There’s a bunch of things with VA...first there’s the case of Anba Michael, then there’s the issue with Abouna Bishoy, and then there’s also the nagging possibility that it has to do with neither, but that it is associated with the capital of the Un…
I was born in the US. I refuse to get a wrist tattoo. I prefer to tattoo the cross in my heart, as the culture in the US will see it nothing more than bodily decoration.
In Egypt, it’s a defiance against the Islamic culture that Christianity is p…
Just a side note: The Maqar does not have "controversial departures". All departures I'm aware of have been "promotions" for the service they offered, Anba Angelos included.
So according to the US-International Coptic Media Center Facebook page, he went back to Egypt for his R-1 Visa to continue his service in the US. AT THE SAME TIME, North Shubra congregation and clergy requested that he be their bishop again. The P…
I understand. At that point, then yes, read as much as you can. Ask as much as you can. Challenge as much as you can (we can take the challenge). Until you are able to find a safe haven for you to practice what you read.
You are in my prayers b…
The underlying message of what is communicated is important. So who Christ is and what He does in Himself and how He does it all matter. These are some of the questions that have been asked and attempted to answer. When the fog clears, you might …
I know it is a little difficult to comprehend, but the Orthodox Church (and the Catholic Church) values the Church herself, that is the relationship humans have with Christ, communion with Him, and being raised into His glory. The writings are SECO…
https://copticliterature.wordpress.com/2017/10/08/the-oldest-icon-of-st-dioscorus-i-patriarch-of-the-coptic-church-from-the-13th-century/
My favorite icon of St. Dioscorus. All modern neo-Coptic representations of him I have not really appreciated…
First we have to ask, who is allowed in the altar? I think anything lower than a full deacon was not allowed, with subdeacons entering as an exception.
I'm glad to see we are ordaining more deacons lately so that we can fully understand and appreci…
It seems to me most deacon responses are done in Greek and the Presbyter/Bishop prays in Coptic. Furthermore, deacons tend to represent different things depending on who you ask. St. Ignatius believed they represented Christ Himself. I think the …
You should see how Armenians do the Kiss of Peace. It's true they stay within their ranks, but there is a crossover of one rank to the other, who will then spread that reconciliation to those within the ranks. It's a very systematic and organized …
What I think Severus meant by “stronger”, is he believed women exercise it better than men in his experience, especially within a married couple. It’s like a muscle. Some people are stronger than others by “working out” more.
For the story of St.…
If I may add, according to the research by Robin Darling Young on the cathedral homilies of St. Severus of Antioch confirms the idea that male and female are equal in regards to the image of God, but even further St. Severus takes the position that …
I think you’re taking that quote out of context. I have not personally read Augustine’s “On the Trinity”, but if that quote sums up his thoughts (which I don’t think it is), he is clearly wrong given other Patristic testimonies (and Augustine is wr…
That is true, Christ did say that, and we take it very seriously. With that said, there are some cases in which the Church does advice staying away from the Eucharist for the time being as a form of penance. For example, there is the case in which…
@Lovejoypeace_
This is one of those subjects where you find no argument from me against your concerns. I too am baffled by these rules. I see historical precedence for it from writings of some fathers, but there are also other ancient writings tha…
@RaafatAbualazm
Hey brother! Sorry I’ve been busy, and I’m not able to keep up. So I’ll only respond to your response to me:
You wrote:
************
So from that definition of scripture, if somehow an epistle or any document that is attributed …
Joshua and Jesus is the same name. Ophadece is correct. Just because it's "Yeshua" in Aramaic does not mean the Coptic also writes Aramaic names. The record shows that it was consistent in how it wrote the name.
Dear @RaafatAbualazm
Something very important about the Church that you need to understand is that we do not divorce ourselves from history. Because we believe the Church is the body of Christ, this includes every generation after the Apostles to w…
Are you worried about the true faith, or are you looking for literal wordings and councils that explain the true faith?
You need to make a distinction here. OOs do not venerate councils just because they're councils. Orthodoxy is what makes the co…