Abouna Mina's life as a monk had begun at the age of 25 when he resigned from Thomas Cook's, the celebrated travel agency, after obtaining the Patriarch's personal permission to become a monk. While in secondary school in Alexandria, he had been inspired by reading the lives of famous monks; the monastery he selected was …
Christian Behaviour: according to the Saint Pope Kyrollos the Sixth, is a great little book that captures the spirituality of this great saint, not while he was a Pope but in his first few years in the monastic life. The book reveals the spiritual insight of this saint and the virtuous life that he practiced …
A truly historic event in our Coptic Church history occurred on Sunday 18 November 2012 that many of us have never witnessed – the enthronement of our new Patriarch, Pope Abba Tawadros II, Pope, Patriarch and Archbishop of the great city of Alexandria and the See of Saint Mark. The enthronement was a delightful and …
It is impossible to determine theoretically how long one should exercise oneself in a virtue before becoming established in it. Everyone must determine this for himself, considering his state, circumstances and achievements in spiritual life, and especially according to the judgment of his staretz or the spiritual father who directs him. Still, if a man's …
In a letter to a monk ordained a priest, H.H Pope Kyrillos wrote, "Grace and peace from our Lord, God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, our guide and comforter. I pray that you are in good spiritual and physical health, rejoicing in this heavenly gift that you were called to by Christ …
Virtues are the fruits that everyone is required to bring forth in his/her spiritual journey towards Christian perfection. “Every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” (Matt 3:10) That is what the Lord tells us about the importance of these fruits. However, before we proceed any further, …
HOLY SCRIPTURE says of the midwives who kept alive the Israelites’ male children, that through the god-fearing midwives they made themselves houses. What Does it mean they made visible houses? How can they say they acquired houses through the fear of God when we do the opposite, and learn in time, through fear of God …
The Naked Beggar and the Monk One of the Fathers went off to the city to sell his manual work, and seeing a naked beggar he was moved by compassion and gave him his own habit. The poor man went and sold it. When he heard what he had done, the old man was very …
We may at times mix between ‘monastic poverty’ and ‘real poverty’ when we read the life of a saint or consider the life of a monk or nun, however the distinction is rather valid and important to note. For the purpose of this paper, ‘monastic poverty’ describes a monk or nun’s voluntary vow of poverty, …
Saint Arsenius is one of the saints who became very famous for his weeping. It is said that his eyelashes fell due to the intensity of his weeping, and that two cavities formed on his cheeks because of his weeping. During summer he would wet the palm leaves with his tears, and he placed a …
