Abba Pachomius once said to another Abba, in reference to giving an undeserving monk rank,
"Listen to me, give him the office so that by this means we may snatch his soul out of the enemy’s hands. For if we do good to a bad man he comes thereby to…
Once, Abba Theodore went to Abba Pachomius crying “I would like you, Father, to declare to me that I shall see God; if not, what is the profit for me to have been brought into the world?”
Abba Pachomius asked, “Do you wish to see God in this age …
I also wish others on this site a fond farewell. I'm afraid that with Fr. Peter's departure, the voice of reason and patristics will be drowned out by the noise of a few posters who now, more than ever, repeatedly try to pass off the words of certa…
Colossians 3
8But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, which is renew…
[quote author=imikhail link=topic=69.msg158199#msg158199 date=1343451268]
I read the book and still cannot find any quotation by the holy Fathers except for that supposedly mamre by pope Tawodosious.
Where is the established tradition that says th…
[quote author=imikhail link=topic=69.msg158192#msg158192 date=1343445413]
[quote author=gr link=topic=69.msg158191#msg158191 date=1343444545]
[quote author=imikhail link=topic=69.msg158190#msg158190 date=1343443931]
I know that the link is there, bu…
[quote author=imikhail link=topic=69.msg158190#msg158190 date=1343443931]
I know that the link is there, but will you please put the quotes here from the fathers you are referring to?
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There is about 20 pages worth of quoted material ;D. …
[quote author=imikhail link=topic=69.msg158184#msg158184 date=1343437745]
So, when you read about St Mary's body taken to heaven, it refers to Paradise not the Kingdom of heaven
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Ihab, if you read the book that qawe references above, you wi…
May God strengthen you, Stavroforos.
I recently came across this meditation on Psalm 13, which begins, "How long wilt Thou forget me, O LORD? for ever? How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?"
http://www.copticmedia.net/module-library-viewpub-ti…
Hey marinacopt,
Don't worry-- I don't think anyone is offended :)
I'm not sure that all the books about Pope Kyrillos necessarily make the activity right, though. We all acknowledge that Pope Kyrillos was a saintly man, and in due course, I have …
My spiritual father has often recounted stories from the desert fathers that demonstrate so many false miracles have led to the spiritual destruction of even holy individuals. We are called to be wise as serpents and to practice discernment, lest w…
[quote author=minagir link=topic=9904.msg121305#msg121305 date=1288049870]
[quote author=gr link=topic=9904.msg121300#msg121300 date=1288043063]
We have received a Biblical command to praise with understanding. I don't recall any Biblical command t…
Ophadece,
This topic has been discussed to death (then resurrected several hundred times before being discussed to death again-- this time, apparently in three threads simultaneously :P!).
While I can appreciate your zeal and love for the Coptic l…
Yes, it is :). This is part of a series of lectures on "Practical Spirituality" delivered by Heg. Fr. Athanasius Iskander a few years back. Other sermons on spirituality by Fr. Athanasius are here: http://www.stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/media_sermon…
It would seem that both our "immediate" salvation (if this night, my soul is required of me, where will I be?) and understanding the signs of the second coming are both incredibly important, and entirely interrelated.
If we don't seek to understan…
The tradition started with St. Peter, Seal of the Martyrs.
The following is an account of what happened after his martyrdom and is taken from "The Genuine Acts of Peter" (from the Ante-Nicene Fathers). The full text is available here.
http://…
[quote author=marian6 link=topic=3078.msg46408#msg46408 date=1138322802]
Coptic4life: I've never heard about fr. Athanatius Iskander b4, in which church does he serve?
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Marian6, he serves in St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Kitchener, O…
Hi Mabsoota,
Perhaps this intro to the Fathers from Heg. Fr. Athanasius Iskander might help answer your question (full article available through here: http://stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/publications/articles/fathers/fathers.html )
Reading the Father…
Hey egyboy,
It would definitely be wise for you to seek the guidance of your confessional father right away. His guidance and prayers are critical in dealing with issues like this.
please remember me in your prayers.
[quote author=abosefien link=topic=7762.msg101265#msg101265 date=1237946088]
Does anybody have it in English though?
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abosefien, the one I posted is in English.
Dear ServantofGod,
Perhaps you will find this section from Heg. Fr. Athanasius Iskander's "Practical Spirituality" useful.
The full text is available here:
http://stmaryscopticorthodox.ca/content/books/spirituality.pdf
fine print from the begin…
We must be weary of tricks from the devil. He may try to use our feeling of lack of repentance as a tool to prevent us from speaking to our confessional father.
Here's an excerpt from Heg. Athanasius Iskander's Practical Spirituality It makes for …