All it was is that I left the monastery to go for a walk in the desert. I walked until the evening. The hour was late and I could not find the way from which I came, so I sat down. Night fell and in the midst of this darkness I lost myself in prayer... …
“Martha and Mary are very beautifully portrayed in the Gospel as examples of this attitude and manner of behavior. For although Martha was indeed devoting herself to a holy service, ministering as she was to the Lord Himself and to His disciples, while Mary was intent only on spiritual teaching and was clinging to Jesus’ …
The brethren said, “Why do the devils fear the labours of the monks, even as the Fathers say, ‘If you wish the devils to be afraid of you, despise lusts?’” The old man said, “They are afraid because of three things. First, because our Lord treated with contempt three kinds of passions, which included and …
My father, who is like you…Who has offered himself to the Lord?! Who is like you, who has placed his life in the hands of the Lord and sang “My soul is in your hands always”?! Who is like you, who carried the name of a saint who persevered and walked the righteous path before …
Monasticism is the backbone of the church that protects it and carries it just like how Moses was to Joshua in his fight against Amalek. Moses is a symbol of monasticism which lifts its hands towards heaven to pray for Joshua who symbolises the servants, the consecrated and the clergy while he fought Amalek who …
My dear beloved children, monks and nuns of our Coptic Orthodox monasteries in the Egyptian deserts and the lands of immigration; May the Peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). As we celebrate the commemoration of the departure of the patron saint of our monasteries, …
Rejoice in the Lord, beloved child, whom the grace of my Jesus has enlightened and delivered from the world; who has flown to the wilderness and dwelt in a monastery, and now glorifies and thanks God with all his soul. Divine grace, my child, is like bait which enters the soul and without force attracts …
In the "Paradise of the fathers," it is said, "Quietness is the first knowledge of the soul." St. Isaac said, "Search for quietness in any place... and keep silent in the place where you find it" This means that when you find, even very little quietness, try to benefit from it, for outward quietness is …
“I suggest that, given what we know of the social tensions in Roman Egypt, the presence of an emerging culture of asceticism, and the growth of a church in which Scripture figured prominently, the impact of Scripture on early monastic acts of renunciation should not be underestimated.” Douglas Burton-Christie The fact that he writes this …
Tradition has bestowed on Antony and Pachomius the status of founders of early Egyptian monasticism. They serve as the movement's primary icons; Antony represents the anchoritic model of the ascetic life, Pachomius its coenobitic form. Antony's earlier date has fashioned him as the individual representative of monastic origins. His discovery of the "ascetic" desert, marks …
