Samuel the Confessor
| Saint Samuel | |
|---|---|
| Confessor | |
| Born | 597 Daklube, Egypt |
| Died | 695 Mount Qalamoun, Egypt |
| Venerated in |
Coptic Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches |
| Major shrine | Monastery of St. Samuel the Confessor, Egypt |
| Feast | 8 Kiahk |
| Attributes | Monk with one Eye |
Saint Samuel the Confessor (referred to in academic literature as Samuel of Kalamoun or Samuel of Qalamun) is a Coptic Orthodox saint, venerated in all Oriental Orthodox Churches. He is most famous for his torture at the hands of the Chalcedonian but Monothelite Byzantines, for his witness of the Arab invasion of Egypt, and for having built the monastery that carries his name in Mount Qalamoun. He carries the label "confessor" because he endured torture for his Christian faith, but was not a martyr.
The manuscripts of the Coptic text known as the Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun give his name as the author, but the work is in reality a much later composition.
The Arabic life of the saint gives the following details.
Samuel was born in AD 597 in the city of Daklube, Egypt, to a non-Chalcedonian priest called Arselaos. He spent most of his early years as a disciple of Saint Agathon at the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in Scetes, Egypt, where he was ordained a priest. Samuel became known for his great ascetism, and for abstaining from food and drink a week at a time. While at the Monastery of Saint Macarius, a Byzantine imperial envoy attempted to convince the desert monks to confess the Chalcedonian faith. Samuel became zealous and seized the imperial letter and rent it into pieces saying "Excommunicated is this tome and everyone who believes in it and cursed is everyone who might change the Orthodox faith of our Holy Fathers." Seized with anger, the envoy ordered Samuel to be beaten with pins and to be hanged up by his arms, and that his face be smitten. One of the strikes enucleated one of his eyes. Samuel was also beaten by Cyrus, the Chalcedonian patriarch of Alexandria. The latter also ordered Samuel to be driven away from the Nitrian Desert.
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