At the end of the month of October every year, many Americans celebrate Halloween, a holiday that is oftentimes associated with the dead and the powers of darkness. There are, of course, defenders of Halloween who claim that it is fundamentally a wholesome holiday involving family, friends, and kids in cute costumes, but the reality is quite different. One cannot, for example, ignore the vampires, werewolves, monsters, ghosts, ghouls, and other things from the occult …

Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the martyrdom of St. Marina the Holy Martyr of Antioch, a wonderful role model especially for young women. She was raised as an unbeliever by her parents until her mother died. Afterwards, she believed in our Lord Jesus Christ and vowed to remain a virgin for Him, but her father disowned her because of her faith, which ultimately resulted in her martyrdom. She shunned marriage, pleasure, fame, wealth, family, …

There are two feast days in the Synaxarium for our beloved saint: 13th of Tubah (January 21) – The Martyrdom of St. Demiana 12th of Bashans (May 20) – The Commemoration of the Consecration of the Church of St. Demiana May her prayers be with us all! First Contemplation – St. Demiana’s Childhood When she was one year old, her father took her to the church of the monastery of Al-Maymah. He offered alms, candles …

We cannot understand martyrdom in Christianity, or estimate its sanctity, unless we know the motives that led those holy ones to their death as if it were an enjoyable journey. Early Christians believed in spiritual principles which changed their outlook on life. We may mention some of them in the following. The Transitory Nature of this Life This world is temporary compared with eternal life: There are many divine sayings encourage that feeling, such as …

An informative and interesting overview about the Coptic Orthodox Church from the perspective of an outsider. James Gaffney, professor of religious studies at Loyola University in New Orleans, wrote this article after studying and travelling Egypt in the summer of 1992 under a fellowship from the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations. A long walk or short ride from the center of modern Cairo lies that city’s old Coptic Quarter, strangely combining monumental grandeur and contemporary …

This glorious and victorious saint was born in Cappadocia, the son of wealthy and virtuous parents. His father suffered for Christ, and his mother then moved to Palestine.When George grew up he entered the military, where he attained, in his twentieth year, the rank of tribune, and as such he was in the service of the Emperor Diocletian.When Diocletian began his terrible persecution of Christians, George came before him and courageously confessed that he was …

In the first centuries of Christianity when the followers of Christ were cruelly persecuted by the authorities, a priest by the name of Sapricius and a layman by the name of Nicephorus lived in the city of Antioch.  The other people considered them to be natural brothers because they loved each other so much.  They lived with sincere love for a long time until the devil, being very jealous of their harmonious life, succeeded in …