A Life of Wisdom, Vision, and Love

“Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.”

Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)

Dear Tant Mona; dear Samia, Amani, and Frank; and dear Avery, Max, Jake, and Hanna,

We gather today to bid farewell to our beloved Hegumen Father Mikhail Ibrahim, and we do so in the hope of the Resurrection that we heard in the funeral prayers.

There is so much to say about Abouna Mikhail: his wisdom, his vision, his love for the Church. But before any of that, I want to begin with Tant Mona. I do not believe we can understand the life of Abouna Mikhail without honoring the woman who stood beside him.

1. Tant Mona, and a Home That Felt Like Family

Tant Mona, before anything else, thank you. Thank you for sharing Abouna Mikhail with all of us.

When a man gives his life to serving God and His people, that sacrifice is never his alone. Behind every meeting, every visit, every late night, there is a wife and a family who share it. And you did much more than support his ministry. You were his partner in it.

Abouna Mikhail told me that when he first met you, he knew you were the one. Six weeks later, you were married. Six weeks to make a decision, and seventy years to show us what a good decision it was.

You never had to explain to us what a Christian marriage looks like. You let us see it. Together you painted a living icon of the Sacrament of Matrimony. It was not painted with colors on wood. It was painted with faithfulness, forgiveness, patience, and love. And it was not beautiful because life was always easy. It was beautiful because you faced everything together, with God at the center.

Lilian and I were blessed to see this up close. In the years when you lived in Southport, and we lived in Fairfield with our girls, we would visit you many evenings. We never felt like guests. We felt like family. What touched us most was how you loved our daughters. Our little girls felt they had grandparents living nearby. For a young family far from home, that is a gift you never forget.

That was the home you made together. Your love did not stay between the two of you. It overflowed onto everyone who walked through your door.

So tonight, as we honor Abouna Mikhail, we honor you too. The legacy we celebrate is not his alone. It is the fruit of the life you built together.

2. A Man of Wisdom — رمانة الميزان

When I think of Abouna Mikhail, the first word that comes to mind is wisdom. There is an Arabic expression that describes him perfectly:

رمانة الميزان

Rummānet El-Mīzān — the balancing force among us.

Many people have knowledge. Many people have experience. But wisdom is something else. Wisdom is knowing how to do what is right, in the right way, at the right time, and in the right spirit.

St. James describes it this way:

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.”

James 3:17 (NKJV)

That was Abouna Mikhail. Peaceable. Gentle. Fair. Without partiality.

His greatest gift may have been listening. He listened not to answer, but to understand. It did not matter if you were highly educated or not, if you spoke English or Arabic, what position you held. Everyone received the same respect.

When you came to him at a crossroads, he would sit with you, simplify the problem, and help you see it differently. He did not force his opinion on you. He helped you find the right direction yourself. He could disagree with you without ever making you feel rejected. That is a rare gift.

3. A Man of Vision — Building for Generations

The second thing I admired was his vision.

Abouna Mikhail was one of the founders of the Coptic Orthodox Church here in Connecticut. Long before his ordination, as a faithful layman, he gave countless hours to building a spiritual home for our families.

He always saw beyond the present. For forty years he was a professor at Fairfield University and a pioneer in educational technology. In the 1980s, he told people that one day we would work from home and shop from home. Think about that!

He brought that same vision to the Church. He was raised in Egypt, but he understood American culture and the challenges our children would face. He was not only asking what the Church needed today. He was asking what it would need in thirty and fifty years. He understood that we must pass on our Orthodox faith in a way the next generation can receive, without changing a single word of what we believe.

As I continued my own theological studies, and especially as I read his book Come and See, I realized how far ahead of his time he was. He understood the mission of our Church in North America: to listen, to welcome, and to make everyone feel they belong, whatever their language, education, or background. What many of us learned through years of study, Abouna Mikhail was already living.

And then, at eighty-four years old, when most people have long retired, he answered God’s call to the priesthood. But his priesthood did not begin at his ordination. It was the continuation of a whole life already given to God.

He knew that building the Church was never about buildings. It was about building people.

4. A Man of Love — Our Wednesday Mornings

Let me share something personal.

I had a very special relationship with Teta, Tant Mona’s mother. After I was ordained, Abouna Mikhail and I fell into a routine. Every Wednesday after the Liturgy, we would go together to visit her, in the hospital or the nursing home, so I could give her Holy Communion.

I smiled when I read in his obituary how much he loved a good cup of coffee, the stronger the better. Because some of my most precious memories are those Wednesdays. The car rides. The coffee. The conversations. Sometimes about the Church, sometimes about life, sometimes about nothing at all. No agenda. Just sharing time together.

I learned so much from him in those hours. Not from lectures, but from his perspective, his patience, and his friendship.

I never imagined that those ordinary cups of coffee would become such extraordinary memories. And I have learned that sometimes God’s greatest blessings are not what we accomplish together, but the time He allows us to spend together. I thank God for every one of those Wednesdays, and for the gift of having Abouna Mikhail as a father, a mentor, and a friend.

5. To His Daughters and Grandchildren

And now a word to his beloved daughters, his sons-in-law, and his grandchildren.

We knew him as Abouna. You knew him first as a father and a grandfather. The wisdom we saw in church meetings, you saw first at the family table. The patience he gave us, he gave you first. The faith he preached, you watched him live every day at home.

Thank you, too, for sharing him with us. Every hour he gave the Church was an hour he could have spent with you, and you gave it with love.

Everything we have said tonight, you received before any of us. You are his living legacy. Carry his integrity, his gentleness, and his love, and pass them on to your own children. That is how Abouna Mikhail will keep serving, for generations.

6. The Legacy, He Leaves Us

My beloved, the best way to honor Abouna Mikhail is to live what he lived.

When we disagree, let us remember his wisdom, and be people of peace, not division. When we plan for our Church, let us remember his vision, and think of the generations after us. When we meet someone who is different, or struggling, let us remember his love. Let us listen before we judge, and welcome before we question.

Our Lord said, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.” Tonight I’m sure that Abouna Mikhail hears those very words.

Conclusion

Abouna Mikhail, you spent your whole life looking toward the future. Now, in the hope of the Resurrection, we look toward the day we will meet again.

Tant Mona, and all the family, may the Lord comfort your hearts with the same love Abouna gave so freely to all of us.

May our Lord repose his soul in the Paradise of Joy, in the bosom of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And may He help us keep the legacy of a life of wisdom, vision, and love.

Until we meet again in the heavenly Kingdom. Amen.

Prepared and presented by Hegumen Fr. Andrew Awad, D.Min.