“The Martyr is the one who conducts himself according to the commandments of the gospel in the Love of the Lord.” - Clement of Alexandria
The Coptic Church has a very close relationship with Martyrs, to the extent that its...
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...
Most of the Apophthegmata Patrum are in the form of question and answer, a clear indication of their didactic purpose: a junior “brother" approaches a senior "elder" or father, abba and asks him a question. The question is often...
“Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved.”
Saint Seraphim of Sarov
Visitors to our monastery, usually from non-orthodox background, sometimes have a burning question to ask. “Why monasticism? isn’t better if the monks use their energy to...
The Lord, wishing to show that every commandment is obligatory but that sonship is a gift bestowed on human beings by means of his own blood, says, “When you have done everything that you were ordered to do, say,...
Among the many themes that St John Cassian discusses with the desert fathers in his conference, is the theme of the attaining the purity of heart. In his first conference titled “on the purpose and goal of the monk”...
“I sleep, but my heart is awake; it is the voice of my beloved! He knocks, saying, “Open for me, my sister, my love, My dove,
my perfect one; For my head is covered with dew, My locks with the...
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...
I think that, by God's help and to the extent that our limited skill was capable, I have explained the method of night-time prayer and psalms that is observed in Egypt. Now we shall have to discuss the Psalms...
“Singing Psalms is medicine for
healing the soul” St. Athanasius
If you open the Bible right in the middle you will find the book of Psalms. In fact, the middle chapter in the whole Bible is Psalm 118. The longest chapter...
