preparation and self-discipline. And when there was need for
their help and succour, they were trained and ready to
answer it positively. They sought ascetic excellence – and
through the power with which it infused them, were able to
become saints and effective Christian workers.
As time went by and organised monastic life was
developed, numerous monasteries for men and convents for
women spread over the land of Egypt. These monasterios
and convents were training grounds for many of ‘God's
Athletes’, the stories of whose lives have enriched the annals
of the Coptic Church.
- One of the many handmaidens of Christ, whose name
has come down to us, was a venerated nun called Amma
(i.e., mother) Talida. She was the founder of a convent in
the vicinity of a town called ‘Antinoe’, in the vicinity of
Fayoum and had sixty nuns living under her guidance and
"Motherhood". A strong bond of love knit them together,
and they learned to serve with cheerful hearts.
One of Amma Talida's rules was that the convent
gate remain unlocked day and night, and be a place of refuge
to whoever was in need. Despite that, no thief or vagabond
ever ventured in, and not one of the sisters went out without
her permission. Fearlessness reigned within the convent, and
peace pervaded the whole region.
Amma Talida lived to a ripe old age, having spent
eighty years in the pursuit of ascetic excellence.^14 - The renown of the Egyptian women who renounced
the world and aspired after spiritual perfection as taught by
the Master, attracted women from different parts of the
world. A number of them came to the Nile Valley to see
these saintly virgins and endeavoured to follow their
example. The most noted of foreign women who came was