St. Bishoy Kamel’s Glorification | تمجيد أبونا بيشوى كامل

Name before priesthood: Samy Kamel Ishak Asaad.
Date and place of birth: December 6, 1931, in Damanhur – Beheira – Egypt.
Education: He obtained a Bachelor of Science (Geology Department) from Alexandria University in 1951 with Good grade.

• He joined the Higher Institute of Education for Teachers and obtained a Diploma in Education and Psychology in 1952 with Excellent grade and was ranked first in his class.

• He worked as a chemistry teacher at El-Raml Secondary School for Boys in Alexandria.

• He obtained a Bachelor of Arts – Philosophy in 1954, and at the same time joined the Coptic Theological College in Alexandria and obtained a Bachelor of Theological Sciences in 1956, and was first in his class.

• He was appointed as a teaching assistant at the Higher Institute of Education in Alexandria in 1957, an institute affiliated with the Ministry of Education.

• He joined the Faculty of Education in Cairo in 1958 and obtained a Diploma of Specialization in Psychology in October 1959.

Ordination date: Wednesday, December 2, 1959.
Date of becoming a priest (Qomus): November 4, 1969.
He confessed to Father Michael Ibrahim.
Date of departure (repose): March 21, 1979.

His service: He began his service in 1948 at the age of seventeen while he was still a university student, serving in the church education ministry at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Moharram Bek. He continued his service alongside his studies successfully – at that time Sunday School services were held in the Coptic schools around the church, but Samy Kamel succeeded in transferring the Sunday School service into the church itself.
One of Samy’s students, who later became a priest, said: “We used to see Mr. Samy in the church every Thursday and Friday regularly, and during Great Lent he would go to the church’s dormitory – Uncle Paul – and eat lunch with him. He was like a mill that never stops working, waiting for the children and supervising everything to the point that we used to see him at times exhausted, sitting on the marble stairs of the church while asleep. We felt pity for him but didn’t know what to do to give him even a little rest, and he was our great teacher; he never gave himself rest nor spared himself at all, and all this while he was a layman!!”…..
He also served university youth until he became the General Secretary of the service despite his young age.

Thoughts on monasticism: In the last days of December 1954, during the Nativity fast, his soul longed for the monastic path, and he chose the Syrian Monastery in Wadi El Natrun, and began preparing himself for it – except that God’s will had another plan – during his preparation to travel to the monastery, his father suffered a blood clot, so he postponed the idea to another time. But his longing remained inside him, and he went on trips to the monastery. During one of those visits, he entered the cell where the body of Saint Bishoy lay in his monastery and prayed: “I wish to be honored with your name, O Anba Bishoy,” as he wished to become a monk named Bishoy, but God’s will was that he would become a priest named Bishoy so that the two wills would meet as we will see later…

Calling to priesthood: On the evening of Wednesday, November 18, 1959, Mr. Samy Kamel took his class from the Institute of Education to the Papal Residence in Alexandria to receive the blessing of Pope Cyril VI. As soon as he kissed his hands, he was surprised by the Pope informing him that he would ordain him as a priest in four days..! The Pope, before Samy entered, was sitting with a sensitive spiritual priest, Father Mina Iskander, discussing a piece of land purchased by the Coptic Papacy in Alexandria on the tram line in Sporting to establish a church named St. George. The Pope said: “We cannot begin building the church before ordaining a dedicated priest for it.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Mr. Samy entered with his students from the Institute of Education, and Father Mina exclaimed immediately: “Here is the young man fit to shepherd the people of St. George Church.” After a few questions, the Pope placed the cross on Samy Kamel’s head and said: “It is a sign given by God that you become a priest, and I will ordain you next Sunday.” Samy was stunned by the surprise and gathered his courage and said: “But I am not married!” The Pope replied: “The Holy Spirit who inspired me to make this decision will choose the bride for you.”

He was given two days, and he went immediately to the cell of the Virgin Mary and prayed repeatedly to reveal God’s will to him. Thus, the Holy Spirit guided Samy Kamel to ask for the hand of “Angel Basily” (holder of a Bachelor in Economics and Political Science – Alexandria University), sister of his two colleagues in the service, Faiz and George Basily, who were very happy for him and told their parents that Samy Kamel was angelically pure. Surprisingly, the bride also wished to live a monastic life, but Father Mina Iskander intervened and convinced her. The engagement took place on Thursday, November 19, 1959, attended only by the bride’s family.

On the next day, Samy faced great difficulty reaching the monastery, arriving after 29 hours in extreme fatigue and distress, determined to reveal God’s will clearly regarding whether to complete the marriage and then priesthood or to pursue the monastic path he desired for himself.
Father Mina informed him that he had seen in a dream a crown placed on his head, followed by much pressure from those around him, leaving him only prayer until the divine will was accomplished. The wedding prayers (crowning) took place on the evening of Tuesday, November 24, and interestingly, the groom’s family did not see the bride until the night of the crowning!

Finally, he was ordained as a priest named Reverend Father Bishoy Kamel on Wednesday, December 2, 1959, by His Grace Anba Benjamin I, Metropolitan of Menoufia, at the altar of the Great Martyr St. George Church in Sporting – the church at that time was a small brick shed without plaster, with a roof made of tent pieces used in the sheds, and his altar was prepared for Father Bishoy to ordain him.
He then went to the Monastery of the Virgin Mary for Syrians where he spent the forty days that a priest spends after ordination there… and then returned to begin building his church, which he completed and consecrated in 1968. It became one of the most famous churches in Alexandria and St. George Church in Sporting became a mother church, thanks to our beloved Father Bishoy Kamel, whose service extended beyond Sporting to many areas of Alexandria as if he became a servant and priest for the entire city. He established the following churches:
• St. George Church in Hadra
• St. Michael Archangel Church in Mostafa Kamel
• St. Anba Tekla Haimanout Church in Ibrahimia
• St. Mark and Pope Peter the Seal of the Martyrs Church in Sidi Bishr
• Virgin Mary & St. Cyril Church in Cleopatra
• St. Anthony and St. Bishoy Church in El-Lebanon District

His sanctity was officially recognized by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the synod session on June 9, 2022.

Father Bishoy Kamel:

• The first to think of establishing a kindergarten for children of working mothers at St. George Church in Sporting, which was later adopted by Alexandria churches and then spread to churches across Egypt.

• The first to revive the ancient church tradition of staying awake in the church on the eve of the Coptic New Year “Nayrouz,” and the Gregorian New Year, followed later by all churches.

The secret God wanted to reveal after his repose:
It was known that Father Bishoy Kamel was considering monastic life, and God chose for him a partner in his life and service, “Tasuni Angel,” who also wished to live a life of chastity and monasticism… thus, the divine arrangement was made for them to live together in chastity as agreed before marriage. It seems that Pope Cyril VI was aware of this matter because after completing the marriage, they both went to receive the Pope’s blessing together, yet each entered alone!

• He was also a famous preacher.
• He authored many books.
• He was ordained together with Father Constantine Naguib. Among those welcoming were Mr. Albert Barsoum, lawyer and secretary of the Alexandria Community Council.
• He traveled abroad for service.