His full name was Samaan Salidis Ghali Salidis Buqtur Ya‘qub Soliman ‘Alam or Abu ‘Alam. His great grandfather was an honorary consul to a European state in Alexandria and used to hang the state’s flag on his doorstep, which is the origin of his family name of ‘Alam or Abū ‘Alam (the Arabic word for flag being ‘alam).

Samaan was born in 1886 in the village of Qus (in the Qena Governorate) to a blessed Coptic family comprised of six children: three boys, Ya‘qub, Samaan and Yassa, and three girls, Bahnasa, Safina and Satina (originally named Louisa) who was a particular blessing in Samaan’s life, as I discuss below.

At the time of his birth, most of the congregation in his Coptic village were drawn to a non-Orthodox church which had been established there in 1882. As God’s providence would have it, the administration of the Clerical College in Cairo sent one of their most eminent graduates to work in the village as a preacher (as was the custom in those days), to assist the aging, well-respected priest Hegumen Ghattas Bishara (1840–1916), who was married to Samaan’s maternal aunt.^[1]Ghattas Bishara was born in 1840 to an ancient, wealthy Coptic family known as the House of Bishara, stretching from Luxor to Qus. He commanded great respect in the eyes of the governors because of his graciousness and lack of partiality towards those in positions of power. He strove diligently to preserve the Orthodox faith in his village of Qus after foreign missionaries had nearly annihilated it there. He set aside the income of 120 fiddan (acres) of his personal land to support the poor, to build a school for boys and another for girls as well as the two churches of Qus and Abnud. With this money, churches were built in the name of the martyr Abu Sefein in Asna, Luxor and al-Tuwabiyya. When he served as the vicar of the diocese of Qena, he established a charitable association in addition to two schools. He fell asleep in 1916 at the age of nearly 76. This preacher was Deacon Butrus Awadalla (later known as Hegumen Butrus Awadalla [1878–1963]). The young preacher Butrus worked persistently and positively: he loved the congregation and used visit them regularly to nourish them with spiritual teaching, explaining the Church’s disciplines and her holy scripture, and in this way sparked a genuine revival in the village. Thus the congregation returned to the embrace of the mother church during the five years in which he served there.

In this way, and in this beautiful atmosphere, Samaan’s eyes were opened in his village, as he was fed the milk of the faith from his youngest days. He was deeply affected by the young preacher Butrus Awadalla who first introduced him to the idea of the Clerical College, which led him to enrol there in 1902, graduating after four years. From the beginning of his career, his heart was set on dedicating himself to service and working in the Lord’s vineyard by taking up the life of a celibate, consecrated servant.

There can be no doubt that the circumstances in which Samaan Salidis was raised — his village having suffered for a long period at the hands of foreign missionary efforts — had a profound impact on his formation, which is manifest at many points in his later life, as I will demonstrate below.

Before the Clerical College:

Immediately after graduating from the Clerical College in 1906, Salidis chose the path of religious and theological education more than the path of service and preaching in communities and churches as was the custom in those days. He served first in the Monastic School of Theology at Dayr al-Muharraq in Asyut, which had been founded by the monastery’s bishop Anba Bakhomios (the First) in 1905.

Then in 1909, when Anba Arsanius (the First), bishop of St Paul’s Monastery, established another theological school for monks attached to his monastery in Bush, Beni Suef, Salidis transferred there, first in order to teach, and then to serve as its principal.

He also worked as a teacher of religion in Senoures, Fayyum and the Coptic Girls’ College in Cairo. At every stage and with every move, he was accompanied by his dear, celibate sister Setina (Louisa) who knew the holy scriptures by heart and used to help him compose his theological writings. He used to rely on her, for example, to provide references from holy scripture, since she had memorised many of the books by heart.

Teaching at the Clerical College:

He was conversant with a wide range of books and sources because of his proficiency in a number of languages, including English, French and Ancient Greek, in addition to Coptic and formal Arabic (in which he deliver impromptu poetry fluently). He was appointed to teach in the Clerical College in Cairo beginning in 1918, at which time it was located in the district of Mahmasha in Cairo. He became a distinguished and skilled teacher of the subjects he was appointed to teach, which were: Old Testament, Dogmatic Theology and Homiletics.

It is worth noting that — as the saying goes, “A difference of opinion does no harm to a good friendship” — there were some ideological differences between Salidis and the Principal (Dean) of the Clerical College at that time, namely St Archdeacon Habib Girgis regarding certain methodological issues to do with the structure of religious and theological teaching in the Coptic Church and the structure of Sunday School as a whole.

Salidis was very wary of the idea of ‘Coptic Sunday School’ and how it was implemented; since it appeared in its final form to be nothing but the Coptic Church’s reaction to foreign preaching campaigns, one which had come to resemble the paradigm presented by foreign missions, without sufficiently changing the overarching ideology that informed them. For example, Sunday School programs presented Bible studies in a manner that resembled the foreign missionary programs which often accused the Coptic Church of generally lacking interest in the study of the Bible. Both these curriculums also ignored important topics that directly relate to the faith of our Orthodox Church and clarify her faith on the question of the relationship of Holy Scripture to Holy Tradition and consequently, of the place of the Bible in the thought of the fathers of the Orthodox Church in general, and of the Coptic Church in particular.

Salidis strove to adopt this methodology in his famous book known as A Precise Account of Prayer for the Departed, in which he presents the true mind of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the question of the Resurrection, thereby carving out a new program for study in the Clerical College even earlier than his contemporaries including St Archdeacon Habib Girgis.

Nonetheless, Salidis had nothing but love and respect for St Archdeacon Habib Girgis, and worked with him by producing a number of articles for al-Karma magazine. These feelings were reciprocated by the saintly archdeacon who mourned him after his departure with moving words (as will be seen below) which indicate his genuine, unfeigned love and appreciation for this valiant Orthodox character. In the end, they provide an exquisite example for future generations of how to maintain mutual respect in matters of church education despite systemic disagreements about certain points of view.

His Academic Output:

Salidis compiled a collection of articles while teaching at the Monastic School of St Paul’s Monastery in Būsh, printed in the sixteenth volume of al-Ḥaqq magazine published by Yusuf Manqaryus, the Dean of the Clerical College, under the title: Christ: The Great Teacher of Humanity who Restored Its Corruption and Expelled Its Ignorance.^[2]al-Masiḥ mu‘allim al-insāniyya al-‘aẓīm aṣlaḥa fasād-hā wa dhahhaba jihālat-hā. The first part was published in issue 34 of the aforementioned year, dated Saturday 5 Paope 1627 (A.M.), corresponding to 15 October 1910, pages 265–270. The third part was published in issue 35 of the same volume, dated 12 Paope 1627 which corresponds to 22 October 1910, pages 273–279. The second part, however, was published in issue 39 of the same volume, on Saturday 10 Hatour 1627, corresponding to 19 November 1910, pages 307–310. At the beginning of the article, the magazine’s administration acknowledged the error they had made by inadvertently publishing third part before the second. The fourth and final part of this work was published in issue 40 of the same year, dated 17 Hatour 1627, corresponding to 26 November 1910, pages 313–15.

He also wrote a book called The Believers’ Joy Upon the Feast of Nativity,^[3]Bahjat al-‘ubbād fī ‘īd al-mīlad as well as a number of works which were not published until after his departure, and which are yet to be published a volume under his name. Tragically, many of his greatest literary compositions were with his sister, the aforementioned Setina (Louisa), who accompanied him through all the stages of his life to the moment of his departure from this world, but she lost these works a number of reasons which there is no need to go into here.

However, Hegumen Ibrahim Luqa, after having discovered some of his lost writings, encouraged their speedy publication in the commentary section of his magazine al-Yaqẓa, introducing the author to his readers saying: “Professor Samaan Salidis was one of the most brilliant teachers of theology to have graced the Coptic Church with his valuable writings, which demonstrate the depth in religious disciplines and spiritual topics. He spent the last part of his life as a teacher at the Clerical College, and departed very young and mourned by all. We have seen fit to publish some of his researches which he composed but which have not yet been published.” He began by publishing:

• [The first part of] a sermon for the first Sunday of Tout, in volume 16, issue 4 of al-Yaqẓa (January 1940), 275–280.
• The second part of the sermon for the first Sunday of Tout in volume 16, issue 6 of the same magazine (March 1940), 389–391.
• A sermon on fasting, in volume 16, issue 7 of the same magazine (April 1940), 453–456.

I do not know why he did not go on to publish the remaining works.

The Context of A Precise Account of Prayer for the Departed:

His most important work is indisputably A Precise Account of Prayer for the Departed, published in 1931, a year after his departure. There is a wonderful story behind this work, which can be summed up as follows: Hegumen Dawud Mansur, Coptic vicar of Belkas sent a question to al-Ḥaqq magazine (vol. 13, no. 18, 1907), the text of which reads:

Does prayer for the departed, along with the offering of oblations and the paying of alms and charitable donations for their souls, benefit them and give them comfort and repose in the grave or not? Is there anything in the gospels or epistles that explicitly addresses this issue with a clear answer?

The magazine’s editor, Yusuf Bek Manqaryus (Dean of the Clerical College at that time), replied with some sayings of Dionysius the Areopagite, St John Chrysostom, Mar Ephrem the Syrian and Sts Basil and Gregory, which confirm that prayer for the dead benefits them a great deal (334–337).

But Girgis Filuthaus ‘Awad, editor of the Coptic Magazine, responded to [Manqaryus] saying:

These teachings of the editor of al-Ḥaqq contradict the spirit of sound religion and are destructive of the same: he wants [to reinstate] the doctrine of Purgatory and the sale of indulgences, only without mentioning them by name! Where are those who will defend the faith and stand up against the heretics,^[4]ya-qūm fī wajh al-mubtadi‘īn especially since [the Clerical College and pastors of the future] have been entrusted to someone who promotes this heresy?^[5]“New Heresies: Indulgences and Purgatory Among the Copts” [Bida‘ jidīda: bī‘ al-ghufrānāt wa-l-maṭhar ‘ind al-aqbāṭ], Coptic Magazine 1, no. 5 (August 1907): 273–276 (on 276).

Yusuf Manqaryus then penned a series of articles in response (al-Ḥaqq, volume 13, pages 382–89; 390–98; 422–435 and volume 14, pages 22–28; 38–41; 55–60; 73–77; 104–109).

And since there was no comprehensive study of this subject within Arabic Christian literature — prompting Manqaryus to resort to various foreign sources — Samaan Salidis took it upon himself to study this subject from all sides. The book [A Precise Account of Prayer for the Departed] was the fruit of this investigation. He began to publish it as a series of articles in al-Karma under the heading “The Foundation of the Doctrine of Prayer for the Departed, or The Glorious Resurrection.”^[6]al-Karma 14, no. 7 (July 1928): 366–374; no. 8 (October 1928): 302–309; no. 9 (November 1928): 373–478; no. 10 (December 1928): 519–527.

It seems that he intended to collect all these [articles] into a book, but never found the time. Accordingly, Bishop Isidorus took it upon himself to publish them in a book of two volumes containing 464 pages, giving it the title al-Qawl al-yaqīn fī al-ṣalāa ‘an al-muntaqilīn (A Precise Account of Prayer for the Departed), rather than sticking to the original title which Salidis himself had given the series of articles in al-Karma, (i.e. The Foundation of the Doctrine of Prayer for the Departed, or The Glorious Resurrection). On its final pages, his younger brother Yassa Salidis wrote a eulogy describing his brother’s efforts in research and the breadth of his reading, pointing out the various tribulations he had suffered throughout his short life. It is worth noting that this book was reprinted and republished more than once in the latter part of the twentieth century.

His Unexpected Departure

Samaan Salidis passed away suddenly on August 26, 1930 at the age of 45. While walking along the beach in Alexandria in discussion with a non-Orthodox person, his blood pressure became extremely high, causing him to faint and fall into the water where he suffocated. His body was taken to his home village of Qūṣ with painstaking efforts and was laid to rest there.

His friend Hegumen Ibrahim Luqa (priest of the Church of St Mark, Heliopolis) lamented him in moving words in al-Yaqẓa.^[7]al-Yaqẓa 7, no. 2 (Baba 1647/October 1930): 120. Likewise, he was eulogised by the saint and archdeacon Habib Girgis in a tribute titled The Departure of a Great Teacher:

With his departure, the Clerical College has suffered a great loss, for he was — God rest his soul — a capable and effective teacher … proficient in his knowledge of the Holy Bible and its interpretation, well-versed in theological research, insightful in his views, formidable in argument, noble in his morals and characteristics.^[8]Habib Girgis, “Wafāa ustādh fāḍil”, al-Karma 16, no. 8 (22 Baba 1647/1 November 1930): 510–11.

May his memory be eternal.