A spiritually attuned educationalist said: "Whenever God wills to perform something new, He sends a new born baby into the world, and when this baby ripens, God sends a sign: for He always works through signs."

Accordingly, on the sixth of December 1931, and in the town of Damanhour, God sent a baby into the world. His two parents from Menoufia were God fearing in word and deed. They called him Sami (ie. Lofty). Time proved how very appropriate their choice was; rather was it a divine inspiration. Moreover, it harmonised with his father’s name Kamel (ie. Perfect). And when, in due season, he was consecrated Priest, he was given the name Pishoy, the Coptic synonym for Sami.

As for the sign, it was given in a most unexpected manner. The Patriarchate had bought in the year 1957 a piece of land near the tram way at ‘Sporting Station’, hoping to build a church in the name of St. George.

Then, on the 10th of May 1959, Abba Kyrillos VI was consecrated the 116th successor to St. mark. Every now and then, He would go to Alexandria. On Wednesday 18th of November 1959, he sat in his reception room talking with a most apperceptive priest in Alexandria called Fr. Mina Iskander. Their talk centred on the ‘St. George Church’. The clairvoyant Pope said: "We can not begin to build the church before consecrating a priest for it". He had hardly ended his phrase, then Sami Kamel entered with his Sunday school class to receive his blessing. Fr. Mina Iskander exclaimed. Here is the youth who can be spiritual father to St. George’s people. After a few questions, Abba Kyrillos put the cross on Sami’s head saying: "It is a God given sign that you will become priest and I shall ordain you this coming Sunday!".

Sami took a long breath and said: "But I am not yet married, Holy Father." "The Spirit of God who inspired me to this decision, will elect for you the bride who will be most suitable for you in your ministry".

Thus it came to pass that Sami Kamel was led by God’s spirit to ask for the hand of Angele Bassili, a sister of a very dear friend (Colleague). Their wedding was celebrated on Tuesday 24th of November and he was consecrated on Wednesday the 2nd of December. Angele proved to be the very girl fit for the life-partner of Fr. Pishoy – Just as Abba Kyrillos VI foretold.

1. The secret of Father Pishoy’s success was "His Faith in his mission". Since his early years, he believed that it was impossible for him to live for a goal other than seeking the souls distant from the Lord and leading them to a life union with God in Jesus Christ. After his ordination as a priest, he never deviated from the mission in which he believed. His pastoral work was increased in depth and power, day by day and moment by moment, even in the bitterest pain – to his last breath. His farewell message to us was service. Our beloved father was not a passive man but a continuos worker.

Yet he believed in God’s providence that whenever an idea exists for the sake of Christ there is no need for financial planning. His carefree attitude towards the material made it present itself under his feet. God’s blessing filled his life that not only one church was built but many others, St. George in El Hadara, Archangel Michael in Moustafa Kamel, St. Takla Himanote in El Ibrahimia, St. Mary and Pope Kyrellos the great in Cleopatra, and St. Peter in Sidi-Bishr.

His faith in God’s work and his love to spread the kingdom of heaven was wonderful. He surrounded the church with new churches from every direction. Consequently, the population of the Coptic congregation in his church grew less than the surrounding new churches. He was quite happy with the results of his service, for he did not believe in appearances or numbers but longed for the salvation of every person.

2. Father Pishoy believed in the power of the cross. He pushed his confessors to contemplate in the scars of the crucified to draw from Him the power of love and receive God’s work in their lives. In his passionate love to the cross he wrote two books, "At the foot of the cross" and "With Christ I was crucified". He put above his bed a picture of the crucified Jesus Christ with St. Mary Magdalene kneeling at His feet. He said, Mary chose the best place ever found.

Father Pishoy’s sayings about the cross include:

• The more we contemplate in the cross, the more our unity and knowledge become deeper with the Lord Jesus Christ.

• The Christian can not say that he knows Christ unless he has a sacred unity and continuos contemplations with Christ’s cross. So let us start a ten-minute daily exercise to contemplate in Him who was crucified for us.

• Carrying the cross is a daily invitation. The cross, Oh Lord, was inside Your heart since the very beginning, before You carried it on Your back. The cross represents Your love and sacrifice.

• The best scene that satisfies my eyes is to see You carrying the cross, for it is the satisfaction of my cross.

• The cross is the sign of the Son of Man and the sign of the children of God.

The secret of the power in his worship and pastoral life was his pre occupation with the cross and his desire for everyone to share and enjoy with him the blessings of the cross.
Finally God wanted to honour him with the gift of cancer. In order for him to enter into the joyful unity of suffering in Christ’s cross, God crowned his life with the gift of pain.

Many people found comfort in their sickness or troubles by merely seeing our father in pain or hearing about his patience and joy. St Augustine said: "A joyful priest on his bed of sickness for thirty years is a far better service than preaching".
God wanted to honour our father, he passed away on the third day of the glorified feast of the cross.

1. His concern for his eternity:

Father Pishoy’s love to serve and preach did not take him from his concealed life with God and his concern regarding his eternity. He believed that service can not be successful without a sacred life. Unless man is open to all with love and serves others, he can not enjoy God’s blessings. Thus our father did not separate his personal life from his service, each one depended on and supported the others. One of the most beautiful virtues of our beloved father was that in spite of his great experience in the spiritual life and in serving, he rarely talked about himself or his personal experiences. He wanted to hide himself behind the image of Christ. In other words, he did not want to expose his life to people’s praising and feared the enemy’s wars of false pride. Father Pishoy was truly saying with the Apostle "Lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become rejected".

2. His Spiritual Fatherhood:

Father Pishoy deceased on March 21st 1979 – Mother’s day or the family day in Egypt. This was not by chance. He was known for his true spirit of fatherhood in Jesus Christ. You might say that he declared the motherhood of the church through which man discovers God’s fatherhood.

St. Cyprian said: "No one can take God as his father unless he takes the church as his mother".
Our Beloved father was known for his thoughtful deeds under all circumstances. His deeds were not superficial in nature, but presented true fatherly sharing in Jesus Christ. Father Pishoy made each person feel special.

3. His Law of Love:

Besides our father’s superior ability for administration and management, his core belief was love. He loved God from all his heart and reflected this in his love for his congregation, his fellow priests and the Pope Kyrellos. He also loved non-Christians. His heart was a flame of love. Father Pishoy wanted to give his life to others in the name of Jesus Christ.

4. A man of Prayer:

Father Pishoy believed that the pastoral work is the work of the greatest shepherd, ie. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is able to satisfy the multitude and open the inner eyes and attract the hearts to heaven.

In his speech about pastoral work, Father Pishoy said, "The priest – Presbyter – is a mediator. His main work is to pray for his people and to offer the liturgy sacrifice for their own sake.
As Samuel the prophet said, "I can not sin against God and stop praying". Prayer is the servant’s power in every aspect of the service. The divine liturgy reveals to us this secret. The priest prays for himself and for his people saying: "For the sake of the sick, the travellers, the departed, the president, as well as for the Pope.

Another issue is the servant’s responsibility to teach his people the life of prayer. If he fails to do so, he has taught them nothing.

5. A church man:

Our beloved father lived as a churchman. He loved the church as God’s bride and was aware of his membership in it. He accepted Jesus through it and preached in the name of Christ.

In his speech with the students of the faculty of theology in Alexandria, he said, "The shepherd ties his sheep in the sheepfold", ie. the church through its feasts, the life of its saints, its history, fasting, worships and readings through different occasions. The church is the sheepfold in which the sinners enter and are saved and find pasture.

6. His meekness:

Our father Pishoy earned a great reputation among the Copts inside and outside Egypt. Also, many non-Christians loved him. It is hard to find a Coptic person who never heard of him or praised him, yet God granted him a humble and meek soul. He once said, "Our people are so simple, they are happy with little things. I have no idea why they praise me this much. He always felt guilty about his shortcomings in his service to others.

7. His love for learning:

In Father Pishoy’s funeral, his Holiness pope Shenouda III talked about him and his foundation of a new spiritual school in Alexandria, which affected the Copts inside as well as outside Egypt.
The Pope of Alexandria, along with many others, witnessed this teacher’s love for learning. He was always learning at the school of prayer from the Holy Bible and other spiritual books. He was like an active bee collecting the nectar from each flower. He picked what was food for his growth, not only from bishops or priests but also from laymen and sometimes even from non-Christians, without loosing his dignity and his position as a teacher and a leader.

8. His Kindness with sinners:

St. Ambrose wrote: "Jesus was kind with us so as not to scare us but to draw us to Him. He came in kindness and meekness and said, Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11: 28)".
Thus He invited us to himself and did not shut us out. In choosing His disciples, Jesus chose those who manifest His will, gather God’s people, not scatter them.

Those who are hard-headed, show no kindness or meekness, or ask for the mercy of God for themselves and not for others, can not be considered God’s disciples.
Our beloved father fulfilled God’s will by being meek and kind with everybody. He always gave hope in the blood of Jesus Christ. He always assured us of our adoption by God.

9. His discipleship and ability for teaching:
Fr. Pishoy was truly a preacher who witnessed for Jesus Christ in his sermons and private meetings, in his silence and his talk, in his firmness and his kindness and in his smile. He was talking about salvation for all. He put his heart to consecrate every bit of his life for being a true witness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our father was a flexible man in his pastoral work. He knew how to deal with the rich and the poor. He dealt with the seniors in wisdom and played with the children tenderly. The married felt comfortable with him and the virgin turned to him for advice. When he talked, the hearer’s heart leapt in hearing God’s word of blessing. When he was silent, one felt a special kind of blessing. He was famous for his smiling face and his high spirit but he never knew sarcasm – not in his sermons nor in his private meetings.

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