The Old Testament Today, it is very common to know the list of Bible books “down pat” among Evangelicals – our kids sing songs in Bible School, etc. Every Bible keeps the books in the same order, and divides the OT nicely into “the Law,” “The Prophets,” and ‘The Writings,” or sometimes, “the Law,” “History,” “Poetry/Writings,” and “Prophets.” However, this neatly tied up little package was NOT that neat in Apostolic days. In fact, at …

Today, on the Fourth Sunday of the blessed Coptic month of Paouna, our Mother, the Holy Church, nourished us with a passage from the Gospel according to Luke 6:27-38 in which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke to us about love, and especially the love of our enemies.Perhaps no word is used more in the language of the modern world than “love,” but in what way? After the United States Supreme Court’s sad decision legalizing same-sex …

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 …

The Farmer One day some people from a church visited a rich farmer to ask him to make his pledge for the coming year. The farmer filled in an amount that was pitifully low, much less than the poorest member of the congregation would give. One of the visitors looked at the farmer and said, “We really thought you would be able to do better than this.” The farmer was astonished. He stood up as …

Anyone who reads the Book of Revelation carefully finds before him a detailed heavenly picture of all the different kinds of liturgical rites that accompany the prayers and praises offered in the church every day, along with the eucharistic mystery. He sees white robes, censors, incense, and a burning coal on the altar, golden crowns, candlesticks, an altar and “a lamb as it had been slain,” cherubim, archangels, angels, heavenly powers, twenty-four elders and the …

Within the context of the theology and piety of the Copts the heavenly host occupies an important place. There are the seven archangels Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, Suriel, Zedekiel, Serathiel, and Ananiel. They are the seven spirits of God (Rev. 4:5). Furthermore, the Holy Scriptures mention the Seraphim with their six wings who filled the house with smoke (Is. 6:2 f) and the herubim that provide the throne for the Lord (Ps. 99:1). The angels represent …

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 …

Christ’s suffering and death separated His existence in the flesh from His existence in the Spirit. It was not a separation of time or from His presence, but between the visible witnessing and the spiritual witnessing of the glory of His Divine Being. The Mystical Supper was a farewell illustration of the fact that Christ would be physically absent but at the same time would remain with His disicples forever: “And lo, I am with you …

The First Counsel Never rely on your own wisdom or might or on human strength in any of your works. Otherwise, your mind will become dim and your insight blurred, thus blocking the way for grace to enter you and show you the way of God. You will thus be led astray from truth and fall into the enemy’s trap. At the end, you will be enslaved to your own ego and to the desires …

Monasticism began with Saint Antony in response to the commandment of the Gospel, which says, “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me” (Mark 10:21.) When Saint Antony personally carried out this mandate and set out for the wilderness, being so sincere in his obedience, he embodied in the desert a live, human, personal entity of obedience to the commandment. This live …