Discourse on Saint Michael the Arch-Angel

With this post, I am bringing you the FULL text titled “Discourse on Saint Michael the Arch Angel”, by Timothy, Archbishop of Alexandria. This apocrypha text is included in the book Miscellaneous Coptic texts in the dialect of Upper Egypt by E. A. Wallis Budge. You may recall I did some other posts regarding Budge’s translations, as he was a prominent translator of various regional Egyptian texts in the early 20th century. So, to bring light to these rarely seen Coptic texts in their English form, here is a complete copy from that particular book. Please note, I did some slight altering of the early 20th century English to make it a bit more modern (example “saith” to “said”). There are also sections of the texts that are missing.

The discourse which Saint Timothy, the Archbishop of Rakote, pronounced on the festival of the holy Archangel Michael, that is to say, on the twelfth day of this month of Paône (May 6). And he discoursed also on the caverns of those who are undergoing punishments, and on the souls who are in them. And he discoursed also on repentance, and the rising of the Nile. In the peace of God! Bless us! Amen. Amen. Amen.

This day is a great festival, O my beloved. Let us assemble together, and let us rejoice, and let us be glad therein. I behold this day the mighty archangel, the holy Michael, placing in our hands spiritual food, according to the words of the holy singer David, who said, ‘ Judah, celebrate thy festival, and pay thou the things which thou hast vowed.’  And again he said, ‘ The angel of the Lord camped round about those who fear Him, and delivered them.’ Now this merciful angel who camped round about those who fear Him and delivered them is Michael………. [Two lines illegible]

Michael strived on their behalf, and he made supplication to God until He re-established them in these worlds of light. And this he did, not for the righteous only, but also for the sinners who have turned their hearts to Him, even those who have once only offered up an offering in the Name of God and that of the Archangel Michael. And Michael the compassionate will never forget that man who shall give unto the poor even one loaf of bread or one cup of cold water. If thou wished to hear it, I will relate a story unto thee.

Now it came to pass that I, the least of all men, Timothy your father, went up to Jerusalem to worship the Cross of our Saviour, and His life-giving tomb, and the holy places wherein our Saviour walked about. Afterwards I went into the house with the mother of Proclus, the disciple of John the Evangelist, and I dwelt therein, and I found a parchment book which Proclus, the disciple of John, had written; and the people who were in the house had taken it and were using it as a phylactery. And I read therein, and I found this great consolation, which was like unto that about which the Evangelist testified, and he said: It came to pass that I John with whom the angel walked…. [Two lines illegible]

.. up on a lake which was exceedingly terrible. And that lake was situated amongst lakes, and the depth and the breadth of that lake were greater than the depth and breadth of all the other lakes. And I heard great noises therein, which were like unto the roar of mighty waters. And I asked the angel who walked with me, saying, ‘ My lord, what is the meaning of this pit which I see? Up from the midst thereof there raised such a great smoke of fire that the fiery fumes of its smoke go up for a distance of three hundred stadia. I saw lions of fire which made me ill, and dragons of fire, and serpents, and scorpions, and the bear of fire, and the worm which never slept coiling’ itself in folds, and vipers and asps of frightful aspect. And there was a wheel (?), and thousands of thousands and tens of thousands of tens of thousands of fiery lightnings leaped forth, and shot down into the chaos of Tartarus, that burned with fire.

And this angel said unto me, ‘O beloved of God, John, thou see this punishment, which is the most terrible of all punishments. Woe be unto all those sinners who shall be cast into this punishment, for it is exceedingly severe …… [Two lines illegible]

[Two lines illegible] …. I will tell thee about it. The wheel (?) of fire which thou have seen bared down the sinners who are on it, and it submerged them for three hundred days; only with the greatest difficulty can a man remain fast in the lower part thereof, for afterwards they are cast up again, like a wheel, in the third year. All those who are to be punished are bound thereto, and the path of all of them lead to the bottom of that pit.’ And I wept for a long time over the destruction of the sinners. And the angel said unto me, ‘Weep thou not, O John, beloved of God, for, behold, thou shall this day see a mighty miracle wrought by the Archangel Michael and his great boldness.’

Then, while I was talking with him, behold, Michael the archangel came forth from heaven sitting upon the chariot of the Cherubim. The angels went before him singing, and there followed him all the righteous, and the Patriarchs, and all the Prophets, and they were decked with great splendor and with great glory. And there were ……… in their hands, and branches of sweet-smelling shrubs, and they went before him dancing and singing praises to him. And he came and stood over those who were suffering punishments, and straightway the flames were extinguished, and all the wild beasts which were in them……. [Two lines broken and illegible]

and they disappeared. And straightway Michael the archangel lowered into the lake his right wing, and there came up on it a multitude of souls, whereof the number could not be told, for they reached from the arm of the compassionate archangel to the extreme tip of his wing, and he brought them up out of their tortures, and set them down upon the earth, and he filled twelve meadows therewith. And again Michael, the mighty one, lowered his wing into the lake, and he seized a larger number of souls than on the first occasion, and brought them up. And afterwards the Cherubim, and the Seraphim, and all the righteous who had come forth and followed him, bowed low before him, and they entreated him to lower his wing into the lake for the third time. And Michael, who is full of compassion, did so, and he brought up on it an exceedingly great number of souls, whom he delivered from unending tortures. And straightway the angels, and all the righteous who had come forth with Michael, took them and carried them into the Jerusalem which is in the heavens ……. [Two lines broken and illegible]

Michael brought them before the Father of goodness, and all the souls worshipped Him; and straightway the Archangel Michael took them into the rest which is everlasting.

And I John marvelled exceedingly at the compassion of God and His Archangel Michael, and I ascribed glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, and I gave thanks unto God, and unto the Archangel Michael. And the angel who was accompanying me said, ‘ O John, thou beloved of God, take good heed unto the day which is the day of the festival of the Archangel Michael. Now the first is the twelfth day of the month of Athôr, wherein the Father established him over the kingdom that is in the heavens, because of the victory which he gained, and because he bound in fetters the Enemy who was fighting against his Lord. The second festival is on the twelfth day of the month of Paône, whereon God gave this never-ending gift…… [Four lines broken and illegible]

when they had seen the insolent contempt which the Jews showed to Him, which was so great that even the heaven of heavens was not able to bear His sorrow of heart. And when He had risen from the dead …….. It was Michael who suffered with Him from the door of the tomb to Amente. And again, it was Michael who bound Beliar (i.e. Satan) in fetters, by the order of his Lord, and it was Michael who brought to the Saviour all the captive souls over whom the Devil had tyrannized, and our Saviour went up to the Father with the captive souls. And after the Resurrection the Father rejoiced over His beloved Son, and kissed Him, and granted to Him the power to judge the living and the dead. Unto Him belonged the power of the Godhead henceforth and forever. Then the Son of Goodness, Jesus the Christ, arrayed Michael in great and indescribable splendor, which was greater than the glory that He had bestowed upon him on the first occasion, when He established Him as Governor over the kingdom which is in the heavens [Four lines broken and illegible]

over all the tortures, and each of the angels is arrayed splendidly in his place. And when the Archangel Michael cometh forth from the veil of the Father all ranks of angels, from Adam His created being, are gathered together unto him, and they sing hymns of praise before him, even as thou have seen them, O John the Theologian, until he cometh to the place of all the tortured. And forthwith the way of all the tortured is open, and the great torture which is excruciating and is most terrible is relaxed. And all the souls that are undergoing torture assemble together in this lake year by year, according to the compassion of God the Father. And the Archangel Michael came to these beings who are tortured and lowered his right wing into the lake three times, and brought up a multitude of souls, and sat them down upon the earth. Now, when his wing is filled (i.e. covered) with souls in this manner, their number amounted to two hundred times ten thousand, and nine times ten thousand, and a half of ten thousand, and eight hundred and seventy (i.e. 2,095,870 souls).

[Two lines wanting] and the poor, and those who have kept the day of the Resurrection of our Saviour, that is to say, the Lord’s Day, and those who have given a crust of bread and a cup of cold water to the poor on the holy day of the Lord’s Day. The second class he brought up in the name of the Archangel Michael, and it included those who have been merciful to the poor in respect of the crust of bread which they gave to the needy in the Name of God, and that of the Archangel Michael. And our Lord Jesus the Christ cried to the class of tortured souls so that they may obtain rest whether they be Christian, or Gentile, or Jew. Those who have partaken of the Body and the Blood of our Lord Jesus, the Christ, does God leave alone. And straightway all the righteous, and all the hosts which are in the heavens, invoke the Archangel Michael, even as thou have now seen them do, in order that he may show compassion upon all the souls that have remembered his name upon the earth. After these things he does in this manner a second time …….

[Two lines wanting] . . . the supplications of the saints, and the compassion of God. And the Archangel Michael have acted in this wise from the time of the Resurrection of our Saviour until this day, and moreover, he will not cease to do so on every twelfth day of the month Paône until the end of this world. And he took them (i. e. the souls) each into the place which it have merited; furthermore, Michael went inside the veil on the same day, and casted himself down at the feet of the Father, and worshipped Him, and did not rise up again until the Father had accepted his supplications and until He provided the means of subsistence for men and beasts, and water in the river Nile. For all the angels who are over the Powers of the earth are gathered together every twelfth day of the month Paône, outside the veil of the Father, and wait there until the Archangel Michael cometh forth from inside the veil. Immediately the angels see his face and the kind of apparel which the Father of Good hath put upon him, straightway the angels who are over the operations of the earth know what manner of crops shall be upon the earth; this they know through the kind of apparel wherein Michael is arrayed. And the angels rejoice with an exceedingly great joy on behalf of all mankind because God the Father hath had compassion upon them, through the supplication of the merciful Michael, and had provided for their sustenance, and for the river to rise for men and beasts.

Now therefore, O John, blessed are those who shall remember the poor in the name of the Archangel Michael. I declare unto thee, O John, that if a man shall provide for making a copy of this book, or shall have copied a similar work of instruction, and shall give it to a church in the name of the Archangel Michael, or shall give an offering to the house of God, or shall light a lamp in the church in the name of the Archangel Michael, or shall offer up incense for his name’s sake, or even if he give a loaf of bread in remembrance of him, whether he be the greatest of all sinners, or whether he be a man who is utterly careless, when he comes forth from the body, and he is borne to the places of punishment, he shall not feel the torture of the place of punishment wherein he shall be, because of the deeds of charity which he did in the name of the Archangel Michael. But he shall be in the places of punishment as one who is in a house which is comfortably warm until God shall visit him and shall show mercy unto him and bring’ him out of the places of punishment and take him to a place of rest through the supplication of Michael.

Now therefore, O John, the beloved of God, if a man shall provide a copy of the glorious Covenant (i. e. the New Testament), and shall have one written, and shall give it to a church in the name of the Archangel Michael, or if he have one written, and keeps it in his own possession, neither sickness, nor pestilence, nor ill luck shall enter the house wherein it is forever. And upon his beasts and cattle, and upon his fields, and upon his fruit trees and vineyards no harm shall fall through any wild animal or rat, and there shall be no wastage in his fields, and there shall be no privation in his house, and his children and his children’s children shall lack nothing, even to the fourth generation. The name of Michael shall be over them like a strong coat of armor. If a man shall write down the following legends, or shall paint them upon the wall of his house, that is to say:

no harmful thing of the adversary shall fall upon that house, and no device whatsoever of evil men shall prevail against it. Now, let every man who shall have written a copy of the Covenant (i.e. the New Testament) keep it carefully as a phylactery, and not lay it in a place wherein there is any unclean thing, for mighty is the power of these wonderful Names. And when the angel of the Lord had said these things unto me, he brought me down upon the earth, and I John stood upon the Mount of Olives, and he went up into the heavens. And I marveled exceedingly at the things which had been revealed unto me, and I ascribed glory to God and to His great Archangel Michael.

These are the things which I found in Jerusalem in the house of the mother of Proclus, the disciple of John the Evangelist; and I, your father Timothy, returned to my city Rakote in great joy. Now therefore, O my beloved, inasmuch as we have heard these great and imperishable words from the mouth of the angel, according to the testimony which the Evangelist had borne to us, be not apathetic in showing mercy to the poor and to those who are needy, each one of you according to his ability, in the name of the Archangel Michael. Through the supplication of Michael, we obtain this great freedom of speech before our Saviour. We, miserable sinners that we are, obtain through the supplication of Michael the waters of the river Nile, and the dew, and the rain. We obtain through the supplication of Michael a fine climate, and the growth of the fruits of the earth. We obtain through the supplication of Michael sweet spiritual foods. We obtain through the supplication of Michael the wine which we drink, and the other kinds of sweet spiritual foods, and all the rest of the drinks which we drink to the love of God. If thou wish to make the name of Michael protect thee in every temptation, write thou the name of Michael upon the four corners of thy house, inside and outside. And also write it upon the edge of thy garment so that it may protect thee from every evil which shall rise up against thee, both that which is hidden and that which is manifest. Write thou the name of Michael upon the table at which thou eats ….. thy bread, and it will make it …. Write it also upon the platter wherefrom thou eats, so that it may give sweetness to thy mouth and satisfaction. Write it also upon the cup wherefrom thou drinks, in order that it may bring thee joy and gladness without drunkenness and arrogance; there must be no drunkenness. When we drink wine, we should sing psalms and make a merry noise according to the words of Paul: ‘ He who would rejoice, let him sing psalms.’ Who is mighty in his strength and in his wisdom except Him concerning Whom the Psalmist saith, ‘ The Lord hath risen up like a man from sleep, and like a mighty man drunk with wine ? ‘ The righteous man Noah was drunk with wine, even as the Scripture said, ‘ He planted a vineyard, he ate of the fruit thereof, he became drunk.’ When a man drinks wine, and becomes drunk, he uttered obscene and foul words, nay, more than this, he committs fornication, or does disgraceful and bold and impudent deeds, and he staggers about from one side of the road to the other in the marketplace and streets of the city. Such is the man who is drunk indeed, and who is full of disgrace, and our holy fathers knew of the danger of wine before they gave us admonitions about it; do not, under any circumstances, O my beloved sons of the Holy Church, get drunk. For this matter or, habit clings …… [One line wanting]

Let us keep watch over our feet at all times, and pray with our faces cast down to the earth, and let us make entreaty, saying, ‘ O Archangel Michael, abase thyself before the Good Father that He may forgive us our sins and our transgressions. We beseech thee, O Michael, to make supplication to the Master, the Christ, on our behalf, so that He may bless our days, and give us peaceful years. O our helper, Michael, entreat Him Whose mercy is according to His desire, the God of the universe, so that He may make the storm which is blowing over us to sink to rest. O compassionate Archangel Michael, make entreaty to the Lord for us that He may bring up the water in the river Nile, and that God, the Compassionate, may open unto us His right hand, which is full of good things of all kinds and which giveth food unto all flesh, even as it is written, ‘ When Thou opens Thy hand they shall become filled with Thy goodness.’ O Archangel Michael, Commander-in-Chief of the armies of the Lord, entreat God the Merciful One to keep guard over and to bring up our little sons until they arrive at a full and perfect state of manhood. We beseech thee, O Archangel Michael, of thy compassion to make supplication on our behalf to the Father, who forgives, that we may be guarded from every temptation of the Adversary, and that He may permit us to repent, and that we may be saved before we bring to an end our life in lying vanities.

I beseech you, O beloved brethren, O Christ-loving congregation, to withdraw yourselves from injustice of every kind, and from slander, and impurity, and envy, and hatred, and strife, and theft, and enmity, and slaughter, and fornication, and pollution, and uncleanness, and guile. And you must make haste to lift up your hands and your souls, and to go with boldness, and with purity, and with honest intent to the Commander-in-Chief of the armies that are in the heavens, that is to say, Michael. And may it happen unto us, 0 brethren, that as we gather ourselves together in this holy place on this great festival this day, even so He may gather us together in His kingdom, and that having made us all worthy we may hear that blessed voice, saying, ‘ Come, ye blessed of My Father, and inherit the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world through the grace and love of man of our Lord Jesus the Christy to Whom be all glory and honor, which befit Him, and His Good Father, and the Holy Spirit, life-giving’ and consubstantial, for ever and ever. Amen.

COLOPHON

This book Was copied through the zeal and care of the most God-fearing deacon whose name God knows. He provided the money for the copying of the volume of this book by his own labor, and he had it written, and he gave it to the shrine of Apa Aaron in the mountain of Tebô (Edfû), so that the God of this blessed and righteous man Apa Aaron, and of the Patriarch and Apostolic Archbishop Athanasius, and of the Archangel Michael, might bless our God-loving and charitable deacon with every perfect and spiritual blessing, even as He blessed our Fathers, the Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, from whom all the nations have received light, and that He might deliver and save him from all the wiles of the Devil, and from all the evil designs of wicked men, and gird him about with patient endurance. And after the establishing of this festival of the saints which he has commemorated may he receive favor from their King, the Christ, and may they cause him to be worthy to hear the voice which is full of joy and gladness of every kind, saying, ‘ Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom which hath been prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ ^ Amen. Amen. So be it! Amen. Amen.

It was written on the twenty ……. day of the month Epêp, in the seven hundred and eighth year of the Era of Diocletian (i. e. a. d. 992), by …… Zôkratôr …… the least of all men, the son of the blessed Archdeacon Joseph. Pray for me a sinner.

I, Zôkratôr, the least of all men, the son of the blessed Joseph, the archdeacon of the city of Snê (Asnâ), may God give him rest!, beg you to remember me, of your love, O my fathers and brethren. Behold my repentance. Entreat ye God on my behalf that He may forgive me a few of my sins, which are exceedingly many, and that He may lead me henceforward in the right way, according to His holy and blessed wish. And do ye yourselves forgive me all my blunders, because I am not very learned, and I only received my instruction from the schoolteachers. Behold my repentance. Do an act of grace and forgive me.

In this year wherein we have written this volume, which is the seven hundred and eighth year of the Era of Diocletian (i.e. A. D. 992) and the three hundred and seventy-second year of the Saracens (i.e. of the Era of the Hijrah = A. D. 982), a great miracle took place in connection with the rise of the river Nile. On the fifteenth day of the month of Mesore, we were taxed (?) on a cubit of water, but afterwards it (i.e. the flood) ….. until it ….. two cubits. Thus through the prayers which Saint Mary, the Lady of us all, made on our behalf, God visited us through His compassion towards us …… Mesore ………

There you have it! I do plan on doing more posts in the future that bring forth English translations of these rarely seen texts.

Cover photo: Coptic art of Michael the ArchAngel: https://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/p_kopt_686/0012/image,info

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