The Monk and his Cell - Life of Fr. Mettaos El-Suryani

His Blessed Monasticism:

“There is no nation under heaven like that of the Christians and no order like the order of the monks too.” (Paradise of the Holy Fathers)

About four months after his arrival to the monastery, all the fathers of the monastery agreed on a written recommendation for Brother Shawky Hanna Allah becoming a monk. They wrote a collective written recommendation for him and signed it. Fr. Sedarous the Great (the monastery’s secretary and his confessor) took the recommendation and travelled to Cairo to deliver it to H.G. Bishop Theophilus, abbot of the monastery. He petitioned him to carry out the wishes of the monastic community regarding Brother Shawky becoming a monk. He [Bp. Theophilus] promised him that he would fulfill the wishes of the monastic community.  

On the eve of the feast of the cross (Thout/Tout 17) and after the psalms of the vespers prayers in the Church of St. Mary (el-Suryan), Bp. Theophilus conducted the three blessings on Br. Shawky for monasticism and gave him the name Monk Matta (Matthew) El-Suryani. On the morning of the feast of the cross, Tuesday 09/27/1949 and after matins- raising of incense, Bp. Theophilus carried out the rite of tonsuring for monasticism. Thus, Br. Shawky Hanna Allah became a monk in the monastic community of Der El-Suryan under the name of Monk Matta El-Suryani.

As we mentioned earlier, our beloved Father Mettaos was born on the day of the commemoration for the martyrdom of St. Matthew the Evangelist, so was there a hidden sign in that his monastic name was the same (same as St. Matthew’s –Matta)?!

And do you know that the meaning of the name Matthew is “gift of God”? We will stop here to contemplate this mysterious divine choice of this name! As if it prophesied what God would give (blessed be His name) to the Church and monasticism, and to Der El-Suryan especially, from countless spiritual blessings from this monk, who was but a small branch in the leafy monastic tree, and a small lamp hidden under the desert baskets! Both who knew him and dealt with him (closely or from far) knew of what God gave from His overflowing grace and the talents from the Spirit of God who filled him.

And this saying applies to Fr. Mettaos, “the branch that gave more than it should”, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).





The First Days:

“Being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” (Galatians 1:14)

Fr. Matta (Mettaos) becoming a monk was the spiritual point of departure for him, that on the first day he lived as a serious monk, very careful in his monastic life. He loved to sit in his cell and only left it to carry out his work which was assigned by the monastery (we will talk about it in some details later on), or to join in the communal prayers for Vespers and the Midnight Prayer which had a special place in his heart and in his rule. And he was very keen on being persistent in them.

Most of his time which he spent in his cell was spent in carrying out his spiritual rule (canon) and in his monastic handiwork. He excelled in copying the monastic books and old manuscripts which contained the lives of the monastic fathers and their rich sayings.

And perhaps that was his passion for his beloved and blessed cell, in which he struggled internally and externally. And in his openness to the spiritual horizon which is great in length, breadth, height and depth. This is all evident in his love for his cell, which provided him with spiritual indescribable and limitless gifts. Perhaps all of this is the reason behind his timeless saying that emits experience, spirituality and holiness. This saying which he used to tell his spiritual children, “The cell nourishes the community, and the community the cell, and both complement each other.”