Mar Malki of Clysma
Saint Mar Malki of Clysma, in Syriac Qaddisha Mar Malka Qlozmaya (223–315 AD).
His Birth
He was born in the city of Clysma (al-Qulzum) in Egypt in 223 AD. His feast is on 1 September. The name “Malki” means “gentle” in Greek.
His mother Rebecca was the sister of Saint Mar Okeen; his father was John, and his sister Shufna. When Malki was five years old, his father entrusted him to a tutor named Samuel to teach him theology. He entered school and was well loved and intelligent.
His Renunciation
His father wanted him to marry, but he saw a dream and refused. After his family insisted, he was betrothed to a girl from a well-known family. A short time later he left his betrothed, distributed his wealth to the poor, and went with his uncle, Saint Mar Okeen, to Tur Abdin, where Metropolitan Mar Jacob of Nisibis ordained him a priest. Mar Malki built his monastery in the village of Kharbala (Arkah, in Turkey).
His Works
- He freed Shlemon son of Wahbon from the mouth of the devil.
- He prayed that the demons would depart from that land (Inhil, in Turkey).
- He cast the devil out of the maiden Lysansis, daughter of Emperor Constantine, and shut the devil in the pit of his monastery at Arkah.
- He healed Otil son of Ayyub, from Iraq, of paralysis.
- He healed a man from the village of Kafro Kabir.
His Counsel
He counseled his disciples to love fasting, prayer, humility and virginity, to pursue peace, and always to overcome evil with good in their works.
His Departure
He departed on 21 April 315 AD at the age of ninety-two.
Shlemon son of Wahbon, whom he had freed from the mouth of the devil, became one of the saint’s disciples. It was he who made 1 September the feast of Saint Mar Malki. It is celebrated in the dioceses of Turkey and in the village of Gharduka, about 15 km south of Qahtaniyah (Qabre Hiwore), in Syria, on 1 September every year.
May the saint’s prayers be with us. Amen.
Author: Andraos Malki
Sources
- Andraos Malki, The Life of Saint Mar Malki of Clysma