[dropcap]Fasting[/dropcap], coupled with prayer, is one of the most powerful spiritual weapons we have in our struggle against the devil, sin, and the passions. This is undoubtedly why the Holy Church, as a loving Mother, consecrates several periods of fasting throughout the year, including the 43-day Fast of the Nativity, which we just began. The […]
[dropcap]For[/dropcap] those of us following the Old (Julian) calendar, as we do in the Coptic Orthodox Church, we have just begun the Nativity Fast, which culminates in the Feast of our Lord’s Nativity in the flesh on January 7, 2017. Throughout this Fast, we commemorate the events that preceded the birth of our Lord Jesus […]
[dropcap]On[/dropcap] the Third Sunday of the Coptic month of Hatour, our Mother, the Holy Church, nourished us with a passage from the Gospel according to St. Luke 14:25-35 in which our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us that the cost of being His disciple, the cost of being a Christian in this world, is a total […]
[dropcap]Fasting[/dropcap] is as old as the human race. Fasting was practiced by pagan religions, Judaism and Christianity, and it was generally considered an important element of religious life, although with different practices and understanding. In the ancient religions of the East fasting meant a complete abstention from good for a certain period of time — […]
During these difficult days, we are increasingly called upon to worship as a community in unity of Spirit, in one voice. What is communal worship, and how does it differ from individual worship? What is the Biblical basis for communal worship in the body of the the Church? The Differences Between Communal and Individual Worship […]
[dropcap]You[/dropcap] know that we are approaching the Holy Forty Days Fast (i.e., Lent). Here the words are intensely resolute and directive. The words “forty days” have a special importance because we are approaching a death that Christ went through for the sake of all humanity. It is in other words Christ’s death in exchange for […]