It seems to be regular news these days to hear of church bombing especially in the Middle East that claim the lives of innocent people. It is becoming so regular that many western news channels don’t even bother reporting it. Those who do report it stop at the devastating effect of the bombing and the …
Fr Grigoris Balakian’s memoir Armenian Golgotha, for decades has been an important text of Armenian literature, belonging to this group of significant books that deal with crimes against humanity in the modem age. Fr Balakian, a priest and later a bishop in the Armenian Apostolic Church, was an esteemed clergyman and intellectual. On the night …
By the time of St. Athanasius (295-373) the concept of spiritual martyrdom had become fairly uniform and definite. From the first remarks of St. Athanasius about the spiritual martyrdom of St Anthony to those of Sulpicius Severus about the martyrdom of St Martin of Tours, the requirements for spiritual martyrdom remain rather constant. The requirements …
It seems that every year there is news of a Christian group somewhere around the world is being persecuted for their Christian faith. We hear of what’s happening to the Christians in Nigeria, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, etc. In Egypt we can say with St Paul “if I must boast, I will boast in the things …
The text tells us about a probably young Upper-Egyptian man, who was a merchant of imported women's fabrics. His extensive contacts with Moslems, especially crafty ones, resulted in him falling into sin with a woman and eventually he was forced to convert to Islam as a result. This happened during the reign of Osman the …
There was one of the very outstanding brothers, who was practising ascetism by himself. He heard of the godly life of the great St Pachomius and begged him to receive him into the monastic Community. The Great Man received him; and after he had spent a short time with the brothers, he greatly desired to become a martyr, at a …
It is well documented that in the early centuries, the blood of Coptic martyrs bathed the knees of the horses of their persecutors. However, since the legalisation of Christianity under the reign of Emperor Constantine, there has been a steady decline in the number of martyrs. Martyrdom is arguably non-existent in western countries such as Australia, and the issue has thus …
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, or from the evil spirits. It may also arise from the practice of one of the evangelical counsels, such as the practice of virginity. The high respect entertained for the …
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 much fairer in the Christian faith, she was young of age, in the thirteenth year of her age she lost the death that the world gives, and found life in …
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 from this discourse. It is the birthday of a martyr, let us offer the victim. It is the birthday of St. Agnes, let men admire, let children take courage, let …
