By: John Watson Kyrillos was first and foremost a priest who celebrated the Eucharist daily. He was also a monk. ‘Priest-monk’ is not always a useful description of either one who has given himself to the sacerdotal life nor to one who has joined a monastery as a monk. The priesthood has often been little …
Fasting is the champion of every virtue, the beginning of the struggle, the crown of the abstinent, the beauty of virginity and holiness, the resplendence of chastity, the commencement of the path of Christianity, the mother of prayer, the well-spring of sobriety and prudence, the teacher of stillness, and the precursor of all good …
How to Benefit Spiritually from Pascha Week by H.H. Pope Shenouda III How do we enjoy the most spiritual week of the year? Our behavior inside and outside church: It is very noticeable that many people during Passion Week act very differently inside church than they do outside church. Inside church… …
Let us turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours. Let us always desire the happy life from the Lord God and always pray for it. But for this very reason we turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours, since that desire grows lukewarm, so to speak, from …
Above all, the Teacher of peace and Master of unity did not want prayer to be made singly and privately, so that whoever prayed would pray for himself alone. We do not say My Father, who art in heaven or Give me this day my daily bread; nor does each one ask that only his own debt should be forgiven him; nor does …
Monastic life above everything is a life of continuous prayer. A layman can do everything that a monk does, except continuous prayer. This is the major difference between a monk and a layman because continuous prayer involves no distractions and laymen do not have this luxury. The monk's entire life is dedicated to God. Laymen …
Pray as is fitting and without trouble, practise psalmody with understanding (Ps. 46: 8) and harmony, and you will be like a young eagle soaring in the heights. • Psalmody puts the passions to sleep and works to calm the incontinence of the body; prayer prepares the mind to exercise the activity that is proper …
How should we praise in the Church? Besides the great awe of this inheritance, yet how much we distort it whenever the worship is changed to just a ritual and this appears a lot in: *The competition of voices in the church, so that some people try to reply and sing the hymn before others …
In the name of the living, holy God, Creator of the bodies and the souls, who made thanksgiving due upon us forever. And made us praise and glorify Him for his great mercy and favor for us. For as we fell down, He raises us up, and as we sinned and repented, He forgave us. …
Why do I pray? Why do I fast? Why do I seek seclusion? And why do I read? Is it in order to be a man of prayers, or fasting or to be known as a lover of seclusion or a man of knowledge? Do I like to be a worshipper? Is this a lust …
