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St. {{oriental}}The holy [[martyr]] '''John of Phanidjoit''' lived during the 13th century, and is considered a [[Copticsaint]] Orthodox by the [[martyrCoptic]] from the 13th centuryOrthodox Church.

==John's conversion Conversion to Islam and subsequent repentance==John , son of Markos, was a [[deacon]] and a linen-merchant who lived in the village of Phanidjoit (El-Zaitoun) in the province of Poushin in Upper Egypt. His profession took him to Cairo where he dealt mostly with women, in particular [[Islam|Muslim]] ones. Such association eventually led to his falling in into [[sin ]] and consequently he was forced to abandon Christianity in favour of Islam.

This happened sometime during the reign of Osman the Ayyubite (1193-1198 AD) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyubids]. The resultant unholy union brought forth children. John eventually repented and returned back to his Christian faith. He apparently took the children with him and took refuge in a village nearby his own, called Pepleu. This village, due to the benevolence of its ruler, was a haven for Christians who returned back to their faith.

==John's martyrdomMartyrdom==John stayed in Pepleu for a number of years until he felt within himself that it was time to confess his faith in our Lord [[Jesus Christ ]] publicly by petitioning the Ayyubite king to grant him a pardon to officially return to his Christian faith. So he sold what he had and gave it to his children, whom he entrusted to the care of people from his village before leaving to for Cairo.

On his way to Cairo, he visited a [[priest]] who advised him to first confer with the Coptic [[Pope]]. But John instead went to Abu-Shaker, the Coptic physician of the King, El-Kamel(1218-1238 AD) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Kamil], son of King El-Adel(1200-1218 AD) [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Adil_I]. Abu-Shaker, tried to persuade him not to go to the king, but rather flee to another country where he can practise his faith freely. He told the [[saint]], "these people are very evil and if you reveal a word in this manner before them and perhaps you did not endure in some trials, then we shall be in shames."

But our saint quietly continued on his way with the same determination. He stayed in Cairo, writing letters to the king, asking for his pardon or the sword's blade if he would not grant such pardon. Of course, no one answered his letters. He later attended a festival for St. George outside of Cairo in a village called Ponmonros. Upon meeting the [[priest ]] of the [[church]], he received the first encouragement for what he was about to do.

On the following day he met the king as he was riding his horse in public. He asked El-Kamel publicly for the pardon or to be purified by the edge of the sword. Such words at that age seemed to the king to be those of a drunkard. So he ordered him to be jailed for three days to sober up. The news of his petition and arrest spread in the countryside like wild fire. The Coptic government officials were alarmed and asked Abu-Shaker to meet the saint. This second meeting with Abu-Shaker occurred on the first day of his detainment. A similar conversation took place, with Abu-Shaker offering the possibility of a conditional pardon from the king. But , but St. John quietly persisted in his determination. As Abu-Shaker was leaving, he gave his guards some money to protect the saint. At On that first night, John was also summoned by the king. There he was offered riches and safe haven conduct out of the country where he can could freely practise Christianity. All this was contingent on him confessing publicly that he is was a Muslim. This was also not acceptable to the saint. So he was put back in jail for the remainder of the three days.

On the morning of the fourth day, he was summoned before the king in the marketplace. There he was to be tried for the "sin" of wanting to be a Christian again! . The day of the trial coincided with a major event. A naval parade was under way and this underway which brought people from nearly every known nation, rank, and profession. John was brought before the king amid the customery customary noise that one would expect from such a gathering. There, the king made another attempt to dissuade the saint from his intentions by such lucrative offers as royal gifts, money, and high government appointment. The reponse response was made in the same polite way that the saint had done before: either to give him back his faith or purify him by the edge of the sword.

==Events that followed the saint's Post-martyrdom==

The body was hung from the day the saint was martyred on Thursday Pashons 4 (, [[Coptic Calendar|Coptic monthPashons]]) 4, night until early Monday, when the king ordered the discreet disposition of the body. This was accomplished by throwing itinto the River Nile, wrapped in a sack filled with the stones that with which the saint was had been stoned with, in the River Nile. The king 's rather nervous edict was carried on as a result of the nightmares that he had experienced the previous two nights, when the saint appeared gloriously to him and threateningly ordered him to lower the body from where it was hanged.

*Adapted from a report by Hany N. Takla of [http://www.stshenouda.com/ St. Shenouda the Archimandrite Coptic Society] on the Encomium of St. John of Phanidjoit , written in Bohairic and dated 1210 AD (manuscript from ''Vatican Coptic Codex 69'', the Vatican Apostolic Library; acquired by the Vatican from the Coptic Monastery of [[Macarius the Great|Abu-Maqar]] in the 18th century) [http://www.stshenouda.com/newsltr/nl2_4.htm#StJohnPlL], [http://www.stshenouda.com/newsltr/nl3_1.htm#Martyrdom2]