St Ammonius
On the 20th day of the Coptic month of Bashons we celebrate the life of St Ammonius.
Ammonius was born in the year 294 in a village near Mariot, in Egypt. He was, as St. Antony was, born to a righteous and wealthy Christian family. He lost his parents while he was young and was given to his uncle as his guardian. He longed for the life of purity, chastity, and holiness. Nevertheless, his uncle forced him to be engaged to a rich girl against his will. Since he could not disobey his uncle, he talked to his bride to be, with a spiritual dialogue. With the help of the Holy Spirit, he was able to have a good influence on her. She then longed for the life of purity and it was planted in her heart the desire to consecrate herself as a bride for the True Bridegroom Jesus Christ. Thus they decided to accept the marriage arrangement, but decided to live as brother and sister.
They remained like this for seventeen years, keeping themselves pure and chaste, after which his wife departed to the eternal bliss. Ammonius saw in a vision St. Antony calling him to put on the monastic garb. When he woke from his sleep, he rose up and went to St. Isidore, who put on him the holy garb. He dwelt with him for some time, after which he went to mount Tounah, to be with St. Antony.
Ammonius remained with St. Antony for a time as his disciple, and studied the cannons of holy monasticism. He built for himself a cell in mountain. He fervently worshipped God there, and the devil envied him. He came to him in the form of a nun and knocked on his door. When Ammonius opened the door and asked the devil to pray with him, the devil became like a flame of fire and vanished.
Then the devil found a woman and moved her to entice Ammonius to fall in sin with her. She wore the best of her clothing, came to him at dusk, and knocked on the door of his cell, saying: "I am a traveling woman, and I have lost my way. It is dark now. Please do not let me stay outside lest the wild beasts kill me, and you become responsible for my blood."
When he opened the door and knew the snare of the devil who sent her, he started to preach to her and put the fear in her heart of the tortures of hell which is awaiting sinners. He indicated to her the delight and the bliss which is awaiting the righteous. God opened her heart, and she understood what he said to her. She knelt to his feet weeping and asked him to accept her and assist her in saving her soul. She took off her apparel and he put on her a sackcloth of hair. He cut off her hair and called her "The simple minded or the naive". He taught her the way of righteousness and she excelled through many prayers and fasting, and surpassed many saints by her fasting and perpetual prayers.
The devil tried to snare him again. But this time in the form of a monk who went around in the monasteries weeping and saying: "Father Ammonius the hermit has married and keeps the woman with him in his cell. He has put the monks to shame and has disgraced the monastic garb." When Father Apollo, who was like the angels, heard of that, he took with him Father Yousab and Father Nohi (Bohi), to the cell of Father Ammonius. They knocked on the door of the cell, and when she opened to them they realized the matter. They entered and prayed together as the custom and sat to talk about the greatness of God. At the end of the day, Father Ammonius told them, let us go to see the "Naive One" for she was baking some bread. When they went out to where she was, they saw her standing in the midst of a great fire, and her hands were stretched out towards heaven praying. They marvelled exceedingly and glorified God. After they had eaten the bread, everyone went separately to sleep and the angel of the Lord revealed to Father Apollo the story of the "Naive One" who was staying with St. Ammonius. And that God brought them there to be present at the time of her departure.
About the third hour of the night, she became...