One of the great church fathers of the 4th century is St Basil the bishop of Caesarea. He has no comprehensive biography, yet from what we know about him in the funerary oration by St Gregory of Nyssa (his brother) and by St Gregory of Nazianzus (his best friend) and his extensive volume of writings …
Two eminent phenomena distinguished the Christians of the early generations of Christianity, these are the desire for martyrdom and the love of chastity and virginity. We find the dominance of these two phenomena over the believers an ordinary matter which keeps pace with the deep spirituality they enjoyed and the wonderful sublimity they attained by …
St John Cassian was a monk and an ascetical writer who was the first to introduce Eastern monasticism into the West. Born in present day Romania, near the delta of the Danube; about 435 AD. He was the son of wealthy parents, he received a good education, and while yet a youth visited the holy …
Christianity Started in Ethiopia in the time of the Apostles, when a eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians was baptised by the hands of St Phillip (Act 8:26-40). After his return to Ethiopia he told the Queen of his encounter, so she declared Christianity to be the official religion of Ethiopia. …
Today, 4.5 km west of Dair el-Baramous is one of the few inhabited caves in the ancient Desert of Scetis. Abuna Abd el-Mesih elHabashi has lived there since about 1935. Of the three caves, two are used by him. Some of the equipment of Abuna Abd el-Mesih is without doubt Second World War material. This …
Monasticism of this Christian era did not know a monk who lived the life of continuous solitude to the degree of Father Abd el-Mesih el-Habashi. He lived all the facets of the ascetic life fully, bearing the famous name Father Abd el-Mesih el-Habashi (the Ethiopian). He was born into a very wealthy family in Ethiopia, …
St. Anthony used to conquer the devils with humility. Whenever they gathered around him, he used to address them humbly, "Ye strong, what do you want with me who am weak?" and he prayed, "Save me, O God, from those who think I am of any worth though I am too weak to fight even …
But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers" (1 Peter 4:7) Many visitors who came to the Monastery, would seek him to ask for words of spiritual benefit, and Father Yostos would respond by giving them verses from the Bible. One such verse is from the …
“The land of Egypt is fertile, not only for growing fruits that perish, but for people who bear fruit according to God. Yes, other lands bring different kinds of fruit to us and we find enjoyment in them, but our pride is in our own fruits, yes, in what our land has produced, the likes …
In December 1976 when the monks of St. Antony attended the funeral service for Father Yostos they knew that an angel had departed from their monastery. For more than fifteen centuries the monastery, which was named after the great Saint Anthony and built near his cave, has been standing at the bottom of a high …
