Last Sunday, faithful in the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated with great joy the Feast of the Entry of the Holy Theotokos Mary into the temple. Although this event is not mentioned in the Holy Scripture, it is firmly rooted in the Holy Tradition of the Church, especially from a book known as the Protoevangelium of James, which offers details concerning the early life of the Holy Theotokos. When the Holy Theotokos was only three-years-old, her …
During this holy month of Kiahk in the Coptic Orthodox Church, we commemorate the events that led to the transformation of the world through the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are called to be attentive and faithful during this time as we see the Feast of the Nativity on the horizon, rapidly approaching as each day passes. It is a time for us to prepare and wait for the feast which commemorates the …
One of the signs of modern courtship is the growing trend of elaborate marriage proposals, which are oftentimes choreographed and shared on social media. We see them all the time: a young man invites a young woman to some sentimental place (oftentimes with a view of the ocean) and “pops the question” (oftentimes using candles, signs, and/or balloons) shortly before all of their family and friends come out of hiding to congratulate them and celebrate. …
In or around the first year of the Lord, a meeting took place that would forever change the course of history. There was in those days an older woman living in the hill country of Judea. At this particular time, she was hiding, because something wondrous had happened to her. Despite the old age of this woman and her husband, a Jewish priest, and despite the fact that she, as a woman, was unable to …
Feminism is one of the aspects and factors which works to distance many of us from God. As science makes us doubt the Bible, as humanism makes us doubt the existence of God, as modernism makes us doubt the power of God, as postmodernism makes us doubt the existent morality and ethics, feminism makes us doubt both the Bible and the Church and its structures. We have to understand what feminism is. There is a …
Today, we celebrate motherhood, remembering and thanking our mothers for their loving self-sacrifice. We also remember the motherhood of the Holy Church, which is our home and the source of our nourishment. Finally, we remember the motherhood of the Most Holy Theotokos, who by her acceptance of God’s will and obedience, became the mother of all living. We thank God for this mystery of motherhood in every facet of our lives and pray that we …
Today, with great joy, we continue to celebrate our Saviour’s Resurrection and the commemoration of His Mother, the Most Holy Theotokos St. Mary.In the context of the Resurrection, we remember that it was St. Mary’s consent and acceptance to the will of God in her life that led to the Resurrection and everything else in the Gospel. Without human consent, there is no salvation. Without her response to the angel, we would still be in …