The Complete Life of Saint Mar Michael of Amida
مار ميخائيل رفيق الملائكة | Michael of Amida | ܡܝܟܐܝܠ
Disciple of Saint Mar Okeen the Egyptian and one of the fathers of monasticism in Mesopotamia
He is the same Mar Michael whom Manuscript 297 at the El-Sourian Monastery names as the writer of the Life of Saint Mar Okeen.
The Life of Mar Michael of Amida, known as “Companion of the Angels”, is one of the lives of the saints in the Syriac Christian tradition. Church tradition links him with Saint Mar Okeen the Egyptian (Mar Awgin), to whom the Syriac tradition attributes the spread of monastic life in the East.
What follows is his complete Life, edited and expanded from the Arabic account of his life in circulation, keeping its events and essential details. Note that the accounts of angels, miracles and other events in it are presented as part of Church tradition; not all of them are facts established by independent historical sources.
Chapter One: His Birth and Upbringing
According to Church tradition, Saint Mar Michael was born in the village of Susna in the district of Amida, known today as Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey.
His parents came from a noble and very wealthy Christian family of high social standing.
The Life relates that his mother saw in a dream an angel who announced that she would bear a son destined for greatness in the spiritual life. The angel named himself as Michael, who stands before the Lord, and told her to give the child his name.
When the child was born she named him Michael and surrounded him with care and a Christian upbringing.
From childhood he showed an inclination to learning and to prayer. He loved knowledge and the contemplation of divine things, and was not attached to the wealth and comfort his family provided.
As he grew older, his desire grew to leave worldly life and give himself to prayer and ascetic struggle.
Chapter Two: His Meeting with Saint Mar Okeen the Egyptian
When Michael was about thirty years old, he heard of Saint Mar Okeen the Egyptian, who was living with his disciples on Mount Izla near Nisibis.
According to the Syriac tradition, Mar Okeen had come from Egypt bringing monastic and ascetic life with him, and many disciples had gathered around him, wishing to follow the life of the fathers of the Egyptian desert.
Michael resolved to leave his family’s house, his wealth and his position, and to go to Mount Izla in search of the monastic life.
When he reached Mar Okeen, he bowed before him in humility and asked to be accepted as a disciple and given the monastic schema.
The Life says that Mar Okeen saw in him meekness, humility and longing for God, and received him with joy among his disciples.
Michael began his new life of prayer, fasting, long vigils and spiritual labour.
He strove to master himself and to turn away from the love of the world, following the life of the ascetic fathers.
Over the years he became one of the monks known for the severity of their ascetic life and their love of prayer.
This stage is the most important link in the traditional relationship between Mar Michael and Mar Okeen, for the Life presents Michael as a direct disciple of the Egyptian saint.
Chapter Three: His Return to His Village and the Miracle of the Rain
Mar Michael’s desire was not limited to the solitary life; he also longed to guide people to the faith.
He asked his teacher Mar Okeen for permission to go to his village, to serve its people and call them to God.
According to the account, the village was then suffering a year of severe drought.
The rains had stopped, the springs had dried up, and people and their animals suffered greatly from thirst, until they had very little water.
When Mar Michael saw their distress, he knelt and offered fervent prayer to God, asking Him to have mercy on the people of the village and send rain to quench their thirst.
The Life relates that as soon as he finished his prayer the sky thundered and clouded over, and the rain poured down.
The land was filled with water, the villagers rejoiced, and they saw in it God’s answer to his prayer.
The account says that the villagers accepted the Christian faith, and Mar Michael baptized them and built them a church in which to gather for prayer and worship.
From this his name became associated in popular tradition with prayer for rain, and some of the faithful know him for his intercession for rainfall.1
Chapter Four: The Healing of a Governor Tormented by an Evil Spirit
After his service in his village, Mar Michael set out for another village whose people, the Life says, were Magians.
The governor of the village suffered severe torment, which the account attributes to an evil spirit that had taken hold of him.
His condition frightened the villagers, for he would fall to the ground and cry out violently.
The villagers had heard of the miracles worked through the prayers of Christians, and asked a Christian woodcutter named Gushnazad to come and pray for the governor.
On his way the woodcutter met Saint Mar Michael.
Mar Michael encouraged him not to be afraid, assuring him that God would work a great sign through him.
He gave him holy oil and told him to make the sign of the Cross with it on the governor.
When the woodcutter reached the governor’s palace, he found him in great agitation.
The Life relates that at that moment Mar Michael appeared standing beside him, and the evil spirit cried out, confessing the power of God and of His saints.
Mar Michael told the woodcutter to make the sign of the Cross on the governor’s face.
When he did so, the evil spirit left him, as the account describes, and vanished like smoke.
The governor returned to his normal state.
When his household saw what had happened they believed in Christ, and the governor himself joined Mar Michael and followed his way.
Chapter Five: His Ascetic Life in the Wilderness among the Wild Animals
After these events Mar Michael returned to the ascetic and solitary life.
The Life describes him as severe in fasting, constant in prayer, long in vigils, and detached from the pleasures of the world.
He lived far from people, in caves, in the mountains and in the wilderness.
His food was the plants, pulses and herbs he found in the wilderness, following in his asceticism Saint John the Baptist and the Prophet Elijah.
The Life says that he grew used to living among wild animals, so that lions, leopards and wild beasts came near him without harming him.
It even describes these animals as growing accustomed to his presence and behaving gently with him, like tame animals.
From these accounts arose his image in Church tradition as an ascetic who lived at peace with nature and subdued the passions of the body by fasting and prayer.
He became known by the title “Companion of the Angels”, which in spiritual tradition expresses the height of his ascetic life. Another account says that some monks believed they heard him speaking with angels, and so gave him this title.1
Chapter Six: The Three Thieves and the Lions
Among the best-known stories in his Life is that of the three thieves.
One day, according to the account, three thieves thought that Mar Michael had a great deal of money hidden in his cave.
They came to him pretending piety and a wish to visit him, while intending to steal what he had.
But the Life says that the saint saw through their deceit, left them inside the cave and went out.
As soon as he had gone, three fierce lions appeared at the mouth of the cave, roaring and growling.
The thieves were seized with terror and fell to the ground, unable to get out.
According to the story they remained in the cave for six days without food or drink.
At last they recognized their error, cried out to Mar Michael for mercy and help, and confessed their sins.
When the saint returned to the cave, the lions saw him, submitted to him and went away.
The thieves saw this, prostrated themselves before him and confessed what they had intended to do.
The Life relates that Mar Michael accepted their repentance, baptized them and clothed them in the monastic schema.
From then on they left their life of theft and became his disciples, serving God and guiding people to the way of eternal life.
The story brings out the theme of repentance and of a person’s turning from the way of evil to the spiritual life.
Chapter Seven: Forty Years in the Wilderness and His Move to Mount Qardu
The Life says that Mar Michael spent about forty years in the wilderness and in ascetic life.
After these long years he moved to Mount Qardu, in the mountainous region of northern Mesopotamia.
There his fame spread among the people.
The sick and the needy came to him asking for his prayers and blessing, and the Life relates that he prayed for them and laid his hands on them.
One of the best-known events of this period is that a group of people brought him ten persons from the land of Dasan, whom the account describes as tormented by evil spirits.
Before they reached him, the Life relates, the evil spirits cried out, naming him and confessing that he was a servant of God Most High.
When Mar Michael heard this, he knelt and prayed to God, Creator of heaven, earth and the seas, asking His mercy for the human beings He had created in His image.
Then he rebuked the evil spirits and commanded them to come out.
The account tells that the sick were healed, and those present glorified God for what they had seen.
People continued to come to him, and the number of those who wished to follow his way of life grew.
Chapter Eight: The Founding of the Monastery of Mar Michael near Mosul
When Mar Michael grew old and his strength declined, he wished to found a lasting place for monastic life, to be a centre of prayer and worship and a memorial to him after his departure.
Christians of the Mosul region had heard of him and of his spiritual life, and asked him to come and live among them.
He agreed to their request.
The Life relates that he chose a secluded place near the River Tigris, away from the noise of the villages, and directed that a monastery be built there.
Many of the faithful gathered to help with the building: men and women, young and old.
The monastery was built in the name of Mar Michael, Companion of the Angels.
It was meant to be a place of prayer for the monks and a spiritual centre for the faithful, where boatmen, fishermen and travellers would seek the blessing of the saint’s prayers.
When the building was finished, Mar Michael moved into the monastery with his disciples.
He ordered its monastic life, appointing those responsible for the monastery’s affairs, among them superiors, stewards, readers, deacons, teachers, doorkeepers, cooks and storekeepers.
His aim was that the monks’ life should follow an order uniting prayer, work, obedience and service.
Some accounts say that the number of monks gathered in the monastery reached about seven hundred; this figure comes from tradition and should not be taken as an established historical count.2
The name of the Monastery of Mar Michael has remained known in the history of the monasteries of Mosul, and modern writings place it near the River Tigris to the north-west of the city.
Chapter Nine: His Last Years and His Counsel to the Monks
The Life relates that Mar Michael lived in his monastery for about twelve years.
During this time he continued to teach the monks and guide them to a life of prayer, humility and detachment.
When he sensed that his departure from this world was near, he called all the monks to gather around him.
He counselled them to keep their monastic vows and to remain steadfast in voluntary poverty, patience, obedience, chastity and prayer.
He also urged them to love and unity and to keep away from quarrels and divisions.
Then he blessed them, as our father Jacob blessed his twelve sons, in the comparison the Life itself makes.
This counsel was the last teaching he left to his spiritual children, so that they would keep the life they had learned from him.
Chapter Ten: His Departure and the Appearance of Two Angels
When Mar Michael had finished his counsel and his last prayers, the monks gathered around him.
The Life relates that two angels appeared, praising God with spiritual hymns.
During this scene the saint gave up his soul in peace and joy.
So he passed from this world after a long life of asceticism, prayer and service.
The monks and the faithful grieved at his departure, but they honoured his memory, seeing his life as an example of holiness and humility.
His body was carried and buried within the monastery he had founded near the River Tigris.
His tomb became a place of blessing and pilgrimage for the faithful.
Local accounts say that the site of his tomb remained known within the monastery, and that an investigation carried out at the site in 1980 uncovered remains attributed to the saint; this attribution cannot be regarded as archaeologically established without independent study.2
Chapter Eleven: His Commemoration in the Church
The Church of the East commemorates Mar Michael, Companion of the Angels, on the sixth Sunday of the Week (Shabua) of the Great Fast, the Sunday before Palm Sunday in the order given in the account.
In some local traditions his commemoration is associated with prayer for rain and with the remembrance of his life in the wilderness, his miracles and the founding of his monastery.
His name has remained present in the Syriac, Chaldean and Assyrian heritage, especially in the history of monasticism in the Mosul region.
Chapter Twelve: Mar Michael in the Syriac Manuscripts
Our knowledge of him does not rest on the Arabic account in circulation alone; there are also Syriac literary witnesses recorded in scholarly catalogues.
Syriaca.org lists a Life entitled Michael of Amida, attributed to ʿAbdishoʿ bar Shaʿarah, under the number BHS 1047. It gives the opening and closing of the Life and a number of manuscript witnesses.3
Among these manuscripts:
| Library | Manuscript |
|---|---|
| Vatican Library | Vatican Syr. 184 |
| Vatican Library | Vatican Syr. 567 |
| British Library | Or. 8678 |
| British Library | Or. 9357 |
| Cambridge University Library | Add. 1982 |
| Mingana Collection | Syr. 214 |
| Berlin Library | Sachau 188 and 330 |
There is a point of great importance for the study of Mar Okeen:
The same catalogue lists a separate Life of Saint Mar Okeen under the number BHS 87, and attributes its authorship to Michael of Amida.4
This means that there are two literary traditions connected with the name of Michael:
The first tells the life of Michael himself; the second attributes to him the writing of the Life of Mar Okeen.
Whether Michael was historically the author of the Life of Mar Okeen remains a question for manuscript criticism, since the attribution of an ancient text to one of the saint’s disciples does not by itself prove that the text was written in that disciple’s time. See also: The History and Tradition of Saint Mar Okeen and The Departure of Saint Mar Okeen.
References
- Syriaca.org: Life of Mar Michael of Amida, BHS 1047
- Syriaca.org: the Life of Mar Okeen attributed to Michael
- The Monastery of Mar Michael, Companion of the Angels: a study by Dr. Zuhair Ibrahim Rahimo (in Arabic)
- The Arabic Life of Mar Michael, Companion of the Angels (in Arabic)
Footnotes
Sources
- Syriaca.org: Michael of Amida (BHS 1047)
- Syriaca.org: Awgin (BHS 87)
- Dr. Zuhair Ibrahim Rahimo, "From the Monasteries of Mosul: the Monastery of Mar Michael, Companion of the Angels", SyriacPress (2020)
- ACI MENA
- The Arabic Life of Mar Michael, Companion of the Angels (Nirgal Gate)