St Macarius Monastery In The 19th Century
The journey across the desert is very monotonous, but at length, after crossing an elevation covered with shining black pebbles, the long line of the...
Articles
To A Monk Entering The Arena Of Combat
Rejoice in the Lord, beloved child, whom the grace of my Jesus has enlightened and delivered from the world; who has flown to the wilderness...
Indications In The Path Of Monasticism
In the “Paradise of the fathers,” it is said, “Quietness is the first knowledge of the soul.” St. Isaac said, “Search for quietness in any...
His Delight Is In The Law Of The Lord
The Law occupies many chapters in the Book of Exodus. The Lord emphasised keeping, memorising and always following the Law; “And these words which I...
A Gospel Motivation For The Monastic Life
“I suggest that, given what we know of the social tensions in Roman Egypt, the presence of an emerging culture of asceticism, and the growth...
Pachomius And The Development Of Village Monasticism
Tradition has bestowed on Antony and Pachomius the status of founders of early Egyptian monasticism. They serve as the movement’s primary icons; Antony represents the...
The Spirituality Of St Pachomius’ Rules
To understand the system of Pachomius’ communal monasticism is to understand Pachomius’ spirituality. In the first place Pachomian spirituality was one of community. His conversion...
The Honor Of The Priesthood
Priesthood is a great honor as it is a consecration of the work with God for the salvation of the souls of the people of...
Priesthood Is A Specific Calling
In The Transitional Period Between The Old And New Testaments John the Baptist Was Commissioned by God (John 1:6-7) There was a man sent from...
Homily On The Patriarchs
Truly, when I consider our fathers of old, I feel like one who has never known God. Is it not a marvel that our fathers...
The Practice Of Virginity As A Spiritual Martyrdom
As was pointed out at the beginning of this chapter, the suffering required for spiritual martyrdom may arise from exterior agents, or from natural evils,...
The Life Of St Agnes
The blessed virgin S. Agnes was much wise, and well taught, as S. Ambrose witnesses, and wrote her passion. She was fair in countenance, but...
Concerning Virgins; St Agnes
My task begins favorably, that since today is the birthday of a virgin, I have to speak of virgins, and the treatise has its beginning...
Gesture
Enacted assimilation of the text, points us beyond the mind and heart to consider another dimension of monastic prayer, the use of the body. We...
Stand Up For Prayer
“If prayer is fulfilled together with its outward forms, then this is the fulfilment, not only of psalmody, but also of all the virtues.” – St....
Prostrations In The Orthodox Church Rite
The Coptic Church, in its humble and meek spirit, teaches her children three types of prostration, or metanias (bowing). These are: prostrations of worship, repentance,...
In Praise Of The Desert
I would say that the desert deserves to be called a temple of our God without walls. Since it is clear that God dwells in...
Escaping To The Desert
A young man desired to renounce and abandon the world, and many times set off to fulfil his desire. However, as soon as he would...
Enclosed Within Four Walls
Spirituality in the desert or on the mountain, differs in its manner from spirituality in the city. One of the most troublesome factors for a...
St. Mary In The Sunday Theotokia
Our beloved Mother St. Mary holds a very significant role in orthodoxy, and in no other period of the year do we venerate her more...
St Mary As An Example of Virginity
Let then, the life of St Mary be as it were virginity itself, set forth in a likeness, from which, as from a mirror, the...
Fasting Paves the Way to Virtue
As has been said fasting is the beginning of the spiritual life, thus it is considered the pavement on which virtues are obtained; it opens...
Fasting Days, Holy Days
Our entire life should be consecrated wholly to God, however there are days appointed by Him as “holy days”. If we are trained to keep...
Did St. Antony Give or Take?
There is no doubt that St. Antony gave to God everything he possessed; He did according to the commandment: “He went and sold all he...
True Virginity
You desire, then, to be a virgin? Do you know what hardship there is in true virginity that which stands constantly at all seasons before...
Monks Are Earthly Angels
I want to focus particularly on one phrase that is said often about monks which is that they are “earthly angels”. This simply means that...
Early Libyan Martyrs
Confessors prepared to die for their convictions can hardly be ignored, many have died, most of their names remain quite unfamiliar Listen: Januaria, Generosa, Vestia, Donata and Secunda. Note that all...
Joyful Meeting in Paradise with Jonah the Prophet
The Angel said to me : Now you meet with Jonah the prophet who gave us the wonderful praise about the resurrection from the belly...
Jonah the Prophet
The story of Jonah is a true story that happened 8 centuries Before Christ. And Jonah was one of the Old Testament’s prophets, and there’s...
Christian Arabs Before Islam
Who are the Arabs? The question is not that simple as it might look at first glance. When did the name “Arab” appear in history?...
Tales of Monastic Companionship in Early Byzantium
The practices of monastic companionship and cohabitation described in the Spiritual Meadow had emerged long before the late sixth century. The practice of cohabiting monks...
Friendship
“A faithful friend is an elixir of life… A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter” (Ecc 6: 14,16). For what would a genuine friend not...
Fear of God – From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers
Abba John (the Dwarf) said, “Humility and the fear of God are above all virtues.” Abba Poemen said, “As the breath which comes out of...
The fear of God: Objections & Reply
So many people flee from the words “Fear of God”, seeing that such words are not suitable for the covenant of grace which we live....
The Title of the Patriarch of Alexandria
The official title of the head of the Coptic Church has traditionally been as follows, “Pope and Patriarch of the great city of Alexandria and...
Biography of H.H. Pope Tawadros II
Born Wagih Subhi Baky Soliman in the Delta region of Mansoura, Egypt on the 4th of November 1952. His father passed away when Wagih was...
The Solitary Patriarch
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...
Christian Behaviour According to St. Pope Kyrollos VI
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...
H.H. Pope Tawadros the 118th Patriarch
A truly historic event in our Coptic Church history occurred on Sunday 18 November 2012 that many of us have never witnessed – the enthronement...
How Long Should One Exercise Onself in Each Virtue
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...
