Sunday School Curriculum Grade 2
exhausted by grief and the long vigil he had kept, dozed off. The Virgin Mary came to him in his
sleep and inquired: “What is with you?”
„My lady, you surely know what is happening,” he replied. Thereupon, she comforted him
and told him that if he went through the Iron Gate leading to the market, he would meet a one-eyed
man carrying a sack of water. “This is the man who would move the mountain”, she said.
The Pope hurried out in the early morning to do as she said and he met Simon the Tanner.
He asked Simon what he was doing at this early hour. Simon replied that he was carrying water
to the sick and the old that could not fetch water for them. He said this was his practice every
morning, - to carry on his back a sack of water for the needy - before going to work at a hide
tannery. When the Pope explained his purpose, Simon was reluctant at first but when he heard of
the Pope‟s vision, he placed himself at his disposal.
The two led a large gathering of the faithful and marched to the Mokatam Mountain. Beside
them were the governor and his ministers who had already incited many people against the Copts.
Anba Abraam celebrated mass and the multitude chanted after him Kyrie Eleison, pleading for
God‟s mercy. They knelt down three times as the Pope made the sign of the cross with a sweeping
gesture extending from one end of the mountain to the other.
The mountain shook violently as if a strong earthquake had hit the land. Then it began
moving upwards. Every time the worshipers rose from their prayers, the mountain lifted itself
upwards. When they knelt down, it also came down with a big bang. This happened three times
and every time the mountain moved upwards, the rays of the sun, which was behind it, swept
through the space separating the earth from the mountain and became clearly visible to the
assembled crowd.
At this awesome sight, Al Muizz proclaimed, “God is Great!” Turning to Abba Abraam, he
said, “This is enough to prove that your faith is true.” Naturally, this miraculous event caused a
tumult among the crowd. When order was reestablished, Abba Abraam looked for Simon, who
had kept himself hidden behind the Pope throughout the prayers, but he was nowhere to be found.
Simon was never seen again and there are two versions of what befell him. According to
bequeathed tradition, he was snatched away by an angelic host so that the Lord may reward him
for his humility. Another story claims that Simon, fearing the praise of men, disappeared
voluntarily in order to protect himself from falling into the sin of vainglory.
AI-Muizz, who was still shaking with fear, embraced the Pope warmly and this marked the
beginning of a long friendship between the two. AI-Muizz asked the Pope to name his reward.
After some hesitation, the Pope asked for permission to rebuild or renovate some churches,
particularly that of St. Marcurius in Babylon in what is now old Cairo. That church, which was
partly destroyed, was being used as a sugar warehouse. The governor offered funds from the state
treasury for the reconstruction of the church but Abraam turned him down. “He whose church we
are building does not need the money of this world and is capable of helping us until we finish the
job,” Abraam said.
The Pope also decreed that the three-day grace period which he had requested from the