Saint Rewis
Saint Rewis
• Was born in a village called
Miniet Yameen in lower
Egypt (North) in 1334 AD.
• His parents named him
Freig.
• His mother Sarah and
father Isaac were poor but
devout Christians who
raised him in the fear and
love of the Lord.
• Worked as a farmer with
his father and sold salt on
the back of his kamel Rewis
Anba Freig (Rewis)
• His small (dwarf) kamel
was named Rewis
(meaning small head). He
was obedient and would
never depart him.
• He used his kamel’s name
to hide himself when
people new his virtues.
• His kamel used to wake
him up for prayer if he
was asleep.
Anba Teig (Rewis)
• At the age of 20 he left his
village and went to Cairo to
support Christians facing
persecution.
• He learned the bible by
heart and all the father’s
sayings as he heard it in the
church.
• He loved the life of
continuous prayer and
fasting, used to fast for 2-3
days then a week at a time,
once fasted 11 days and
once for 26 days.
St. Rewis
• He used to disappear in the desert for long
periods praying and fasting.
• On his visits to families in their homes, he
would pray for them, bless each member, fill
them with the Peace of the Lord, and heal
their sick.
Holy Communion
• Whenever he was about to
take communion he would go
backwards a little, then go
forward. On asking him why he
replied, "Because I see the
Guardian Angel overshadowing
the Divine Eucharist."
• He was blessed to see the
Glory of God filling the
Sanctuary, and His Light over
the head of each
communicant.
• He saw Christ 5 times and once
had a conversation with him
that is why we call him
(Theophanios) (the one who
saw God).
Saint Freig
• Saint Rewis (Freig/Tegi) was not a monk or a
priest but he reached a very high degree of
sprituality, he used to be carried to different
places by the Holy Spirit either mentally only
or also physically.
• He also saw things happening at other places,
e.g. Saw the spirit of St. Mark from the
monastery of St. Anthony rising to heaven,
people heard him crying and grieving him.
Miracles
• Healing the sick.
• Seeing visions: He saw Christ in a fire that his disciples
were scared of when he was sick but he assured them that
this is Jesus Christ coming to support him in his illness.
• Helping people in trouble: a woman asked him to tell her if
her husband who was ina war in Syria is alive or not, he
said I have to go and check for you, he waked foward,
disappeared for an hour and came back telling her her
husband is safe, when the man returned he told his wife
about an old man with untidy hair and little clothes on who
came on the above mentioned day and saved him and his
troop from his enemies. His wife new and told this is Anba
Rewis.
His life
• Clothes: only a leather girdle around his hips,
no shoes, no head cover or upper body cover.
• His kamel Rewis used to cover him when he
sleeps to warm him up.
• He lied on the ground to sleep and worked in
selling salt to support himself and help others.
• Regular partaking of the Holy Communion
with a lot of fear and respect.
Virtues
• Silence: St.Rewis spent long time practicing
silence and would not talk to anyone. He was
beaten, put on the back of a donkey and
people abused him verbally and threw rocks
on him but he would not talk.
• Spiritual education and support to his
disciples.
• Purity.
• Fasting and prayer.
Persecution
• St. Freig was stoned by people on the street
because of his poor appearance, his silence
which annoid some people and his faith. He
was sick after it for 2 years.
• A prince once was angry as he could not get
him to talk, he put him on a donkey and got
people to abuse him verbally and hit him with
rocks and dirt until he became very ill.
Names
• Original Birth name is Freig, used it initially
until his virtues were known to people then
stopped using it.
• Lived for a period of time in upper Egypt
under the name Rewis (his Kamel’s name).
• He was also known by the coptic name Tegi.
Departure
• St. Rewis departed on 31st of October 1404 AD (21st of
the coptic month Paopi) at the age of 70.
• He was buried with 4 of our Coptic Popes under the
alter of the ancient St. Abi Sfeen church in the land of
Ana Rewis monstery.
• This land is now the land of St.Mark’s Cathedral in
Egypt, the Papal residence and Theological college.
• The church was discovered and excavated hundreds of
years later while building the main Papal residency
centre in Anba Rewis monastery, its name changed to
Anba Rewis as he was the most recent saint that the
monastery was names after.
Spirituality of St. Rewis
• He was not a monk, priest or bishop but a
layman who attained a very high spirituality.
• Our Church celebrate his life and departure
showing that spirituality is not for certain
hierarchy in the church but for anyone who
gets close to God.
St. Rewis
Verses:
• 2 Cor. 6:9-10 ;
• Heb. 11:38-39 ;
• Matt. 5:14-16