Metropolitan Agabius

Early life and education

According to the biographical material preserved in the archive, Agabius was born as Michel Nasif Abdullah in Zagazig on April 2, 1944. His family later moved to Tanta, where he was connected with the Church of the Virgin Mary in El-Sagha. He studied agriculture at Cairo University and earned a Bachelor of Agriculture in 1968.

Work and military service

The supplied biography records his early work as an agricultural engineer and later as a supply inspector in several centers of Gharbia Governorate. It also records military service from 1969 until late 1974, when he was discharged as a captain and engineer.

Monastic life and priesthood

He entered Wadi El Natrun on July 12, 1977 and joined the Monastery of Saint Bishoy under the care of Bishop Sarapamon. Pope Shenouda III tonsured him a monk on December 15, 1977 under the name Father Wissa Anba Bishoy. He was ordained a priest on July 18, 1979.

Service at the Monastery of Saint Bishoy

The supplied biography records his appointment as secretary of the monastery and his involvement in the preparation of Holy Chrism in 1981, including the use of technical methods for preparation and educational documentation.

Service and protection of Pope Shenouda III

The archive biography records a role in protecting Pope Shenouda III during his residence at the Monastery of Saint Bishoy after the September 1981 measures, including an incident on September 25, 1981 and participation in arrangements surrounding the Pope's return to Cairo in 1985.

Service in Cairo

In October 1985 he was delegated to serve at the Great Church of Al-Azbakiya and the Church of the Virgin Mary in Haret Zuweila. The supplied material also associates this period with church culture and assistance to researchers working with patriarchal records.

Episcopate in Deir Mawas and Delga

Following the Qasr Hashmet crisis, he was chosen for episcopal service in Deir Mawas. He was ordained Bishop Agabius on November 13, 1988 and enthroned on August 5, 1989. The official Coptic Orthodox Church record confirms the 1988 episcopal beginning of his service in the diocese.

Metropolitan rank

He was elevated to metropolitan rank on November 20, 2022. He remained the senior episcopal figure of the diocese until his repose on February 4, 2025.

Relationship with Father Wissa Sobhy

Metropolitan Agabius participated in Father Wissa Sobhy's priestly ordination on February 11, 1991, together with Metropolitan Thomas of Qussia. This makes Agabius a central figure in Father Wissa's documented priestly history, while the two biographies remain separate to avoid identity confusion.

Repose and diocesan transition

Metropolitan Agabius departed in the Lord on February 4, 2025, at nearly 81 years of age. Funeral prayers were held at Saint Mark's Cathedral in Abbassia on February 5. On June 1, 2025, Bishop Boktor was ordained for the Diocese of Deir Mawas and Delga, beginning the current episcopal phase.