Fr Bishoy Kamel

(1931–1979)
Fr Bishoy Kamel2

God declared His love for human beings in many ways: it was revealed in His sweet words, His healing of the sick, His raising of the dead. And finally, the abundance of His love was revealed to the uttermost when He offered His own self, broke it and gave it to them to eat.

(Meditations on the Divine Liturgy)

Biography

Born Sami Kamel in 1931 in Menoufia, the man who would become Saint Bishoy Kamel grew up in Damanhour. After earning a science degree in 1951, he began to teach high school science at Ramleh Secondary School. At the same time, he continued to study, earning diplomas in Psychology, Education and Philosophy from Alexandria University. In 1957, the university appointed him an associate professor in the Higher Institute of Education.[1]John H. Watson, “The Transfigured Cross: A Study of Father Bishoi Kamel (6 Dec 1931–21 March 1979),” Coptic Church Review 23, no. 1/2 (2002): 10–12.” In the same period, he was an energetic servant in the Sunday School movement in Alexandria, and thus combined his broad learning and study with a zealous dedication to ministry. In the words of John Watson:
The completeness of his mind and the empathy of his nature were evident from his ability to excel in art, education, philosophy, psychology, science and theology. For Sami, all scholarship was related to the quest for an knowledge of God, so that even the simple tasks of study ha larger meaning.[2]Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 11.

After a chance encounter in 1959, Pope Kyrillos VI unexpectedly handpicked Sami to become the priest of a new church being built in Sporting, Alexandria. Despite never having met him before, Kyrillos made the sign of the cross on the young man’s head and said, “God has given us a sign that you are to be a priest. I shall ordain you next Sunday.”[3]Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 14. Becoming a celibate priest was not an option, and this meant that Sami — who was single and had no plans for marriage — now had a week to find a wife. Uncertain of what to do, Sami went to consult with his spiritual mentor in Alexandria, Yousef Habib, who counselled him in his uncertainty, and suggested a possible candidate for a quick marriage: Angel Bassili. Habib went straight away to suggest the idea to Angel, and with the Pope’s blessing, the two were quickly married. This remarkable story is recalled by the late Tasoni Angel herself:
It was about ten o’clock at night when Sami arrived. The marriage must be on the next day because of the Advent Fast. When there are fasts in the Coptic Church, there are no marriages. So we had to arrange everything that night and prepared for the marriage at eight o’clock in the evening on the next day.[4]Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 14.
Sami was then ordained Fr Bishoy Kamel on Wednesday December 2, 1959, and spent his forty day treat in the Syrian Monastery. He was appointed as parish priest of the Church of St George in Sporting, Alexandria.
In the early 1970s, Pope Kyrillos sent Fr Bishoy and Fr Tadros Malaty to serve for some time in America (Los Angeles).[5]Magdi Guirguis & Nelly van Doorn-Harder, The Emergence of the Modern Coptic Papacy (Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press, 2011), 181. As might be expected, Fr Bishoy quickly became a prolific writer and preacher, and is considered by many Copts as a contemporary saint. He was also a keen and often controversial contributor to church affairs. For instance, he was outspokenly opposed to the possibility of bishops (general or diocesan) becoming Patriarch, as he argued in a controversial pamphlet titled Ecclesiastical Teachings; a position which strained his otherwise friendly relationship with Pope Shenouda III (who had been a general bishop before becoming Pope).[6]On the tensions between Pope Shenouda and Fr Bishoy, see Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 35–36. Fr Bishoy was also a lifelong friend and supporter of Fr Matthew the Poor, and insisted on meeting and learning from him even during the period of Fr Matthew’s strained relationship with Pope Kyrillos[7]Fr Tadros Malaty, General Servants’ Meeting, July 17, 2019. When St Macarius’ Monastery began publishing St Mark Magazine (Majallat Murqus) for youth and servants, Fr Bishoy was a regular contributor. In 1976 he was diagnosed with cancer, and after three years of struggling with the illness, he departed peacefully on March 21, 1979. His fellow priest Fr Tadros Malaty recalls that the days of his illness, even when he was on his sickbed, were some of the most effective in his entire service, even though Fr Bishoy himself did not perceive it: “God had hidden from [Fr Bishoy’s] eyes the power of his service during his sickness. Many people found comfort in their sickness or by troubles merely seeing [him] in pain or hearing about his patience and joy!”[8]Fr Tadros Malaty, Pastoral Work in the Life of Fr Pishoy Kamel, (trans. & rev.) H. Doss, M. Youssef, I. Ibrahim and N. El-Agamy (Santa Monica, CA: St Peter & St Paul’s Coptic Orthodox Church, 1995), 13.. On June 9, 2022, Fr Bishoy Kamel was recognised as a saint by the Holy Synod, along with Fr Yustus al-Antoni.[9]General Session of the Holy Synod, 9 June 2022, https://copticorthodox.church/en/2022/06/09/general-session-of-the-holy-synod-2022/

Browse Texts on ACCOT

Bibliography

A. Works (partial list)

Fr Bishoy’s written legacy is very large, and a complete bibliography has yet to be compiled. This list is only partial. If you are interested in helping to compile a complete bibliography, please contact us.

In English Translation

  • Great Lent and Me. Trans. Yvonne Tadros (Putty, NSW: St Shenouda Press, 2018). (Amazon)
  • Resurrection and Me. Trans. Yvonne Tadros (Putty, NSW: St Shenouda Press, 2019). (Amazon)

In Arabic

  • Augustine’s Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount [Āghusṭīnūs fī sharḥ al-maw‘iẓa ‘alā-l-jabal]. Karnak Press, 1962. (PDF)
  • Saint Demiana [al-Qiddīsa Dimȳāna]. Al-Ibrāhīmīyya, Alexandria: Library of St George’s Church, Sporting/Karnak Press, 1982. (PDF)
  • The Sacrifice of Our Faith [Ḍabīḥat īmānnā]. Al ‘abbasiyya: Anba Ruweiss, 1985. (PDF)
  • How can we live the resurrection? [Kaīfa nu‘īsh al-qīyāma?]. 3rd edn. Al-Ibrāhīmīyya, Alexandria: Library of St George’s Church, Sporting, 1989. (PDF)
  • Illuminating and Living Sermons [‘iẓāt muḍī’a wa mu‘āsha], 7 vols. Al ‘abbasiyya: Anba Ruweiss, 2004. (PDF)

B. Further Reading

Malaty, Tadros Y. Pastoral Work in the Life of Fr Pishoy Kamel. Translated and revised by Howayda Doss, Michelle Youssef, Irene Ibrahim and Nora El-Agamy. Santa Monica, CA: St Peter & St Paul’s Coptic Orthodox Church, 1995. (PDF)

Watson, John H. “The Transfigured Cross: A Study of Fr Bishoy Kamel (6 December 1931–21 March 1979)” Coptic Church Review 23, nos. 1 & 2 (2002). (PDF)

Media

Notes:

Notes:
↑1 John H. Watson, “The Transfigured Cross: A Study of Father Bishoi Kamel (6 Dec 1931–21 March 1979),” Coptic Church Review 23, no. 1/2 (2002): 10–12.”
↑2 Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 11.
↑3, ↑4 Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 14.
↑5 Magdi Guirguis & Nelly van Doorn-Harder, The Emergence of the Modern Coptic Papacy (Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press, 2011), 181.
↑6 On the tensions between Pope Shenouda and Fr Bishoy, see Watson, “The Transfigured Cross,” 35–36.
↑7 Fr Tadros Malaty, General Servants’ Meeting, July 17, 2019
↑8 Fr Tadros Malaty, Pastoral Work in the Life of Fr Pishoy Kamel, (trans. & rev.) H. Doss, M. Youssef, I. Ibrahim and N. El-Agamy (Santa Monica, CA: St Peter & St Paul’s Coptic Orthodox Church, 1995), 13.
↑9 General Session of the Holy Synod, 9 June 2022, https://copticorthodox.church/en/2022/06/09/general-session-of-the-holy-synod-2022/