The Martyr Child

Saint Abanoub the Nehissan

Christian Origin

Abanoub was born in a town called Nehissa in the Nile Delta. He was the only son of good Christian parents who died when he was a young child. At age twelve Abanoub entered the church to hear the priest asking the congregation to remain faithful during the persecutions provoked by Diocletian, the Roman emperor.  Abanoub received the Holy Sacraments, then he prayed to God to guide him to where he can confess his faith in Jesus our Lord. 

Encouragement from Archangel Michael

After that Abanoub went out, and gave all his possessions to the needy. Then he set off to a city called Samanoud, on foot. While he was walking, he saw the Archangel Michael in celestial glory. The sight was so extraordinary that Abanoub fell to the ground, but the Archangel raised him up, and told him that he must suffer for three days in Samanoud and he would witness to Jesus Christ in other places also.

Confessing Christ and Struggles

Once in Samanoud, Abanoub went to the Roman ruler and declared his faith openly. He also insulted the ruler's idols. The ruler was mad and gave orders to whip him on his belly. The soldiers beat Abanoub severely until his intestines poured out of his tummy. But the Archangel Michael miraculously healed him. Then the ruler put him in jail with other Christians who were encouraged by his presence among them, and later were martyred for the name of Jesus.

The following day, the ruler took Abanoub on a boat to a city called Atrib, and as punishment, he hung Abanoub upside down from the sail of the boat. The soldiers, along with their ruler, started drinking and dancing and hitting Abanoub on the mouth. Abanoub's nose bled, but then unexpectedly, the soldiers became blind and the ruler became paralyzed. In their agony they cried to him and said, "Please Abanoub, pray to your God to heal us. For if we are cured, we will become Christians."

St. Abanoub replied, "This will only happen in Atrib, so that everyone there should know that there is no other God but Christ."  When they arrived in Atrib, they were all healed, and they cried with joy, "We are Christians and We believe in the God of Abanoub" Then they took off their uniforms and threw them on the ground in front of the ruler of Atrib. The governor got very mad, and ordered them to be killed.

In Atrib, Abanoub was tortured severely, sometimes by whipping and sometimes by tying him to a steel bed and igniting fire under him. But in all these tribulations, the Lord showed his power and Abanoub was saved. As a result of these miracles, many onlookers became Christians, and received the crown of martyrdom. The ruler then gave orders to cut Abanoub's hands and feet. Suddenly the Angel of the Lord came down from heaven, put the hands and feet in place, and healed him. Then Abanoub got up and walked in front of everybody. Hundreds of people became Christians as a result of that miracle.

Tamed the Killer Snakes!

Frustrated, the ruler called some of the best magicians in the country, and asked them to help him defeat Abanoub. They suggested that he should be thrown to the poisonous snakes. "Those snakes have enough poison to kill two or three hundred men." they said. So they put Abanoub in a cell with the snakes, but God, who shut the mouths of the lions at the time of Daniel, tamed the snakes and they did not harm Abanoub. In the morning, and to everybody's astonishment, St. Abanoub came out from the cell alive. Then suddenly one of the snakes crawled out of the cell and coiled itself around the ruler's neck. The man started shaking and he cried, "In the name of Jesus your God, be merciful on me and don't let the snake harm me." The saint who loved everyone - friend or enemy - just as the Gospel commands, prayed from the heart, and then ordered the snake to come down and not to hurt the ruler. On that day, many people who were present including the three magicians believed in Jesus.

His Martyrdom at the age of 12

Finally one of the ruler's advisers told him to behead the saint and put an end to that episode. So the ruler ordered the soldiers to kill St. Abanoub by the sword. A faithful man called St. Julius wrapped Abanoub's body in fine linen and sent him to his hometown Nehissa where he was buried. Abanoub was only twelve years old when he was martyred by the Roman ruler. On July 31 our Church celebrates his death, as the day of his birth into eternal life.

His Relics

In 960 A.D., his body was transferred to St. Virgin Mary's church in Samanoud where it still lies until today.  Many signs and miracles are manifested from his body.  Throughout the years, Abanoub made also lots of apparitions in that church as a twelve-year old child and play with children of his age.  The church still contains the well from which The Lord Jesus, St. Mary, and St. Joseph drank during their Flight into Egypt.

May the prayers and supplications of this great Martyr, the Child Saint Abanoub be with us. Amen.