The Departure of Anba Yusab, Bishop of Girga, known as El- Abbah .

On this day also, of the year 1826 A .D ., Anba Yusab, the great scholar and honorable father,departed . He was the Bishop of Girga and Ekhmiem, and was known by the name "El-Abbah" .He was born in the town of Nekhila in Upper Egypt, to rich parents who were compassionate tothe poor and the needy . When Anba Yusab was 25 years old, his parents wanted him to be wed,but he refused . Because of his inclination towards the monastic life, he went to the estate of St .Anthony's monastery in the city of Boash . He stayed there for some time, during which hishumility and piety were evident . This convinced the abbot to send him to the monastery . When hearrived, the monks received him with joy, for they had heard of his virtues and his knowledge ofthe Holy Scriptures . Shortly after, they clothed him in the monk's tunic .When the reports of this father reached Pope John, 107th Patriarch, he called Anba Yusab andkept him with him . After the Pope verified what he heard of Anba Yusab' righteousness andknowledge, he counseled with the bishops who agreed to ordain Anba Yusab a bishop overEkhmiem and Girga . Anba Yusab refrained from accepting this rank because of its responsibilities;however, he was ordained against his will .When he arrived at his diocese, Anba Yusab found many heretics mingled with his people . Hebuilt a church, and made a great effort to gather his flock, to teach them, to restore those whowere lost, and to guide many of the heretics to the faith . He wrote several articles on theIncarnation of the Lord Christ and explained several difficult issues and ambiguous verses in theBible . He urged his people to forsake all the bad customs that they were engaged in, both insideand outside the church . He succeeded in putting an end to the quarrels and divisions from thosewho were in opposition to the truth . He was merciful to the poor, and never judged anyone by hisappearance . He was fair in judgement, never took sides, and did not accept bribes . He sentwhatever money he had left to his brethren, the monks, in their monasteries . He did not ownanything except the clothes that he wore and those things which fulfilled his basic needs . He neveruttered anything but the truth, and was not afraid of the mighty rulers of the land . He shepherdedhis flock with the best of care .When God wanted to take him away from this world, Anba Yusab became ill for a short period oftime . While he was sick, he stayed some time in his diocese, and then in the cell of Pope AnbaPeter, 109th Pope . Then he went to his monastery in the wilderness . The monks rejoiced to seehim, and his blessed life ended there, and he gave his pure spirit into the hand of the Lord wholoved him . He lived 91 years, 25 years before his monastic life, 31 years in the monastery, and 35years as bishop .His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever . Amen