The Holly family Story Details

The Holly family Story

The holly family in Egypt

The holy Family s journey to Egypt has been a tremendous event in the history of mankind. Undoubtedly God chose Egypt to be the shelter of the Holy child, JESUS , and guardian of the sacred message witch was to bring light unto the whole world.
This hospitable and honest land has to boast over all the other wonderful and unmatched sublime honour which God has bestowed upon Egypt by this Holy Visit.

 The journey encountered several horrible obstacles and dangers through the long difficult route, either from the shortage of water or food, marauders or spread of wild beasts, or awe from the enemies specially the attendants of the tyrant king herod , from whom the Family escaped because he was searching for catching the young child to destroy him but God sent his angel , as it is stated in Mattius Gospel.

"Arise, and take young Child and his mother and flee into Egypt".

 When he arose, he took the Child and his mother by night , and departed into "" Egypt "" .The Virgin rode upon a donkey , carrying the babe on her arms , while Joseph strode in front , leading the animal … is most probable that the Holy Family avoided to follow the usual regular way after escaping from Palestine to Egypt at that time . They Vrobably entered it after passing through Sinai Desert
At Farama or Pelusium , Which stands between ,Al Arish and Port said . They came to the town of Basta , Know to –day, is Called : TAL –BASTA near the city of Zagazig . Nc sooner has the Holy Child entered the town , that the idols and statues thereof collapsed before him , an event which exasperated the heathen priests and the population of the town and they refused to accept the Family to stay among them and ill-teated them a good personality of Tal–Basta advised the Family to go to a village near the town where they found a tree in the shade of which they stayed some days . There JESUS caused a spring to flow , where the Virgin Bathed the Child and washed his clothes . The place to –Day is called : ((Al-MAHAMAH )) the (( Bath )) and tremendous numbers of visitors , Egyptians or foreigners still visit it frequently . It isreported that the Holy Family also stopped at the place on their way back to Palestine

 The Holly family Story

From (( Al –Mahamah )) they left for BELBEIS ,where they also rested in the shade of a tree , wich was consecrated as ((The tree of Virgin Mary)) ,and has ever since acquried the respect of both Christians and Moslems and most of them bury their dead near the Tree ,and the place is regarded as a holy ground . it has also been stated that Napoleon s soldiers , passing near the town , wanted to cut down the Tree and use it for fueling , but with the first axe stroke , the Tree began to bleed , the soldiers were dreaded and dared touch it no more . It was mentioned that the mosque of osman ibn – Amary lying the middle of the town has also been built there as a tribute to the Holy family s visit .
From Belbeis , they departed for Meniet Genah , then to samanoud , then to Burulus and then to Al – Mahallah , where they crossed the Nile to western bank and there thy stayed some days at Sakha ,a village of kafr el Sheikh,and it was there that the CHILD left his foot –print on a rock , and it was called ((JESUS HELL )) .Then they went westward , paralled to WADI –EL NATRUN whose prescence seemed to have blessed the place , for it became the site of many monasteries more than fifty of which only four are inhabited to –day.

Then they went to EIN SHAMS , now called AL-MATARIAH where they sat after a troublesome effort , under a tree , the name of which still remains to –day , and it is also named after the Holy Virgin . There again the Child caused a spring to flow and he blessed it . The hholy Mother washed the clothes of her son , and of the washing water , God caused a fragrant plant to grow , (( BALSAM )) ,it is used even to –day in the consecration of churches and altars , all articles thereof and in the consecrated Chrism oil used in baptism . Then the HOLY FAMILY headed southward to Babylon , of Old Cairo , where they stayed for some time, in the cave, which is now part of ST.SERGUIS CHURCH .

 They could not stay long in Babylon of Old Cairo , for it was reported that the idols there also collapsed, and the governor of Babylon was extremely exasperated and tried to kill JESUS, having realized that it was he who had caused this destruction. 

The family had to leave the place further south to Upper Egypt .
According to oral tradition, it was related that the family left for Upper Egypt in a sailing boat , setting out from the spot where the present church of Holy Virgin at Maadi lies , and came to a place east of Bahnasa , near Beni Mazar . The place was later called (( The House of Jesus )) and still retains its Coptic name . The Family stayed there for four days ,as it is stayed by ST .KYRIAKO S , Bishop of bahnasa ,in a sermon which was recently discovered on papyrus . Then the holy family crossed to the eastern bank , where they stopped at " GABEL EL -TAIR " ((the mount of birds )) ,near Samalout . Here it was said that a huge bloc of stone was about to fall ,on the boat of the family , from the mountain . The Virgin was falling, and left his Palm –Mountain, and the church built by Queen Helena was named after the holy Virgin Mary and also known as the Church of the lady of the Palm.
From (( Gebel El-Tair )) , the Family went to Ashmonein By river to Mallawi and there they remained few days at a noble man s house ; he was very hospitable to them and suffered many troubles for their sake , but he was blessed by JESUS . It happened as usual that many idols collapsed befor Christ, and the heathen priests became very angry . Then they left Ashmonin to a village called phyls , now Dyrout Monastery ,some 20 KMS south of Ashmonein . They stayed for a few days ,then left for old Qoussieh ,called Quaqam ,at that time . There, they were badly treated and driven away when the inhabitants noted that their idols fell before the Child . They escaped to village of (( MIRAH )) where they took to Qousqam Mountain ,on which the famous Monastery of the Holy virgin ,know as , AL-MAHARRAQ ,Now lies .

AL-MUHARRAQ MONASTERY:

It stands at the foot of the western mountain known as mount qousqam after a town demolished a long time ago . it is 12 kms to the west of alqoussieh ,in asyut governorate , 48 kms . North of asyut and 377 kms . South of Cairo . To the west of monastery starches the western desert, the mountain end the numerous sand hills which Coptic monks call the inner wilderness. To the north and east of the monastery, spacious areas of green land extend ,as a result of the Nile flood , which in time of inundation reaches the outskirts of the monastery, converting the desert there into one of the most fertile areas of the whole region the monastery standson some twenty feddans, which makes " Al-Maharraq " the biggest monastery in Egypt and the whole orient . Monks of this monastery have been renowned for piety and knowledge, and have extended the missionary work beyond Egypt . Some of them went as southern and northern Europe, and stayed in Ireland .

Church of the holy virgin:

To the west of the monastery, is a church dedicated to the holy virgin. The main altar of the church stands in the same cave where the holy family lived six months and some days according to the Coptic Church books and records, and especially the chronicle of patriarch theophilus, the 23th. Patriarch of Alexandria (376 – 403 A.D. ) . in this record patriarch theophilus related a vision he had seen on the eve of th sixth of hator , the Coptic month , that corresponds roughly with November , after a long prayer : the holy virgin revealed herself to him and related to him the story blessed journey of the holy family from Palestine : she bade him record what he had seen And heard which he did . his book has come to be one of the most important documents concerning the holy journey.
The famous Islamic historian Al– Makrizi died in 1441 a . d states that Christians claim that Jesus Christ peace be upon him , stayed in that spot for six months and some days.

The Manuscript of patriarch theophilus also relates how he had noted that the chuch was a small and simple one, though very famous, and wanted to build a great cathedral becoming the sacredness of the place. He voiced this wish in his prayers. but the holy virgin in his vision , told him that the will of her son has the chuch should be kept as it was to bear testimony to all generations of Christ S humility , and this also the patriarch carried out and the chuch remained unchanged . it is also worthy to be mentioned that the chuch is older that monastery, for while Al-Muharraq monastery was built in the 4 th . Cent, the church dates back to the 1 st century , and it was the existence of the church which urged anba pachominus 294-405 a.d .to choose the spot for a monastery surrounding the historic church it is the first church to be established in upper Egypt . Adjoing the monastery is an ancient castle dating back to the 5 th . Century, and it was built by the emperor xenon who visited Egypt in 291 A.D. where his daughter, Illaria , had Become a nun in a nearly convent as a citadel against raiding bands of Bedouins