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The Glastonbury Review - Past Issues |
Saint Sidhom Bishay Of Damiette
He was a clerical employee of the government in the port of Damiette in the time of Mohammed Ali, Viceroy of the Ottoman Sultan and founder of the the dynasty which ruled Egypt from 1805 until 1953. He became engaged in a religious debate with Muslims, who falsely accused him of cursing Islam. Any charge of blasphemy, if proved, constituted a capital offense. He was brought before a religious judge, an ignorant donkey driver, who decreed that he must either forsake Christianity or suffer death. It must be remembered that at this time Islamic legislation refused to accept the testimony of a dhimmi (a non-Muslim living in an Islamic state) against his Muslim accusers on the grounds that his stubborn refusal to submit to Islam indicated the perverse and mendacious character of all infidels. He was duly whipped and sent to the Governor, who confirmed the judgement of the religious court. Sidhom, however, continued to declare his innocence and refused to renounce his Christian faith. He was then subjected to further flogging, before being dragged face down the stairs of the governor’s residence and sat on a buffalo facing the tail. In this state he was paraded around the city and subjected to further insults and humiliation, whilst the terrified Christian community locked itself in their homes for fear of further reprisals from the enraged mob. Finally molten tar was poured over his head and he was left outside the door of his home. His family brought him inside, but there was little they could do to ease his suffering and five days later, 25th March 1844, he gave up his soul. The outrage at his martyrdom was so great that Christians of all denominations gathered at his funeral. The priests put on their vestments and headed by Hegoumenos Yousef Mikhael, the senior priest in Damiette, turned his funeral into a great act of Christian witness. Led by chanting deacons bearing banners surmounted by the cross, they processed through the streets of the city until they reached the church. Determined that this should never happen again, the leading Christians in Damiette approached the consuls of the European powers with a detailed report of the incident and seeking their help. Eventually Mr. Michail Sorour, the official representative of seven countries, agreed to act as mediator with the Egyptian government and Pope Butros VII (1809-1852). Two government officials were charged with conducting an official enquiry and the case was officially reopened. As a result of this both the judge and the governor were dismissed and a recommendation was made that Christian funerals should be preceded by the cross. As a concession to the Christians of Damiette, this was permitted in their city, but ultimately extended to the whole of Egypt during the pontificate of Pope Kyrillos IV (1854-1861). Sidhom Bishay was subsequently canonised and his entire body rests in a glass fronted shrine in St. Mary’s Cathedral in Damiette. He is dressed in a white tonia, with a diaconal stole and crown. These are periodically changed and those replaced, having been in proximity to the saint’s body, are given to churches as secondary relics. The original vestments worn by the saint are kept in a glass case at St. Demyana’s convent. Although discoloured from exposure to the air and the chemical reaction caused by the application of spices and perfumes applied after death, the flesh is still intact and supple to the touch. It is an interesting fact that the present Bishop of Damiette, Metropolitan Bishoy, is a kinsman of Saint Sidhom Bishay, being a direct descendant of one of the saint’s nephews. |