Pope at funeral of Anba Aghapius who 'lived up to his name'
A large congregation and numerous members of the Coptic clergy, led by Pope Tawadros II, gathered at St Mark's Cathedral in Abassiya, at noon on Wednesday 5 February to bid farewell to Anba Aghapius, Metropolitan of Deir Muwwas and Dalga, who passed away on 4 February. Anba Aghapius who had been ill for a few months, passed away at the good old age of 81, in a Cairo hospital.
The late Anba Aghapius was born in April 1944 in Zagazig in the eastern Nile Delta. He earned a degree in Agriculture from Cairo University in 1968, and pursued a successful career in his field. In December 1977, he took orders in the Western Desert monastery of Anba Bishoy, under the name Fr Wissa. In 1988 he was consecrated Bishop, and was seated in the Diocese of Deir Muwwas and Dalga in 1989. He was promoted to Metropolitan at the hands of Pope Tawadros in 2022.
Pope Tawadros presided over the funeral service. 'With the hope of resurrection, we bid farewell to this blessed father, Anba Aghapius,' the Pope said, offering his condolences to all congregation and friends of Anba Aghapius. He meditated on the verse 'As soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house.' (Luke 1:23), commenting that the moment of the departure of loved ones is a unique moment, like the sounding of an alarm alerting us that life will end, and each one of us will return to his home. 'It makes us contemplate and ask ourselves,' he said, 'Have I prepared for this day?'
The Pope said that, when a person passes away, 'we wonder, what did he leave behind. A good memory? Good relationships? Useful work? Service that built and raised generations? Truth is, we distinctly find all of this in His Grace Anba Aghapius, whose name literally derives from 'love'.' Anba Aghapius, the Pope said, lived up to his name; he served his community and his country as layman, then as a monk at the monastery of Anba Bishoy, then as the monastery's secretary from 1981 to 1985, a delicate period during which the Church and the country went through the famous crisis of 1981 [when President Sadat imprisoned some 1,600 intellectuals and public figures who held views opposing his, and exiled Pope Shenouda III to the desert monastery of Anba Bishoy.] Pope Tawadros pointed out that Anba Aghapius dealt with this crisis with wisdom, love and steadfastness.
'Anba Aghapius lived his ministry loving and serving the needy and the poor, in the Diocese of Deir Muwwas and Dalga,' the Pope said, describing it as a blessed diocese that shaped saints. 'Anba Aghapius made his diocese an active diocese while he faced many difficulties, yet never complained; he was always 'Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith' (Hebrews 12:2)'.
Pope Tawadros offered his condolences and that of the Holy Synod, the clergy and Coptic organisations, to the priests of the Diocese of Deir Muwwas and Dalga and their congregations, and to Anba Aghapius's blessed family.
The Pope assigned Anba Demetrius, Bishop of Mallawi, Ansena and Ashmounin, with the responsibility of papal vicar of the Diocese of Deir Muwwas and Dalga.
Anba Danial, Bishop of Maadi and Secretary of the Holy Synod, offered thanks on behalf of the priests of the Diocese of Deir Muwwas and its congregation, to His Holiness the Pope for his kindness in praying for their late beloved metropolitan. He also thanked the members of the Holy Synod, the heads of the Coptic monasteries, sister Churches, Islamic religious leadership and State officials as well as the representatives of the House of Representatives and the Senate in Minya, and the governor, Major General Emad Kadwani, for the condolences they offered for the passing of Anba Aghapius.
Watani International
6 February 2025
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