The Church celebrates the Feast of our Lord’s Entry into Egypt on the 24th day of the month of Pashons (June 1st). This feast is among the Seven Minor Feasts of the Lord. As the Holy Family entered the land of Egypt, St. Mary the Virgin mother carried the child Jesus in her arms, with Joseph the Carpenter at her side and Salome, who accompanied them.
They had done so in order to escape from Herod, who had sought to kill the Child. This was instructed to Joseph by the Archangel Gabriel in a dream where the Gabriel told him: "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him." Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son"
The entry of our Lord Jesus Christ into the land of Egypt is an opportunity for rejoicing and delighting for the many blessings that his entry has impacted upon Egypt. The Church is aware of how important this event has been. And this is the reason it is one of the Lord’s feasts. There are several symbols and spiritual meanings that are indicated by the coming of the Lord Christ into Egypt. God’s plan for Christ’s entering the land of Egypt contains, as far as we can assume, four spiritual meanings that indicate the benefit for us from this divine plan.
The Feast of Entrance into Egypt - English
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24th Day of the Month of Pashons
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The First Spiritual meaning:
The first spiritual meaning was that the Lord has been willing to remove his anger from this land. God wanted to show how his forgiveness works and how he was going to replace the old by the new and the curse by the blessing. God is willing to abolish the curses of the plagues that he had once inflicted upon the Egyptians, when he punished them severely with the ten plagues in the old time, pouring his wrath upon them and the whole land of Egypt.
Now by sending his Son to Egypt, He is restoring his favor instead of his wrath, his blessing instead of his curse; purifying everything, renewing everything: the people, the land, the water, and the air. This is the first reason for which our Lord came to bless the land of Egypt that he had once cursed. He made his entry into Egypt in order to establish there the benediction instead of the malediction. The lesson for us here is that God is teaching us about conversion.
A life spent far away from God needs repentance. Otherwise this life will be condemned to perish in the hell of fire. Therefore, the person whom converts, repents, turns back from the wicked ways to God, will deserve the renewal of life in our Lord Christ Jesus, instead of deserving the condemnation to the hell of fire. Conversion is by excellence the figure of the transformation from the curses to the blessings, from the sinful nature to the renewed and purified being. As the converting person receives a new life in the Lord Jesus Christ, in the same way, as Egypt that received the Lord received a blessing compensating her old curses caused by sin.
In both the converting person and the land of Egypt receiving the Lord Christ one common trait unifies their destiny: Holiness shines instead of darkness.
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The second spiritual meaning:
The second spiritual meaning for the coming of Christ into the land of Egypt is the meaning of escape from evil. By His coming to Egypt, our Lord gave us the key of the practical application of his command to escape evil, not to resist it in
Our Lord escaped from the face of the King Herod. Nevertheless, His escape is not based on cowardice and does not come out of weakness! His escape is based on divine plan; he made this journey to Egypt to fulfill the divine purpose of redemption, aiming to redeem all of mankind. We have a special remembrance for the slain children of Bethlehem on the third day of the Coptic month of Touba, when we celebrate their memory as we consider them being for us among the cloud of witnesses. Therefore, the Lord’s plan for us is that we follow His example, walk into His steps, escape from evil, escape from sin. This escape is a program that we should always remember, consider, trust, and follow. -
The third spiritual meaning:
The third spiritual meaning for the Lord Jesus Christ’s entering into Egypt is to establish a Temple for the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and to abolish and destroy the idolatrous temples spread and perverting the whole land. So we can consider the journey of the Holy Family to Egypt a journey with a building purpose, a foundational-minded journey aiming to install in Egypt the establishment of the Temple of God.
In the Old Testament, the only temple of God was in Jerusalem. The Lord has been willing to add geographically Egypt to come to His knowledge. The Lord is willing to announce to the people of Egypt His love for them. He is calling them to acknowledge Him and to worship Him, to love Him and to adore Him; He is destining them to build His Church. Isaiah the Prophet prophesied about that saying: "So the Lord will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the Lord. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the Lord and keep them".
Therefore, the Lord is not only making Himself known in Egypt in a habitual way of traditional knowledge. Rather, a deep and profound knowledge is involved, giving the Egyptians the privilege to become also the flock of God. They are from now on making vows to God and keeping them. After they were Israel’s enemies. The Holy Book of Isaiah eloquently tells the story of the journey of the Holy Family to Egypt. It is a journey that causes "the idols of Egypt to tremble and the hearts of the Egyptians to melt." Our Lord does not want us to love anything more than we love Him. If a person loves something more than the Lord, the Lord wants that idolatrous thing to tremble. Idols could be things such as the Ego or the ancient self prior to conversion. By the melting of the hearts of the Egyptians, the Lord wants to teach us that conversion gives humility to the heart and repentance; two elements that are vital and necessary in the adoration of God. -
The fourth spiritual meaning:
The fourth spiritual meaning of the Lord’s journey to Egypt is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Hosea: "Out of Egypt I called my Son."
"When Israel was a child I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my Son." The Lord wants to teach us an important lesson concerning the traveling and the continual moving without rest. He journeyed inside Egypt without a home or a specific place of his own where he could rest. He was as a stranger that had no support and no place to lean his head upon. Thus He wants us to be familiarized with the feeling of being strangers to both the heavenly homeland (that we didn’t reach yet!) and the earthly homeland. We want to be like our Lord Jesus Christ, considering ourselves strangers, having nowhere to rest. It is a precious lesson for us to learn that the earthly home is only a temporary one and our heavenly home is the perpetual one.
The journey of the Lord Jesus Christ with the Holy Family to Egypt was a hard and difficult one, where He was seeking souls longing for Him and souls hungry and thirsty for Him.
St. Wadamoun El-Armanty met with our Lord in the region of El-Ashmounin located in the south of Egypt. He was from a city called Armante, which is distant 500 kilometers from Mallawi or El-Ashmounin. St. Wadamoun was the first to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord told him that he was going to be the first martyr. As St. Wadamoun was performing miracles with the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, the pagans and idolatrous people – seeing the idols trembling, crushing, and falling in destruction – persecuted him and killed him. He died effectively as the Lord Jesus Christ told him, as a martyr.
In the records of our Church, he is counted with the 44 thousand or the Children of Bethlehem, as their martyrdom occurred at the same period of time, historically. This was the inauguration of the martyrdom and the starting of the sufferings for our Lord’s faith.
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To our God be the eternal Glory for ever, Amen.
— Sermon By H.G. Bishop Dimetrius, Bishop of the Holy Diocese of Mallawi, Ansena and El-Ashmunein and Abbot of the Monastery of Saint Fana, Upper Egypt. Go to the Arabic Version Source: SAINT MINA COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH, Hamilton |
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Beginning of the Journey
“…Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, ’Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him’” (Matthew 2:13). St. Joseph complied and a donkey was fetched for the gentle mother to ride while carrying her new born Child. They set out from Bethlehem on their predestined journey, the hardened old carpenter, who was St. Mary’s betrothed, striding ahead, leading the donkey by its leash into the untracked paths of a wilderness. Such a difficult journey was filled with danger every step of the way. In their escape from the infanticide fury of King Herod, the Holy Family, understandably, had to avoid the well-traveled roads, They followed unknown paths guided by God and His angel. They picked their way, day after day, through hidden valleys and across uncharted plateaus in the then rugged wastelands of Sinai. They endured the scorching heat of the sun by day and the bitter cold of the desert by night. All fears of the young mother for her Infant were calmed by the faith that infused her with His birth, especially when she experienced how they were preserved from the threat of wild beasts and savage tribesmen, and how their daily sustenance was miraculously provided. They arrived, at last, safely, in Egypt as God planned.
Resources of the Journey
The tortuous trails they followed in their passage across Sinai, and their subsequent travels within Egypt, were chronicled by Pope Theophilus, 23rd Patriarch of Alexandria (384-412 AD). He testified, in his celebrated annals, that on the eve of the 6th of the Coptic month of Hathor (corresponding with November), after long prayer, the Holy Virgin revealed herself to him. The Holy Virgin related the details of the Holy Family’s journey to, from and in Egypt to Pope Theophilus and instructed him to record what he saw and heard. This is considered a very trusted source. It is a virtual certainty that, at a time when happenings of a momentous or historical nature were transmitted by word of mouth from one generation to next, the account of Pope Theophilus’ vision simply confirmed the oral tradition of supernatural occurrences which accompanied the arrival of a wondrous Child in the towns and villages of Egypt some four hundred years earlier. The flight of the Holy Family in Egypt is also found in the writings of Hippolytus of Rome. He was a theologian, active church leader and a Biblical commentator during the early 3rd century. He indicates that the Holy Family stayed in Egypt for 3 years and 6 months. He may have received the early local traditions within the Christian church in Egypt just over 200 years after the death of Christ. Another source is a work composed by Sozomen, the Christian historian in the middle of the 5th century. His works provided information about events from 325 to 425 about local sites in Hermopolis. In chapter five he records “At Hermopolis, in the Thebaid, is a tree called Persis of which the branches, the leaves and the least portion of the bark are said to heal diseases, when touched by the sick; for it is related by the Egyptians that when Joseph fled with Christ and Mary, the holy mother of God, from the wrath of Herod, they went to Hermpolois; when entering at the gate, this largest tree, as if not enduring the advent of Christ, inclined to the ground and worshiped him.” Other sources of information include accounts by 2nd and 3rd century Greek and Jewish writers, philosophers, and historians.
The Holy Family at El-Zaraniq and Farama
According to the sources of the Coptic Church, chief among which is the vision documented by Pope Theophilus, and recorded in the Coptic Synaxarium, the Holy Family proceeded from Bethlehem to Gaza, and from there to El-Zaraniq (a.k.a. Floussiat), some 37 km west of Al-Arish. They then threaded their way along northern Sinai until they reached Farama (ancient Pelusium). It was their last stop in Sinai and with the next leg of their journey they put the perils of the wilderness behind them.
The Holy Family at Basta
At Tel-Basta (Bubastis or Basta), where the Holy Family rested under a tree which survived till 1850, Jesus caused a spring of water to well up from the ground. This spring carried healing powers. His presence caused the idols to crumble, as foretold by the prophets of old. Due to this, the townsfolk turned malevolent and aggressive, whereupon the Holy Family turned their backs on the town and headed southwards.
The Holy Family at Mostorod
Mostorod, which is 10 km away from Cairo, is known as Al-Mahamma, which means the “bathing place” because the Virgin Mary bathed her Child there and washed His clothes. It is noteworthy that, eventually, on their way back home, the Holy Family stopped once more here and, this time, caused a spring to gush from the earth which still flows today.
The Holy Family at Belbeis
From Mostrod, they made their way north-eastwards to Belbeis (ancient Philippos), 55 km from Cairo. They rested there in the shade of a tree, which came to be called, “The Virgin Mary’s tree.”
The Holy Family at Samannoud
They continued their journey to the North passing by Zagazig and making their way to Meniet Samannoud (a.k.a. Meniet Genah). They passed by the town currently known as Daqadous, where a church of the Virgin Mary is found. There is also a water well from which they drank. Then they crossed the Nile to Samannoud (or Jemnoty) in the Delta, where the local population received them with kindness and hospitality that earned them a deserved blessing. There is in Samannoud to this day a large granite trough which, according to local belief, was used by the Virgin for kneading dough, and a water-well which the Child Jesus blessed.
The Holy Family at Sakha
They traveled northwest until they reached Sakha. The Coptic name of Sakha is “Pekha Issous” meaning “the foot of Jesus,” for the Holy Child’s foot-print was marked, here, in bas-relief on a rock preserved, but hidden for centuries for fear of robbery, and only unearthed on September 27, 1984.
The Holy Family at Wadi El-Natroun
They crossed the Rosetta branch of the Nile to the western delta, and headed south into Wadi El-Natroun (Natroun Valley, a.k.a. Scetis) in the Western desert of Egypt. Before reaching Wadi El-Natroun, the Holy Family passed through the spring of Al-Humra where the Infant Jesus caused a water spring to well up from the ground. The well is called “Beer Mariam” (Mary’s well). In the earliest decades of Christianity, the desert around Wadi El-Natroun, became filled with monastic settlements, and later, many monasteries, in spiritual commemoration of the Holy Family’s passage through the Valley.
The Holy Family at Matariyah and Ain Shams
Eventually, they left the desert behind and made their way south, crossing the Nile to its eastern bank, and heading for Matariah and Ain Shams (ancient Heliopolis, the site of the oldest university in history). Both these adjacent districts are outlying suburbs of present day Cairo. At the time of their arrival, Ain Shams was home to a large Jewish community, who had erected the Synagogue of Unias for worship. In Matariyah, a tree still stands called “Mary’s tree,” for the Holy Family rested in its shade. Here too, the Infant Jesus caused water to flow from a spring, from which He drank and blessed, and in which the Virgin washed His clothes. She poured the washing water onto the ground, and from that spot, the fragrant balsam plant blossomed. Besides the healing and pain soothing properties of this balsam, its essence is used in the preparation of the scents and perfumes of which the Holy Myron is made.
The Holy Family at Zeitoun
Setting out next towards Old Cairo, the Holy Family rested for a while in Zeitoun. On April 2, 1968, St. Mary appeared on the domes of her church in Zeitoun, for many hours almost everyday, until 1971. Her apparitions were accompanied by many supernatural phenomena, seen by thousands of people from different countries, religions, and languages. Numerous miracles and healings occurred during every apparition. On their way they proceeded along a course, which is now the crowded, bustling quarters of Cairo, within which the serene landmarks of an earlier Coptic heritage still stand, marking the path the Holy Family followed.
The Holy Family in Old Cairo
Old Cairo is among the most important locations visited by the Holy Family. The spiritual impact of their presence is still felt, though their stay was brief; because the Governor of the area, enraged by the tumbling down of idols at Jesus’ approach, sought to kill the Child. They took shelter from his wrath in a cave above which, the Church of Abu Serga (St. Sergius) was later built. This, and the whole area of the Fort of Babylon, is a destination of pilgrimage for Christians from around the world. Important sites include:
- Hanging Church
- St. Sergius church
- St. Barbara
- The Convents of St. George and of St. Mercurious
- The Coptic Museum and the ramparts of the Fortress of Babylon
- The Greek Orthodox Church of St. George
- St. Mary Church
- St. George Church
- St. Mercurious Church
- The Convents of Virgin Mary and of St. George
The Holy Family at Maady
After their short, but impressive stay in Old Cairo, the Holy Family moved in a southerly direction, reaching the modern Cairo suburb of Maady. In earlier pharaonic times and at that time it was an outlying district of Memphis, the Capital of Egypt. From Maady, they boarded a sailboat to carry them up the Nile towards southern Egypt. The historic church built upon the spot from which they embarked, dedicated to the Virgin, is further identified by the denominative, “Al-Adaweya” meaning the Virgin’s church of the ferry.” In fact, the name of that modern suburb, Maady, derives from the Arabic word for “the crossing point.” The stone steps leading down to the river’s bank are believed to have been used by the Holy Family. An event of miraculous importance occurred on March 12, 1976. A Holy Bible of unknown provenance was carried by the lapping ripples of the Nile to the bank below the church. It was opened to the page in the Book of Isaiah declaring, “Blessed be Egypt My people” (Isaiah 19:25). This Bible is now preserved behind glass in that church.
The Holy Family at Deir Al-Garnous, Maghagha
The sailboat docked at the village of Ashnein El-Nassara (a small village near the town of Maghagha), then the village of Deir Al-Garnous (the later site of the monastery of Al-Garnous) 10 km west of Ashnein El-Nassara. Outside the western wall of the church of the Virgin, a deep well is believed to have provided the Holy Family with the water they needed.
The Holy Family at Al-Bahnassa
They went on from there to a spot, later named “Abai Issous” meaning, “the house of Jesus,” the site of present day Sandafa village, east of Al-Bahnassa.
The Holy Family at Gabal El-Tair, Samalout
Towards the south, they went to Samalout and crossed the Nile again to the east bank, where the Monastery of the Virgin Mary now stands upon Gabal El-Tair, meaning “Bird Mountain.” This mountain is known by that name because thousands of birds gather there. The Holy Family rested in a cave which is now located inside the ancient church. Coptic tradition maintains that, as the Holy Family rested in the shade of the mountain, Jesus stretched His little hand to hold back a rock which was about to detach itself from the mountain’s side and fall upon them. The imprint of His palm is still visible. Therefore, this mountain is also known as “Gabal El-Kaf,” meaning “Palm Mountain.” When they resumed their travels, the Holy Family passed a laurel tree, south of Gabal El-Tair. It is claimed that this tree bowed to worship the Lord Christ while He was passing. The configuration of the tree is, indeed, unique because all its branches incline downwards, trailing on the ground, then turn upwards again, covered in a cloak of green leaves. The tree is named “Al-Abed” meaning “the worshiper.”
The Holy Family at Al-Ashmounein, Mallawy
The Holy Family travelled south to reach “El-Sheikh Ebada” where the Infant Jesus caused a spring to flow. Thereafter, they crossed the Nile to the west bank and continued until reaching “Al-Shmounei (ancient Hermopolis Magma). Leaving behind them the rubble of the fallen idols, they blessed Al-Ashmounein, and made their way to the south reaching Mallawy, where Deir Al-Malak (the Monastery of the Angel) is, and crossed the Nile to the east bank and rested at “Kom Maria,” where today is located “Deir Abou Hennis” (the Monastery of St. Youannes). They continued until reaching “Tel El-Amarna.”
The Holy Family at Qussqam
Here, too, the recorded events testified that the townsfolk were infuriated when the stone statue of their local deity cracked and fell, and evicted the Holy Family from the town. A historically recorded incident dating to that period refers to the devastation of Qussqam (or Qost-Qoussia), and the Coptic tradition asserts that the ruin that befell the town was the consequence of its violent rejection of the Holy Family. The Holy Family received a very different welcome at their next stop, Meir (or Meira) only 7 km west of Qoussia. Here, they found hospitality, and wherever they went, the townspeople treated them with love, in which they were also blessed. Now it was time for the Holy Family to set out for what is the most meaningful destination of all in the land of Egypt, the place where there would be “an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt.” Mount Qussqam, which takes its name from the town nearby that was laid waste, is 327 km south of Cairo. The Monastery of Al-Muharraq nestles against the western foothills of the Mountain. It was built around the area where the Holy Family remained for just over six months. Their time was spent mainly in a cave which became, in the Coptic era, the altar of the church of the Virgin Mary, built at the western end of the Monastery compound. The altar stone was the resting place of the Child Jesus during the months He dwelt there. It was here, at the very spot where Al-Muharraq Monastery stands, th at the angel of the Lord appeared to St. Joseph in a dream, and said, “Arise, and take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for they are dead which sought the young Child’s life” (Matthew 2:20).
The Return
And so they set forth on the return journey. The route they took deviated slightly from the one by which they had come as it took them to the western mountain, 8 km south west of the city of Assiut, and there blessing of the location was commemorated in the Christian era by the building of the mountain top Convent of the Virgin Mary. Eventually, they arrived at Old Cairo, then Matariyah, and on to Mahammah, more or less retracing their steps across Sinai to the land of Israel. Subsequent Biblical history indicates that at the end, they arrived at St. Joseph’s old house, in the small town of Nazareth in Galilee. The whole journey, from the initial flight from Bethlehem to the return to Nazareth lasted over three years. It covered approximately 2000 km (1250 miles). On the 24th of the Coptic month of Bashans, which corresponds to 1st of June, the Coptic Church celebrates the entry of the Lord Jesus into the land of Egypt.
Dayr Al-Muharraq
Church of Abu Serga (St Sergius)
The Holy Family in Old Cairo
Old Cairo is among the most important locations visited by the Holy Family. The spiritual impact of their presence is still felt, though their stay was brief; because the Governor of the area, enraged by the tumbling down of idols at Jesus’ approach, sought to kill the Child. They took shelter from his wrath in a cave above which, the Church of Abu Serga (St. Sergius) was later built. This, and the whole area of the Fort of Babylon, is a destination of pilgrimage for Christians from around the world.
Purposeful Tribulation –
by Bishop Youssef
“Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him”(Matthew 2:13). On the twenty-fourth of the blessed Coptic month of Pashons (June 1st), we commemorate the Lord Jesus Christs flight to the land of Egypt at approximately the age of two, taking refuge there along with His mother and St. Joseph.
In humility and obedience, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Family departed from Bethlehem, His birthplace, to escape the dangerous, vindictive King Herod the Great who was reigning over the city of Bethlehem at that time. King Herod had learned of the existence of the prophesied Newborn Messiah; and felt therefore immensely threatened that the newborn king might usurp his authority and kingship. So, he sought out the Messiahs whereabouts in order to destroy Him.
The journey began after St. Joseph had been divinely warned in a dream to depart to Egypt with the young Child for His safety; as King Herod had plotted to kill the young Child Jesus. St. Joseph was obedient; and without delay did as he had been instructed. Following the divine dream…”He [St. Joseph] arose, took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying, ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” (Matthew 2:14-15).
A Child taking His first steps and uttering His first few sentences, the Lord Jesus Christ took His first trip as a refugee, into the foreign country of Egypt and thus blessed the country. At that time, Egypt was a country of established civilization, one which began approximately three thousand years before the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. It can be surmised that Egypt was widely populated, advanced in organized civilization, culture and economy.
St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195) wrote, “The Egyptians were the first to introduce astrology among menThe Egyptians first invented the burning of lamps. They were the first to divide the year into twelve monthsThey were the inventors of geometry.”
We also know that at the time of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt, religiosity, one of a superstitious nature and in the predominant form of idol worship was highly valued there.
“The Egyptians were guilty of error. For they, indeed, had solemn enclosures around the buildings they considered as temples. However, within them, there was nothing except apes, crocodiles, goats, serpents, or some other animal” said Origen (c. 248).
While abiding in Egypt, the Lord Jesus Christ did not take refuge in a desert or on an island isolating Himself from people. On the other hand, the Lord Jesus Christ neither settled in one particular location, nor was it recorded that He had stayed with some relatives or friends of the Holy Familys during the period of the exile. Coptic history records the Holy Familys journeys in Egypt to include 1) Bubastis Hill, 2) Mataryah, 3) Old Cairo, and 4) Upper Egypt. Therefore, this exiled visit to the land of Egypt can rightly be called His first evangelistic journey even though it was for refuge to escape tribulation.
St. Clement of Alexandria (c. 195) wrote, “The word of our Teacher did not remain in Judea alone as philosophy did in Greece. Rather it was diffused over the whole world.”
The flight to the land of Egypt could be easily labeled as “escaping danger to evangelize”. Thus it can be assumed that the tribulation was extremely purposeful in its mission. Isaiah the prophet wrote, “Behold the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt; the idols of Egypt will totter in His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst” (Isaiah 19:1). Tradition has it, that as soon as the Lord Jesus Christ had stepped into the land of Egypt, idols from the pagan temples collapsed and fell on their faces.
St. Cyril the Great interpreted Isaiah’s prophecy saying, “The glittering cloud which carried the child Jesus to Egypt was His mother, St. Mary, who surpassed the cloud in purity. The altar which was established in the midst of the land of Egypt is the Christian Church which had replaced the temples of paganism as the idols collapsed and the temples which were deserted in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Tertullian (c.197) writes, “In that prophet (Isaiah), Egypt is sometimes understood to mean the whole world.”
Besides becoming the land for prophecy fulfillment, and the usher for evangelism, Egypt has often been said to be representative of the Gentiles to whom the Lord Jesus Christ has come to seek, evangelize, establish and include in His body, the Church. The Holy Family’s taking refuge in the land of Egypt must have certainly helped to spread the new faith in Egypt.
Concerning the Gentiles, later in the time sequence of the New Testament, we read about St. Paul; and how Annias was told by the Lord to “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15).
The Gentiles were of utmost importance in the evangelistic era during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. From infancy, He had vision and quest for the salvation of souls, “And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16).
This purposeful tribulation and resultant evangelism was borne of humility. It took humility for the Son of God to become incarnate; it took humility to be born in a poor place. It took humility to escape to Egypt as if He were weak. The Lord Jesus Christ went to Egypt as a humble child, exemplifying the nature of someone who is to lead others to God.
In the Doxology of the Arrival into Egypt, Holy Psalmody, we chant:
God who is glorified, in the council of saints, who sits upon the Cherubim, was seen in the land of Egypt.
He who created Heaven and earth, we saw Him as a Good One, in the bosom of Mary the New Heaven, and the righteous Joseph the Elder.
The Ancient of the days, whom the angels praise, today has come into Egypt, to save us His people.
Rejoice and be happy O Egypt, and all your children and your borders, for the Lover of man has come to you, who exists before all ages.
Isaiah the Great has said, “The Lord will come to Egypt, upon a light cloud, He is the King of Heaven and earth.”
We praise and glorify Him, and exalt Him above all, as a Good One and Lover of man, have mercy upon us according to Your great mercy.
The Holy Family stayed in the land of Egypt till the death of King Herod the Great. The length of the Holy Familys sojourn in Egypt has not been documented in the Holy Bible but Coptic tradition holds it to be three and one half years.
After the King had died, the angel of the Lord again appeared to the obedient St. Joseph, in a dream saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead” (Matthew 2:20).
Obeying the voice of the angel the Holy Family returned to the land of Palestine (Israel), and from there turned aside to dwell in the city of Nazareth.
May we learn from the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt that purpose can be discovered during times of tribulation, if we are humble and obedient to the Word of God.
— His Grace Bishop Youssef
Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States