INTRODUCTION The two Churches are linked by very intimate relations since the early Centuries of Christianity, as both are daughters of St. Mark the Apostle. Such link was realized when St. Athanasius, the Apostolic, the 20th Pope of Alexandria, consecrated Frumentius in the year 329 A.D to be the first bishop of Eritrea and Ethiopia, on the request of the two Christian kings Abraha and Atsbeha. He was given the name of Abba Salama and started his – …

In celebrating the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, we encounter many questions, like Why do we celebrate on the 7th of January instead of the 25th of December? What is the difference between the Wise Men (or Magi) and the shepherds? How do we explain the differences in teh geneologies and nativity accounts in the gospels according to St. Mark and St. Luke? Was St. Mary from the tribe of Judah or the – …

The lawyer–wishing, or even expecting to be able to entrap Christ, and get Him to say something against Moses, and affirm that His own doctrine, was far better than the commandment of which Moses was the minister–drew near tempting Him, and saying, "What shall I do to inherit eternal life? But anyone who thoroughly understands the mystery of the Incarnation may well say to him, If you are skillful in the law, and in the – …

As Fr. Tadros explains, “When the Only-begotten Son paid the price ‎for her salvation, He ascended to heaven to prepare a place for her. He sent His ‎Holy Spirit to dwell in her, offering her existence, guidance, sanctification and ‎adornment as the Heavenly Bride. In this feast, the church chants hymns, ‎being joyful with the resurrection of Christ, His ascension and the dwelling of ‎His Holy Spirit in her, thus she connects the three feasts – …

The following was the lecture given by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III on Wednesday, October 26, 2005 in response to the incidents in Alexandria. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matt. 11:28) My, brethren: In my mind so many words to say, And in my heart even more. But I prefer to remain silent. I desire silence so the Lord may speak. And trust – …

1. Our Behavior Inside and Outside of Church It is very noticeable that many people during Pascha Week are one thing inside church and completely different outside. In side church, black curtains, somber hymns, solemn readings, and concentrating on the suffering of Christ. Outside of church, we often laugh, joke around, socialize, think and talk about many worldly issues. We lose all the spiritual depth that we gained inside church. Let us concentrate our thoughts, – …

The death on the Cross, then, for us has proved seemly and fitting, and its cause has been shown to be reasonable in every respect; and it may justly be argued that in no other way than by the Cross was it right for the salvation of all to take place. For not even thus–not even on the Cross–did He leave Himself concealed; but far otherwise, while He made creation witness to the presence of – …

Over the past few decades the American society has been rocked by the revelation of corruption and immorality in our leaders on both the state and national levels. This has all reflected on the moral fiber of our society and how we view morals and ethics. The moral impropriety of our political leaders has not only shattered our confidence in our elected officials, but has flowed into the private lives of individuals. Of course, wrong – …

In our community, some believe that organization in ecclesiastical matters leads to loss of blessings. When a person is asked to organize a project, one of the answers commonly given is, "Don’t worry, leave it and it will be blessed." Usually, when a project is proposed, it is required to lay out a plan and estimate the cost. Yet some respond by saying, "God will bless it without the need to think and plan"; it – …

In the past few months, we have been shocked by the news of disasters and tragedies, which resulted in sudden death of many people. We lived through the disastrous news of the crash of the Egypt Air plane off the shores of the Northeastern United States. This resulted in the death of 217 persons, of whom many of us may have had social, friendly, or family ties. In less than a minute they changed from – …

Our Good Shepherd My Beloved, the Children of the Christ-Loving Diocese of Los Angeles, It is my pleasure to congratulate you on the Feast of the Nativity wishing you all a holy and blessed life, which befits the name of Emmanuel, Christ our Lord, Who loved us and, without sin, was incarnate and came to our world. We are happy today and our hearts are joyful with the birth of Christ, “The Good Shepherd”. In – …

In the Name of the Fr., the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God, Amen. In this booklet we present to you some answers which are related to certain questions about the Nativity, of which there are: The sequence of the genealogy, and the mention of some sinful women in it; the difference between the two gospels of Matthew and Luke in regards to the names and the ascending and descending order in that sequence. – …