in the mountain of Ansena who taught that there was no Holy Spirit
, Pishoy went to him carrying a weaved basket with three ears. When the old man asked him about the reason for making three ears for a basket, Pishoy replied "I have a Trinity, and everything I do is like the Trinity". After much debate from the Scriptures, the Old
and New Testament
s, the old ascetic reverted to Orthodoxy
.
Saint Pishoy also has the title of "Perfect man"
invaded the wilderness of Scetes, Pishoy left and dwelt in the mountain of Ansena. At this time he met Saint Paul of Tammah in Antinopolis
and the two became very close friends. While at the mountain of Ansena, Pishoy built another monastery, the monastery of Saint Pishoy at Dayr al-Barsha, which exists until today near Mallawi
. Pishoy departed on 8 Epip
(July 15) 417 AD.
On December 13 841 AD, 4 Koiak
557 AM, Pope Joseph I
fulfilled the desire of Saint Pishoy and moved his body as well as that of Saint Paul of Tammah to the Monastery of Saint Pishoy
in the wilderness of Scetes. It is said that they first attempted to move the body of Saint Pishoy only, but when they carried it to the boat on the Nile
, the boat would not move until they brought in the body of Saint Paul of Tammah as well. Today, the two bodies lie in the main church of the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Pishoy
in the Nitrian Desert. Eyewitnesses recount that the body of Saint Pishoy remains in incorruption until the present day.
that carry the name of Saint Pishoy:
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian desert father. He is said to have seen Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
and that his body is preserved to the present day in incorruptibility at the Monastery of Saint Pishoy
Monastery of Saint Pishoy
The Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun , Beheira Governorate, Egypt, is the most famous Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Pishoy. It is the easternmost monastery among the four current monasteries of the Nitrian Desert....
at the Nitrian Desert, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He is venerated by the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Coptic Orthodox Church and is known in the Greek Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Church
The Greek Orthodox Church is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity sharing a common cultural tradition whose liturgy is also traditionally conducted in Koine Greek, the original language of the New Testament...
as Saint Paisios. Some members of the Coptic church note parallels between the hagiographies
Hagiography
Hagiography is the study of saints.From the Greek and , it refers literally to writings on the subject of such holy people, and specifically to the biographies of saints and ecclesiastical leaders. The term hagiology, the study of hagiography, is also current in English, though less common...
of Saint Pishoy and Saint Christopher
Saint Christopher
.Saint Christopher is a saint venerated by Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, listed as a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd century Roman Emperor Decius or alternatively under the Roman Emperor Maximinus II Dacian...
.
Life
Saint Pishoy was born in 320 AD in the village of Shansa (Shensha or Shesna), currently in the EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian governorate of Al Minufiyah. Younger to six other brothers, he was weak and frail. His mother saw an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
in a vision asking her to give God one of her children, and pointed at Pishoy. When the mother tried to offer one of her stronger children, the angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
insisted that Pishoy was the chosen one.
At the age of twenty, Pishoy went to the wilderness of Scetes and became a monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
by the hand of Saint Pambo, who also ordained Saint John the Dwarf
John the Dwarf
Saint John the Dwarf , also called Saint John Colobus or Saint John Kolobos, was an Egyptian Desert Father of the early Christian church.-Life:John the Dwarf was born in the town of Basta in Egypt to poor Christian parents...
a monk. When Saint Pambo died, Pishoy was guided by an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
to the site of the present Monastery of Saint Pishoy, where he lived the life of a hermit
Hermit
A hermit is a person who lives, to some degree, in seclusion from society.In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Christian who lives the eremitic life out of a religious conviction, namely the Desert Theology of the Old Testament .In the...
. At this time, he became the spiritual father of many monks who gathered around him. He was famous for his love, wisdom, simplicity and kindness, as well as for his extremely ascetic life. He was also known to love seclusion and quietness. Pishoy's ascetism was harsh to the extent of tying his hair and hands with a rope to the ceiling of his cell, in order to resist sleeping during his night prayers. This ascetism made him so famous that he was visited by Saint Ephrem the Syrian
Ephrem the Syrian
Ephrem the Syrian was a Syriac and a prolific Syriac-language hymnographer and theologian of the 4th century. He is venerated by Christians throughout the world, and especially in the Syriac Orthodox Church, as a saint.Ephrem wrote a wide variety of hymns, poems, and sermons in verse, as well as...
.
The Copt
Copt
The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....
s believe that Pishoy saw Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
a number of times. Once, an old monk asked him to help him climb a mountain, so Pishoy carried him on his shoulders and climbed, only to discover that the old monk was no one but Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. The latter told him that, for the extent of his love, his body will not see corruption. The Copt
Copt
The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....
s also believe that Pishoy washed the feet of Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
who visited him as a poor stranger.
Saint Pishoy also saw Jesus when one day of all of the monks in his monetary heard that Jesus was coming so they all went to go see him. But, there was an old man that asked the monks to help him on the way but they ignored him. But, when Saint Pishoy saw the old man he helped him back to his room. He washed the old mans feet (as proper custom in those days). The old man then appeared to him as Jesus.
Pishoy is known as a defender of Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
against heresies. Having heard of an ascetic in the mountain of Ansena who taught that there was no Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
, Pishoy went to him carrying a weaved basket with three ears. When the old man asked him about the reason for making three ears for a basket, Pishoy replied "I have a Trinity, and everything I do is like the Trinity". After much debate from the Scriptures, the Old
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
and New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
s, the old ascetic reverted to Orthodoxy
Orthodoxy
The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...
.
Saint Pishoy also has the title of "Perfect man"
Departure and Relics
In 407/408 AD, as the BerbersBerber people
Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...
invaded the wilderness of Scetes, Pishoy left and dwelt in the mountain of Ansena. At this time he met Saint Paul of Tammah in Antinopolis
Antinopolis
Antinopolis was a city founded at an older Egyptian village by the Roman emperor Hadrian to commemorate his deified young beloved, Antinous, on the east bank of the Nile, not far from the site in Upper Egypt where Antinous drowned in 130 AD...
and the two became very close friends. While at the mountain of Ansena, Pishoy built another monastery, the monastery of Saint Pishoy at Dayr al-Barsha, which exists until today near Mallawi
Mallawi
Mallawi is a town in Egypt, located in the governorate of Minya.- Overview :Situated in a farm area, the town produces textiles and handicrafts.The total area of the city is about...
. Pishoy departed on 8 Epip
Epip
Epip , also known as Abib, is the eleventh month of the Coptic calendar. It lies between July 8 and August 6 of the Gregorian calendar. The month of Epip is also the third month of the Season of 'Shemu' in Ancient Egypt, where the Egyptians harvest their crops throughout the land of Egypt....
(July 15) 417 AD.
On December 13 841 AD, 4 Koiak
Koiak
Koiak , also known as Kiahk, is the fourth month of the Coptic calendar. It lies between December 10 and January 8 of the Gregorian calendar...
557 AM, Pope Joseph I
Pope Joseph of Alexandria
Pope Joseph I of Alexandria was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark .According to the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, conditions finally improved in Ethiopia, allowing Abuna Yohannes to return to that country to administer its church.It was Pope Joseph who,...
fulfilled the desire of Saint Pishoy and moved his body as well as that of Saint Paul of Tammah to the Monastery of Saint Pishoy
Monastery of Saint Pishoy
The Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun , Beheira Governorate, Egypt, is the most famous Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Pishoy. It is the easternmost monastery among the four current monasteries of the Nitrian Desert....
in the wilderness of Scetes. It is said that they first attempted to move the body of Saint Pishoy only, but when they carried it to the boat on the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, the boat would not move until they brought in the body of Saint Paul of Tammah as well. Today, the two bodies lie in the main church of the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Saint Pishoy
Monastery of Saint Pishoy
The Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun , Beheira Governorate, Egypt, is the most famous Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Pishoy. It is the easternmost monastery among the four current monasteries of the Nitrian Desert....
in the Nitrian Desert. Eyewitnesses recount that the body of Saint Pishoy remains in incorruption until the present day.
Monasteries named after Saint Pishoy
There are currently three monasteries in EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
that carry the name of Saint Pishoy:
- The Monastery of Saint PishoyMonastery of Saint PishoyThe Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun , Beheira Governorate, Egypt, is the most famous Coptic Orthodox monastery named after Saint Pishoy. It is the easternmost monastery among the four current monasteries of the Nitrian Desert....
at the Nitrian Desert - The Monastery of Saint Pishoy at Deir el-BershaDeir el-BershaDeir el-Bersha is a Coptic village in Middle Egypt. It is located on the east bank of the Nile in the al-Minya governorate, to the south of Antinopolis and almost opposite the city of Mallawi.-Overview:...
, near MallawiMallawiMallawi is a town in Egypt, located in the governorate of Minya.- Overview :Situated in a farm area, the town produces textiles and handicrafts.The total area of the city is about... - The Monastery of Saint Pishoy at Armant, east of Armant
- Note that the Red MonasteryRed MonasteryThe Red Monastery is a Coptic Orthodox monastery named after an Egyptian saint called Pishay . It is located near the Upper Egyptian city of Souhag, and about four Km north west of the White Monastery...
near Souhag is also named after an EgyptianEgyptiansEgyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
saint called Pishay. This saint is not to be confused with Saint Pishoy.
- Note that the Red Monastery