“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 do? what pleasure would he not create for us? what benefit? what safety? Though you were to name a thousand treasures, there is nothing comparable to a real friend. First …
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 …
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 …
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 …
You will be proclaimed charitable, not simply because you have refused to accept something from another person, but rather you will be recognized as a renunciant because you have given without looking back. When you distribute material goods, strive to cast pure seeds, lest instead of wheat you have tares come forth (Matt, 13: 24-30). …
Monasticism is not like you see it in movies. It is not like you read of it in books. It cannot be described in words. It can only be experienced and felt. Monasticism is a calling and you cannot walk this path unless you have been invited to it by God. But how does one …
Saint Macarius (which means blessed) the Great was born in the year 295, in a village named Shabsheer, to pious Christian parents; Abraham, who was a priest, and Sarah. Before the saint’s birth, his father saw a vision where an angel told him he was going to have a son, whose name will be known …
St. Shenouda the Archimandrite (348-466 A.D.) was the abbot of the White Monastery of Atribe in the desert of Thebes, Egypt, for more than 65 years. He was the abbot of over 2200 monks and 1800 nuns. He is called Archimandrite (the head of anchorites) because he used to practice the solitary life from time …
“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” - St. Jerome We all know that the reading of the Bible is as essential to our Spiritual growth as food is to our physical growth. So why then do we so often neglect the Scriptures going days without opening it and sometimes even weeks? In the quest …
