Bishop Bimen

of Mallawi
1930–1986
Bishop Bimen Portrait2

Knowledge of the Lord in Christianity is not merely theoretical knowledge; the demons believe, and tremble. Rather, true knowledge is experiential knowledge, in which the Lord Jesus becomes to each and every believer their Christ and their God and their own Shepherd, the bread of their own life and the object of their own love, faith, service, efforts and sacrifices.

(With the Newborn of Bethlehem, 1983, p. 29)

Biography

Bishop Bimen (22 June 1930–19 May 1986) was Bishop of Mallawi and, in the words of one modern scholar, “one of the most outstanding personalities within the church.”[1]S. S. Hasan, Christians versus Muslims in Modern Egypt: The Century-Long Struggle for Coptic Equality (Oxford University Press, 2003): 155.

Like his many of his contemporaries in the Sunday School movement, he undertook extensive studies in the liberal arts: a Licenciate in History (1950); Diploma in Higher Education (1951), Masters of Education (1959), and a Bachelor’s degree from the Coptic Theological Seminary (1963).

After working as a teacher in various roles, he dedicated himself to service as a mukarras (consecrated servant) in the house of consecrated servants (bayt al-takrīs) headed by Fr Matta al-Miskin.[2]Hasan, Christians vs Muslims, 89–90. See also (click for more…) He also taught at the Coptic Theological Seminary from 1970–73.

In the early 70s, he left the house of consecrated servants and was invited by Pope Shenouda to serve in the patriarchate: in that capacity, he became a priest and monk in 1973, taking the name Antonios al-Anba Bishoy, and was elevated to hegumen in 1974. Pope Shenouda III briefly made use of him as Vicar of the Patriarchate, before sending him to America for what would prove to be a short but important period of service as a priest in a newly founded parish in Jersey City. While there, he received a Master of Theology degree from Princeton Theological Seminary (1974–75).[3]“Antonious, Kamal Habib (His Grace Bishop Bimen),” in Bibliographical Catalogue of Princeton Theological Seminary, 1900–1976, (ed.) A. M. Byers (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1977): 478.

Upon his return to Egypt in 1975, he was ordained as a General Bishop (June 1975) and then as Bishop of Mallawi and Minya in June 1976, in which position he served until his departure in 1986.

In September of 1981, Anba Bimen was one of a number of prominent Coptic clergy imprisoned by Anwar Sadat in retribution for Pope Shenouda’s public criticism of the president’s failure to combat Coptic persecution.[4]Bishop Bimen’s recollections of his imprisonment are included in a recently translated collection: I Rejoice in My Chains: Memoirs of Priests and Bishops in Prison (St Shenouda Press, 2019). On the tensions between Pope Shenouda an Sadat, see M. Guirguis and N. van Doorn-Harder, The Emergency of the Modern Coptic Papacy (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2011): 160–66.

Browse Texts on ACCOT

Bibliography

A. Works by Him

Bishop Bimen appears to have written exclusively in Arabic (although his Princeton degree suggests he was proficient in English as well). In addition to a number of short books, he wrote regular articles in al-Kiraza Magazine. His works are grouped in the tabs below into books and articles.

  • The Divine Incarnation [al-Tajassud al-Ilahī]. Mallawi: al-Maktaba al-Murqusiyya, 1972. (PDF)
  • Sex is Sacred: A Booklet for Youth [al-Jins muqaddasān: katīb li-l-shabāb]. Dar al-jīl li-l-Ṭibā‘a, 1983. (PDF)
  • Signs of the Church [‘Alamāt al-kanīsa].Metropolitante of Mallawi, Ansena and al-Ashmunein, n.d. (PDF)
  • The Liturgy from a Contemporary Ecumenical Perpsective [al-Lītūrjiyya min manẓār maskūnī ‘aṣrī]. Metropolitate of Mallawi, Ansena and al-Ashmunein, 1977. (PDF)
  • Grace and Law [al-Na‘ma wa-l-nāmūs]. Mallawi: Metropolitanate of Mallawi Press, 1984. (PDF, ACCOT)
  • The Life of Spiritual Struggle [Ḥayāt al-jihād al-rūḥī]. 2nd edn. Mallawi: Metropolitanate of Mallawi Press, 1995. (St Cyril’s Library: 248.311/BA)
  • The Mystery of Holy Love [Sirr al-ḥubb al-muqaddas]. Mallawi: Metropolitanate of Mallawi Press, 1970. Repr. 1992. (St Cyril’s Library: 248.32/BY)

B. Further Reading

“Antonious, Kamal Habib (His Grace Bishop Bimen).” In Bibliographical Catalogue of Princeton Theological Seminary, 1900–1976, edited by Arthur M. Byers, 478. Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1977. (PDF)

“Church News: His Grace Anba Bimen,” in al-Kiraza 6, no. 45 (Nov 1975): 3.

Gadallah, Nevine. “A Brief Look at the Life of the Departed Anba Bimen, Bishop of Mallawi” [Lamḥa ‘an ḥayāt al-mutanayyaḥ al-Anbā Bīmin Usquf Mallawī]. Watani (19 May 2016).

Hasan, S. S. Christians versus Muslims in Modern Egypt: The Century-Long Struggle for Coptic Equality. Oxford University Press, 2003: 85, 95, 155, 165–6.

Kozman, Michael (trans). I Rejoice in My Chains: Memoirs of Priests and Bishops in Prison. Putty, NSW: St Shenouda Press, 2019.

Munīr, Nadyā. “Anba Bimen’s Pastoral Work as a Bishop” [al-‘Amal al-ra‘awy lil-Anbā Bīmin ka-usquf]. Sunday School Magazine 40.6/7 (Aug/Sept 1986): 21–24.

——— “The Writings of His Eminence Anba Bimen” [Mu’allifāt niyāfat al-Anbā Bīmin]. Sunday School Magazine 40.6/7 (Aug/Sept 1986): 24–31.

Nessim, Sulīmān. “Anba Bimen as Educator” [al-Anbā Bīmin murabbiyyān]. Sunday School Magazine 40.6/7 (Aug/Sept 1986): 18–21.

Ṣidqy, Bishoy (Father). “Consecrated by Fire” [Mukarras min al-nār]. Sunday School Magazine 40.6/7 (Aug/Sept 1986): 15–18.

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Notes:

Notes:
↑1 S. S. Hasan, Christians versus Muslims in Modern Egypt: The Century-Long Struggle for Coptic Equality (Oxford University Press, 2003): 155.
↑2 Hasan, Christians vs Muslims, 89–90. See also (click for more…)
↑3 “Antonious, Kamal Habib (His Grace Bishop Bimen),” in Bibliographical Catalogue of Princeton Theological Seminary, 1900–1976, (ed.) A. M. Byers (Princeton, NJ: Princeton Theological Seminary, 1977): 478.
↑4 Bishop Bimen’s recollections of his imprisonment are included in a recently translated collection: I Rejoice in My Chains: Memoirs of Priests and Bishops in Prison (St Shenouda Press, 2019). On the tensions between Pope Shenouda an Sadat, see M. Guirguis and N. van Doorn-Harder, The Emergency of the Modern Coptic Papacy (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2011): 160–66.