The Nativity of St John the Baptist The Church observes the birth of John as in some way sacred; and you will not find any other of the great men of old whose birth we celebrate officially. We celebrate John’s, as we celebrate Christ’s. This point cannot be passed over in silence, and if I …
St John Cassian On the Holy Fathers of Sketis And on Discrimination 'From what Abba Serapion said, we can learn that we shall be granted the gift of true discrimination when we trust, no longer in the judgments of our own mind, but in the teaching and rule of our fathers. The devil brings the …
Spiritual Life in the monastery according to St Pachomius The monastic foundation by Pachomius was primarily a spiritual one, and if it was to be successful, then the spiritual life of each monk was of paramount importance. He attempted to ensure this in three ways. Firstly by legislation, which would not only protect the spiritual …
The Rules of St Pachomius In the name of the Holy Trinity. The ordinance, which the angel of the Lord commanded to Abba Pachomius. In a place whose name is Tabennesis, in the province of Thebes, there was a man whose name was Pachomius, who was of those that lived a clean life, and there …
Some may wonder how the humble saint says in her praise to the Lord: “For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name” (Luke 1:48-49)? Does she ask for …
St. Bishoy struggled in much asceticism and many worships that made him worthy to see the Lord Christ. Emperor Constantine appeared to him in a vision, saying, "Had I known how great is the honour of monks, I would have abandoned my kingdom and became a monk." St. Bishoy told him, "You have banished the …
The Life of St John the Baptist has some very interesting aspects that can apply to every Christian today. From The Angels announcement to his father Zachariah we know that he was specially chosen by God: “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord... He will also be filled with the Holy …
John is the voice, but the Lord is the Word who was in the beginning. John is the voice that lasts for a time; from the beginning Christ is the Word who lives forever. Take away the word, the meaning, and what is the voice? Where there is no understanding, there is only a meaningless …
Another Libyan confessor who appears in the Russian Synaxary is Hieromartyr St Theodore (also known as Theuderius). Before his becoming bishop of Cyrene, he was known as a scribe or monk who quietly copied sacred Scriptures for public reading. Theodore was ordained by the Patriarch Theonas of Alexandria (fl 282–300), as bishop in Libya. Many …
Youssef, (Bishop Yousaab) was born in 1735 A.D. in the town of Assiut from a pious Christian family. He used his knowledge of reading and writing to educate himself from the church books. In addition to his love for reading Christian books, he loved reading the lives of saints and emulating their virtues ascetical life. …
