- Shenouda lived in an age seething with intense
emotions and startling upheavals. It was an age in which
the Ephesus ecumenical council convened, succeeded by a
council likened to a court of appeal, then followed by the
Council of Chalcedon wherein started the rift between the
churches. This same age witnessed the passing away of
paganism from Egypt after the desperate effort of Julian
the Apostate to resuscitate it. Finally, it was an age in
which Egyptian nationalism re-asserted itself forcefully
against all imperial encroachments. This nationalistic
awareness flared up with an intensity which bewildered
the rulers of Egypt.^41 And, in the midst of all these
upheavals, Shenouda towered like a beacon light. He was
a lover of solitude, yet he shared the life of the world to
the full, and was one of the prime movers of his
compatriots against all Hellenistic tendencies. He used his
talents for oratory and writing to inflame the crowds,
using the pure Saidic dialect of Upper Egypt. Under his
impetus, this dialect became the language of literature.
To all who heard him or read his writings, his words had
the potency of magic. - But his magic was not the magic of words only;
he went about feeding the hungry clothing the naked, and
sheltering the homeless. The schools adjoined to his
monasteries did not serve the ascetics alone; they served
those living in the world as well. And the doctors among
his monks administered their science to all alike.
One instance of his outpouring love was evidenced
when the Bagat tribe raided the region of Akhmim
capturing families wholesale, killing and pillaging.
Hearing of this catastrophe, Shenouda crossed the Nile,
and went to the chief other Bagats saying: “Take the
spoils and give me the people”. The chief readily
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(Elle)
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