St. Horus of the Thebaid

Joyous feast! Today we commemorate our Holy Abba Horus (or Hor) of the Thebaid, one of the Desert Fathers who adorned Egypt in the 300s. St. Horus withdrew as a youth into the Thebaid wilderness to live as a hermit, struggling there for many years before moving to Alexandria to struggle against the temptations of urban life.

In Alexandria Abba Horus continued to deepen his ascetic and spiritual life, busying himself with bringing water to the city's prisoners and visiting its sick. While he was still living in the city he once happened to be near the site of an accident when a passing chariot struck a child and killed him instantly. The crowd that gathered began to accuse the Saint of killing the child, so he picked him up and signed him with the Cross, after which the child returned to life.

Fearing the praise of men after his resurrection of the dead child, St. Horus fled Alexandria and returned to the desert, remaining in one of the many monasteries then filling the desert until his falling asleep at the age of ninety, which he foretold to his brothers in the monastery. During his last years in the desert Abba Horus gathered many disciples and spiritual children, none of whom dared to lie to him as he could see their thoughts.

More on St. Horus' life can be found here and here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!