Bishop Mina St. Mina - A Biography by H.H. Pope Shenouda III (Part 1/2)

The beloved servant and gifted deacon, “Soliman Rizk”, was born on January 23, 1923. Since his youth and he loved prayer, living the life of a monk prior to his tonsuring and continuing in the monastic life following his consecration as bishop. He was prepared for monasticism as he was always fond of stillness and silence. He was prepared for it given his solitary and ascetic nature.

Monasticism did not teach him stillness and silence, but it did make manifest the ascetic and still nature of his inner heart. He prepared for monasticism, in his persistence in praises and prayers during his time as a blessed youth and servant in Tanta. There also in Tanta, he learned [received] the rite of psalmody from Cantor Saleh, developing a love for it and was consistent in its chanting thereafter. And like every man of rite, he loved prayer.

 

At the Church of the Virgin in the District of Sagha, he led the prayer meetings leaving a deep impression on his fellow students there. And at many times he would be heard chanting in a melodious tone his favourite verse “…there is no servant without sin, nor master without forgiveness.” Besides his leadership in the prayer and praises meetings, and his love for hymns and psalmody; he served in Sunday School and in the local villages.  And during his personal time, he was leading others to repentance. While he was in Tanta, he served with Dr. Talaat Abdo-Henen who was also one of the servants of Giza.

 

In the year 1950, when “Brother Abdel-Malek”, the consecrated servant and secretary of the ‘Sunday school’ of Giza reposed in the LORD, Brother Soliman was chosen to fill his position as the consecrated servant, youth and librarian of the ‘Sunday School library’ of Giza.

 

As such, he continued in his career consecrating his life to serving the Lord and when he had reached the age of twenty-seven years old, he was already dedicating his entire time to God. And here would begin the second stage of his life – the life of consecration.

 

In Giza he was engaged in education and outreach, distributing the lessons and curricula of ‘Sunday School’ to the poor in every service branch and each of those regions in return were filled with his ‘spiritual words’. Likewise in Tanta, he would be introduced to the service leadership there: Hegumen Makari El-Suryani (later known as H.G. Bishop Samuel; Hegumen Salib Sorial (priest of the Church of St. Mark); Eng. Michel Khalil Bishay (H.G. Bishop Domadios) and Eng. Yassa Hanna, working alongside them immersed in service and outreach.

 

Brother Soliman (Bishop Mina St. Mina) was not known as the ‘gifted servant’ for his sermons, instead he was known for the individual work he carried out. In his silent meetings with the youth, in their love and desire for the Lord and in leading them towards repentance. All of this would be done in secret which complimented his lowly spirit that did not concern itself with outer appearances, carrying out its work in quiet. While no one sense what was taking place they did witness the visible fruits of his work; his service would thrive, his prayers for people would abound, and the LORD would bless his work. His ministry in the poor villages, neighbourhoods and surrounding areas would also grow. During his time in service and education, he never forsook prayer and his chanting of the psalmody, but rather continued in them and particularly during his time at the Church of St. Mina in Old Cairo, where the “worshipping-monk-servant” Hegumen Mina the Solitary resided at the time (H.H. Pope Kyrillos VI, may God repose his soul).

 

The Church of St. Mina at the time was publishing the "Harbour of Salvation”, where Fr. Makari El-Suryani oversaw the editing process while Brother Soliman handled the distribution. In this way his attachment to the Church of St. Mina, Hegumen Mina and St. Mina grew.

The beloved deacon sought refuge in prayer and psalmody, and in that priest who loved prayer and psalmody, committing himself to the liturgies and vespers services. After some time, he would later become the deacon serving Hegumen Mina the Solitary in his place of hermitage in Old Cairo; and there the youth of his service would meet and be introduced to the latter. 

Author: H.H. Pope Shenouda III
Translation by: Michael Daoud