A hard one. If pushed I suppose it would have to be St. Cyril of Alexandria who saved the Church from the heresy of Nestorius. But I have the softest of spots for St. Isaac of Nineveh, whose writings breathe the pure love of God for us all.
In Chri…
Indeed, there is a difference between converting and reading a book, but as you point out some books are designed to try to 'convert' Coptic Christians, and it isn't always clear from the outset what the purpose of a given book might be.
That is wh…
Perhaps
Z = St. Zeno who was bishop of Verona in Italy.He was born in Africa and was a firm opponent of Arianism. He had a great devotion to the blessed Theotokos, and he reposed in 371.
In Christ,
Anglian
Dear Copt4eva,
All the advice you have received is good for you, but you have to find a way of not wanting to look at such things when you are on your own.
I wonder if the following might help?
1. Remember that the women in the photographs are so…
W = St. Wilfrid, who is an English saint much=beloved in the British Orthodox Church. He was Bishop of York, son of a Northumbrian thegn, born in 634 and died at Oundle in Northamptonshire, 709.
In Christ,
Anglian
p.s. Who has Y? (Since we've alr…
I wonder whether there is not a way of reconciling the two views here?
Clearly those who come here expect, and I hope get, an Oriental Orthodox view; those who want Catholic, Protestant or Eastern orthodox views have many other sites (and indeed, …
[quote author=minagir link=topic=5968.msg79790#msg79790 date=1196357692]
[quote author=Anglian link=topic=5968.msg79789#msg79789 date=1196357345]
I'm sure this must have been dealt with, but since we hold that Our Lord gave Himself up voluntarily to…
Dear Thomas,
Godd question, but it is clear from Genesis that God gave us dominion over the animals; they are not to be equated with people. That, however, is no excuse for cruelty to animals, and as a Christian I feel it is my duty to only purchas…
I'm sure this must have been dealt with, but since we hold that Our Lord gave Himself up voluntarily to save mankind, was Judas not just a means to that end?
In Christ,
Anglian
[quote author=Doubting Thomas link=topic=5963.msg79774#msg79774 date=1196306477]
I thought everything under the sun was vain- even wisdom? :P
[/quote]
Indeed, without God everything is vain, and what passes for wisdom is mere folly. With God - well…
Dear Coptic Servent,
You are very kind, and it is good to know that in this Christian community we can provide each other with 'online' support. We hear so much about the bad things on the Internet, but we should hear more about the good things - s…
Dear Hailemikael,
Where are you now on this one? Did you sue?
It seems to me that the advice here is good and firmly based on our Faith. Let go of this if you can; forgive them - they know not what they do. If you suffer in innocence, why then so …
2 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
The preacher was spot on. At least as far back as Clement of Alexandra (182-202 A.D.) the fathers pondered this question of vanity and often linked it with sexual inconti…
I am humbled and overwhelmed that my posts should be thought of use to people here.
I profit hugely from what you all write. Iqbal, Doubting Thomas, Orthodox 11, Κηφᾶς QT, jydeacon, Minagir, Hos Erof and Severus, all help me to see more clearly; bu…
[quote author=jsangel_23 link=topic=5961.msg79728#msg79728 date=1196183829]
hey guys thanks for all ur replies!
but he wants where Jesus claims to be GOD not the son of God.
its gonna b hard for me to explain how when Jesus says He is the Son, that …
Be careful with such folk - they usually want to argue you out of the Faith.
To help:
St. Matthew 7:21:
21 Not everyone who says to Me, `Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
St. Matthew 1…
Dear Duck,
Well, that is up there with 'proving' God exists in the sense that people who hold that view are unlikely to be convinced by arguments to the contrary.
The modern belief in relativism stems from the European Enlightenment of the eightee…
Yes, that is very sad. A strange world indeed, where some pretend to be Christian to get business and others, who are, find themselves being suspended from their job for wearing a crucifix.
In Christ,
Anglian
I suspect we need to distinguish between our personal preferences and what our Faith allows.
The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and we should not damage that temple. One of the effects of the Fall was that we became subject to physical degen…
[quote author=perfectsinner link=topic=5958.msg79628#msg79628 date=1195945591]
anglian sorry..but just a side question...is that a picture of God the father?
thanx for the warm welcome
-sister in Christ
[/quote]
Dear Sister in Christ,
The icon …
Dear perfectsinner,
Welcome to the forums, and we look forward to hearing more from you. There is nothing better to which you can devote your free time than to your encounter with God through the Risen Christ.
One of the many benefits of Orthodoxy…
Dear Meena,
Orthodox 11 is correct. Protestants usually fail to distinguish between the energies of God and His essence; we cannot be one with the latter, since only the Son and the Holy Spirit are of the same essence. It is His energies with which…
Dear Gregory,
the amount one should drink completely depends on him. Moderation is key, just like food, food is not wrong, but over-indulgence is.
I'm sure that is the sensible position.
Properly used and appreciated, wine can be one of life's g…
Dear Kirmich,
I would be very interested in other views on this, because, as you say, there seem to be a number of positions that can be taken up.
I am always suspicious of the argument that one should not do something because, if done to excess, …
An interesting discussion here.
Our Lord's first miracle was to turn water into wine, and at the Last Supper wine was served. At the Eucharistic feast the wine becomes His Blood through a mystery we cannot apprehend but which we believe.
Teetotali…
Dear Thomas,
Yes, I think you make some important points here.
The mindset with which we contend is not a Christian one, and for Christians to begin to compromise with it is, alas, t get into waters which will swallow them.
If we believe that all…
Dear Iqbal,
You make an interesting and pertinent point.
Is there a difference between what God allows to the Saints and the experience of the rest of us?
Is there, in short, a difference between God allowing Job to be tested by the Devil, and my…