Miyazya 14 — April 22

Abba Maximus, the Wise Shepherd of Alexandria

Today we remember a kind and holy church father named Abba Maximus. He lived a long time ago in a big city called Alexandria, in the country of Egypt. He loved God with all his heart, and he tried to do what was right in everything he did.

When Maximus was young, he learned to read and write very well. He studied hard and grew very wise. Most of all, he learned about God and about the Church. Because he was so good and faithful, the church leaders gave him important work to do. First he became a deacon, then a priest, serving God and caring for God's people in both of those jobs. He worked hard and never gave up.

Later, the wise fathers chose Maximus to be the archbishop of Alexandria, a leader who watches over many churches the way a shepherd watches over many sheep. He sat on the special seat that once belonged to Saint Mark, one of the men who wrote about Jesus in the Bible.

In those days, some people were teaching things about God that were not true. This made Maximus sad, because he wanted everyone to know the real truth about Jesus. So he wrote letters and sent them far and wide, to Egypt, to Ethiopia, and to a land called Nubia. In the letters he asked everyone to pray together that the wrong teachings would go away. And God listened! The wrong teaching faded, and the true faith stayed strong.

Abba Maximus took care of God's people for seventeen years. He taught them, comforted them when they were worried, and helped them keep believing in God. Then, after his long and faithful life, he died peacefully and went home to be with the Lord he loved.

He was a man who feared God in all his works.

Maximus asked everyone to pray together, and God listened.