Contents
Introduction
I compiled these list of miracles from various books about modern day Coptic saints. I hope this compilation may help people learn to rely on and fervently ask for the intercessions of the saints during stressful exam times. Not only during exam time, but to develop the habit of asking help from the saints during all hardships and trials in life, and deriving comfort, hope and faith from reading their miracles and their life stories.
Moreover, that we may generally grow in our love for the saints, have deeper reverence for these perfect icons of Christ, strive to learn more about their stories and teachings, becoming closely acquainted with their struggles, perseverance, virtues, holiness, good deeds, sociability, friendliness, service, discernment, wisdom and seeing how divine grace consoled and supported them phenomenally in their lives.
Share these with your friends who might be struggling in exams!
St Kyrillos VI
Coming soon, once I’m bothered.
Bishop Makarios of Qena
Dude from cairo
Mr. M.A.S. from Cairo says, “I work and study at the University of Cairo, School of Commerce. Before my exams, I had so much work and I was unable to devote time to my studies, as I start my job early and finish late. One of the subjects I was taking needed a lot of work; every question required the answer to be a minimum of a page and a half, and I was unable to study for it. I called one of my friends and asked for his prayers but he said, ‘Today is the commemoration of HG Bishop Makarios. Ask him to help you and he will stand by you.’ At that moment, I felt as if I had already passed. Then I received a text message saying, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ (2 Corinthians 12:9)
I felt as if God was telling me that He would listen to whoever asked Him for anything through the intercessions of this righteous man. I intended to go and visit HG Abba Makarios’ shrine after my exams. During the exam, I could not write more than a single line for each question and before the time was up, I said, ‘Your Grace, I am not worthy for you to help me and to stand by me.’ I was about to cry but held my peace. Then I started again from the beginning, at the first question, and I wrote a page and half; then the second question was the same, and so on until the end of the exam.
The test results came out very good and my overall grade for the semester was the best since I had started school. I fulfilled my vow, and went to the Bishopric in Qena and attended the Liturgy and took Communion; then I visited HG’s shrine. Honestly, this visit had a great effect on my entire life. I felt that many of my problems were solved and I was able to make peace with many people. May the blessings of St. Abba Makarios be with us all. Amen.”
Christine of Assiut
A miracle happened with Christine Fahmy of Assiut. “My relationship with HG Bishop Makarios started when I was in my second year of medical school,” says Christine. “One of our relatives from Qena gave my father HG’s miracle book. He used to read it every day and told me how great this saint was. So I thought of asking for his help in the subject of Physiology. We studied Physiology for over 2 years, during the first and second years of medical school. I had already failed my previous exam. This made me hate the subject and I lost interest in studying it.
When the time for the exam had come, I started to study hard. However, the night before the exam, my father saw how confused, worried, and anxious I was. So he started to read me some miracles and told me, ‘Just ask for his prayers and he will stand by you.’ Then my father recommended that I look at the exam from the year 1991, which was the year that HG had passed away. I found this exam and I studied all of the questions in it very well. The following day, I went to the examarmed with HG’s prayers along with his picture. To my surprise, I found that most of the questions were from the 1991 exam. I was also able to answer the other questions which were not included in the 1991 exam. I scored a 91.5% on my exam.”
Don’t worry Hany”
Mr. Hany G.H. from Nagy Hammad relates:
In the year 1996, after completing my secondary school exams, when the results appeared, I earned an average of 63%, and this really disappointed me. When I went to the student services office to check and see which colleges were available to suit my career interests, I found only one, and that was the College of Technical Studies; as I result, I decided to send my application there. Everyone around me began to mock me, because they knew that the College of Technical Studies would not accept any average below 70%. Therefore, I beseeched Pope Cyril VI and the thrice blessed, St. Abba Makarios — the late bishop of Qena, that they may perform a miracle for me with regards to my acceptance. Afterwards, I took my application and my brother and I headed to St. Mark’s church In Qena in order to take the saint’s blessings; however, upon our arrival, the church doors were locked. We stood outside of the church doors and we prayed fervently, asking for God to intervene in my situation.
When we concluded our prayers, my brother and I returned to our home in Nag Hammady, and I was in a state of sadness; nevertheless, I was wrong to think this way, because God seizes every single chance to prove His love for us. Eventually I received acceptance from the College of Technical Studies because for that year, they lowered the acceptance average to a minimum of 57%! Yes indeed, it was a miracle that left me astounded. I held onto my papers and I said, ‘Nothing is impossible for You, Oh my Lord Jesus Christ, and great is the intercessions of the saint’s, as well as their love.’ I would like to thank my Lord Jesus Christ as well as Abba Makarios. And I will always remind myself, that for one locked door, there are a thousand keys with God.
He also tells: “The saint confirmed to me that he heard my prayers that day, as my brother and I stood outside of the church to pray, and he interceded on my behalf in front of God. After the completion of my first semester, prior to the revelation of the marks, I travelled back home to spend my holiday there. That night when I was asleep, I dreamt of St. Abba Makarios, and he was wearing his white Liturgy tunic; in his hand he held the censor, and as he stood In front of the Holy Altar, he said to me, ‘Don’t worry Hany, you passed your first semester and you earned a mark of ‘very good Sure enough when the final marks for the first semester appearance. passed with a mark of ‘very good’ and I was amongst the top five out of my whole class.
The days and the years passed by, and every time that I encountered a difficult course, I would immediately go to the saint’s shrine and I would ask him to deal with that course for me. This was in addition to many other courses such as psychology, which contained so much information and enormous textbooks. I would ask the saint to guide me to the important parts of the textbooks — the parts that were going to show up on the exams, so that I could focus my attention on them Yet again, the saint listened to my prayers, for every time that wrote an exam, I found that it was comprised of 80% of the material that the saint had guided me to study. I excelled in my learning and I was at the top of my class in the faculty for the year 2000; this qualified me to become a teacher’s assistant and I was in fact chosen from amongst my peers.
May the blessings of the prayers of St. Abba Makarios be with us all, amen.
Ref: Miracles of the thrice blessed His Grace Late Bishop Makarios of Qena (Part 4), p. 66-7
“I passed, thank God“
Dr. AS. from the U.S. tells: I am a practicing doctor and I reside in the U.S. I was facing an issue in that I tried to pass my oral medical exam twice, but I was unsuccessful. Passing this exam was very crucial for me, otherwise I could not continue to practice as a specialist In any hospital. Prior to my exam, I picked up the ninth edition of the saint’s book of miracles, and I asked for his prayers on my behalf. However, after completing my exam, a strange feeling encircled me. and I sensed that I would be unsuccessful this time around as well. In any case, I held the book and I said to the saint, ‘Please grant me a sign that you were in fact with me during this exam, and if you do, then I will surely pass this time around.’ When I opened the book, I encountered a miracle of a doctor who passed his exam through the prayers of St. Abba Makarios; it was then that I was sure that my beloved great saint — Abba Makarios was sending me a clear message. When the results appeared, I found out that I had passed, and I thank God that He heard my prayers through the intercessions of St. Abba Makarios.
May the blessings of his prayers be with us all, amen.
Ref: Miracles of the thrice blessed His Grace Late Bishop Makarios of Qena (Part 4), p. 68
More in that book (not available as PDF)
> p. 70
> probably more after p. 70
More Bishop Makarios
The miracles of Bishop Makarios of Qena (1991) – book 2
> end of p. 53 till 2nd paragraph of p. 54
> p. 56
> p. 58
> very last paragraph of p. 72
> p. 76
> last paragraph p. 80 till 1st para. p. 81
A few more books of miracles of Bishop Makarios of Qena can be found here sent to me by Bishop Sharobeem of Qena. Simply search intelligently using CTRL F in each of the books for relevant keywords such as “exams”, “studying”, “stress”, etc. to find relevant miracles.
Fr Faltaous the Syrian
“He gave me all the correct answers”
He also tells: In the year 1996, I continued my higher studies in Cairo and I ended up failing my last exam. During my visit to the Sourian Monastery, I told Fr. Faltaous about what had happened and he began to give me all the correct answers to the questions that I got wrong! All of Fr. Faltaous’ answers were exactly like those in the textbook! In any case, he informed me that I would pass, and I left the ordeal in God’s capable hands. After some time, Dr. Mofeeid Shahab, who was the president of the University of Cairo at the time, announced: whoever passed all courses for the year and failed only one, will get a 10% increase in their mark. In seeing that I had failed only one exam with a mark of 53%, when the 10% was added, I ended up passing with a mark of 63%! I passed through the blessings of the prayers and the intercessions of Fr. Faltaous El Souriany.
His prayers cures laziness!
One of the monks from the Sourian Monastery tells: One day, my family came to visit me at the monastery, and they were complaining to me about my nephew, Cyril who was very lazy and he refused to study for the whole term. Despite his parents’ attempts to motivate him to study, he refused, and his marks at the end of the term were extremely low. Hence, I took Cyril and his father to Fr. Faltaous’ cell, and as soon as we entered his cell, prior to anyone of us uttering a single word, he said to Cyril, ‘Why aren’t you studying, son?’ Fr. Faltaous then gently took hold of Cyril’s ear and he began to pray in it, and he blew in it as well as in his mouth. He then gave Cyril fifty pounds and he said to him, ‘Go ahead and buy something for yourself, and make sure that you study from now on…’ After that we left Fr. Faltaous’ cell, and when this family returned to their home, Cyril began to study conscientiously from then on. He continued to study until he achieved a high average at the end of the second term, which boosted his final average for the whole year. This happened through the blessings of the prayers of Fr. Faltaous El Souriany.
More Fr Faltaous
A few more books of miracles of Fr Faltaous can be found here, with heaps more post-humous. Again search for keywords in them such as “stress”, “exam”, “test”, “stud” to find relevant miracles.
Miscellanious saints
Nancy H – Fr Petronios the Syrian
This saint was actually a doctor and used to top his class. He was so holy, saints used to appear to him at the hospital, before he was a monk! He used to take care also of all the sick monks who would be at the hospital, and remain with them even after his shift ended. The Lord willed him for to pass away at the age of 33, by which time he was very spiritually ripen and reached incredible high levels of sanctity, possessing foreknowledge of his departure
Nancy H. relates: Father Petronius did a miracle with me. I was doing postgraduate studies and the examinations were difficult and I did not study well and was very scared, and I knew Father Petronius El Sorianny during the exam days from Facebook and I knew he was quick to respond to any requests. I requested his intercession and I passed with very good results. Please keep praying for me so I can complete my studies through his intercession. Truly he never fails anyone who asked his intercession.
“Work hard, don’t worry, God will be with you” – Mother Erene
Someone who knew Mother Erene relates: In 2005, I was in my last year at secondary school. I have to say that I never worked hard as a student. I used to waste my time and did not focus on my studies. But, due to the death of my father in that year, I wanted to make him happy. I really wanted to succeed and to go to university. I sat with Tamav and told her how I felt. She said: “All right, work hard and don’t worry, God will be with you.”
I told her, “I want you to promise me to pass by me every day and to make the sign of the Cross on each exam paper.” And she said, “OK I will.” Indeed, I felt her presence during every exam because as soon as I got the exam paper and read the questions, I would feel that I could not answer them. So I would collect my hings and get ready to leave. But then I would suddenly be filled with peace and feel as though someone were driving me to return to my place. I would then read the questions again and start answering them all. How? I do not know! This is what happened with all the subjects. I answered like any hard working student.
After each exam, I used to go to the convent and ask Tamav, “Did you come to me during my exam?” She would answer: “I did as I promised you.”
On the first of August, I went to see her with my family. I was worried because the result was about to come out. I did not say anything to Tamav; so I was surprised when she gave me her loving and tender look and told me, “Do not be afraid, you will succeed and get 74%”. Her words came true. I record this miracle on the first of August 2010, after having completed my studies at the Canadian University.
Ref: Tamav Erene – A great start of the monastic horizon (book 5), p. 99 – 100
“Mother Erene’s words came true”
Dr. Emad Fathy Israel who lives in Kansas City, USA, said, ‘I would like to tell you about a miracle in which God was glorified with the prayers of the Martyr Abi Seifein and Tamav Erene.
I finished my study at the Faculty of Medicine in Alexandria University, and in 1986 immigrated to America and lived in Chicago. To be able to practice medicine, I had to go through a certain exam that was extremely difficult. This exam usually takes place over two days. The first day exam is made up of three parts, as if I was going to be examined three times.
I registered for the exam of the first day eleven times, but I actually entered it five times and failed. Five days before the exam, I used to feel extremely frustrated which made me many times decide not to enter the exam despite paying the fees. Consequently, I lost hope of succeeding and put aside the idea of sitting for the exam again.
With God’s will, Tamav Erene was in Cleveland for treatment in 1992. 1 saw her a month before the exam and asked her to pray for me so as to make it that time. She told me, ‘Take this oil and anoint your head, eyes, ears and heart with it. God will be glorified and you will succeed.’ I am sorry to say that though I trust Tamav, I doubted that her words would come true. I was wondering how I would succeed though I tried several times.
However, I decided to sit for the exam and started to study again. Unlike the frustration I used to have in the previous times, I was confident and overwhelmed by inner peace. I also had the feeling that I would succeed though I was still wondering how this would happen, and what had changed?
As I have already mentioned, the first day exam was made up of three parts, each one included 150 questions to be answered in two hours. This means that I had to read the question, think about it and answer it in such a short time as 47 seconds, taking into consideration that the questions were difficult. But before the exam, and as advised by Tamav, I anointed my head, eyes, ears and heart with the holy oil. Before every question I used to say, ‘Abi Seifein, help me with your prayers.” I would then read the question and answer it. I kept on doing so until I realized that there were only twenty minutes left and I still had 60 questions to answer. I was upset with Abi Seifein and to save the situation I decided not to read any question, but to simply check them as these were MCQs (Multiple Choice Questions).
The result came out and I thank God who was glorified with me. Tamav Erene’s words came true, for I succeeded and got high marks. To me this was a great miracle. Here I have to mention that Tamav told me to enter the two days’ exams, but I did not heed her advice as I doubted my success in the first day exam after 11 unsuccessful attempts. I wish I had followed her advice; it would have saved me 6 months, the period between one exam and the other. Besides, I would have saved myself the stress and worry I went through which made it difficult to study properly for the exam of the second day. The result of the first exam came out after two and a half months, which meant that there were only three months and a half to study for the second day exam. It is also worth mentioning that from 1986 until 1992 I had not studied the subjects of the second day exam as I was mainly focusing on the subjects of the first day.
I asked Tamav Erene to pray for me, knowing her close relationship with the great Martyr Abi Seifein. I entered the exam feeling peaceful and confident that I would succeed. I did, though it was my first attempt. I also entered another exam called FLEX (Federal License Exam) which takes place over three days. Every day was made up of three exams; each for two hours. This time I learnt my lesson. I worked so hard and asked for the prayers of the Martyr Abi Seifein and Tamav Erene. Thank God, I made it from the first attempt. I also took the TOEFL which requires high and various language skills and passed it. In brief, for six years I had not been able to succeed in the exam of the first day but finally was able to pass it in two months, and then I was done with all the required exams in four months.
God is great and the love of the Martyr Abi Seifein is indescribable, and the prayers of Tamav Erene are acceptable. Some people might think this is not a great miracle, but those close to me know very well how I suffered and what I went through. Hence my success was a true miracle. This miracle will also be appreciated by those who undergo exams abroad and know how difficult they are especially under the pressure and stress we go through.
Ref: Tamav Erene – a monastic life kindled with love for Christ (book 3), p. 156 – 158
The picture of Fr Yostos
Ref: The Garden of Abba Antony, p. 112-3
Assurance of passing exams – Mother Kereya Iskander
A young woman who volunteered at the convent was an accounting student. She had failed the final two years in a row and was being blamed by her family. So the young woman decided not to sit again for the final exam and she stopped going to school.
When Mother Kereya found out, she objected. She assured the young woman that she would pass the exams this year, God willing. The woman resumed going to school after missing a whole month.close to the time of the finals, Mother Kereya told the young woman to attend a mass at the convent the morning of the exam, to receive the blessing of communion before taking the exam. When the woman came to church she found a nun kneeling all the time during the mass. The nun looked different from the other nuns at the convent.
The young woman was mystified, and at the time of communion the nun in question disappeared. The woman asked Mother Kereya about this incident. Mother Kereya told her that the nun that looked different is a saint and appears at times in the church. The young woman has a sense of deep peace during the exam. The day the results were announced, Mother Kereya waited for the young woman at the door of the Convent. As soon as she saw her she told her “Congratulations! You passed”. The woman had not talked to Mother Kereya, but Mother Kereya predicted the outcome.
That same young woman later found a job. but had some problems with her employer. Mother Kereya told her that she would be transferred to another job with no human intervention or favoritism. This all took place although the young woman had no prior experience.
Ref: Highlights of the life of Mother Kereya Iskander, late abbess of the convent of St George (1961 – 1980), p. 48 – 50
“Fr. Mina is an incredible intercessor“
A youth from the United States relates: I am a graduate student. One of the courses I was enrolled in was known to be taught by a professor notorious for complicating her exams. Two exams comprised the entire course grade: a midterm exam and a final exam. I required a course average of 70.0% to pass the class and avoid the course remediation exam, which is cumulative in format, including all the material from the entire semester. Failing the remediation requires repetition of the entire year. This course was known as being one of those courses where a miracle is needed to pass.
After studying for over two weeks straight, night and day, I entered the auditorium to write the final exam. An empty seat was to be left between one student and the other, so I called on Fr. Mina Abood to come and sit next to me, guiding me to my answers. I wrote the exam and found that it was incredibly difficult. I seriously doubted that I had passed the class.
About a week later, I was attending an evening Divine Liturgy during the Great Fast. After the Liturgy, I received dozens of messages from my classmates, telling me that the final grades were released. Still being in church, I immediately made my way to the Sanctuary, and placed my cell phone on the Altar before checking my grade there. I called on Fr. Mina once more, and I was confident that I had passed.
Opening my grade on the Altar, I found that my course average was 69.8%, and was miraculously rounded up to 70.0%! Every student needs to know that Fr. Mina is an incredible intercessor and friend, gladdening the hearts of all those who call upon him. Glory to God in His saints. Amen.
Ref: Marcos, Anthony. A Spring in Sinai: Hieromartyr Mina Abood: His Life, Miracles, and Martyrdom in Post-Revolution Egypt (pp. 132-133). St. Mary & St. Moses Abbey Press. Kindle Edition.
The Art of Orthodoxy 