The next step after repentance is worship of the Father Who accepted and loved me and cleansed me from my sins and put me in His bosom. Contrition of the spirit and submission to the Father and the love of frequent prostrations in worship are the expressions of our love for Him Who opened His arms for us sinners and kissed us. This is the end of the road of repentance in the Father’s bosom, – …

On February 28, 2010, (21 Meshir 1726 A.M.) the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria observes the Third Sunday of the Great Lent, in which we remember the Father embracing and kissing the neck of the Prodigal Son who returned to him in sincere repentance. As part of the diocese’s spiritual program during this holy season, our father, His Grace Bishop Serapion, has recorded a pastoral message for this Sunday of the Great Lent. It is – …

On February 21, 2010, (14 Meshir 1726 A.M.) the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria observes the Second Sunday of the Great Lent, in which we remember our Lord Jesus Christ overcoming temptation and evil in the wilderness as He fasted for us forty days and forty nights. As part of the diocese’s spiritual program during this holy season, our father, His Grace Bishop Serapion, has recorded a pastoral message for this First Sunday of the – …

With great joy and enthusiasm, the diocese announces the "Dear Bishop" program tonight at 8:00 p.m. PST on Logos TV. In this program, visitors from around the world will be able to ask His Grace Bishop Serapion questions and hear the answers live on air. To ask His Grace a question, you may e-mail dearbishop@lacopts.org or call 1-909-89-LOGOSTV (909-895-6467). Watch live at http://lacopts:8888/logostv

The Feast of our Lord’s Entry into the Temple is celebrated on the 8th day of the month of Meshir, and is among the Seven Minor Feasts of the Lord. In order to fulfill the Law, the Virgin Mary took the newborn Christ to the Temple and offered a burnt offering. It was the commandment of God to the Jews in the Old Testament that a woman, after completing her purification (which is forty days – …

On February 14, 2010, (7 Meshir 1726 A.M.) the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria observed the First Sunday of the Great Lent, in which our Lord teaches us, “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on… But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to – …

On February 14, the diocese will solemnly observe the Fortieth Day Commemoration of the Nag Hammadi martyrs. His Grace Bishop Serapion has called upon all parish churches to remember the names of the blessed martyrs in their celebrations of the Divine Liturgy. The names of the seven martyrs are as follows: Mina Helmy Said, Bishoy Farid Labib, Boula Atef Yassa, Ayman Zakaria Louka, Abanoub Kamal Nashed, and Rafik Refaat William. Also, His Grace has released – …

As Orthodox faithful observe the holy Great Lent this year, parish churches throughout the entire diocese have increased celebrations of the Divine Liturgy throughout the week. As His Grace wrote in the recently released Great Lent publication: The period of Great Lent is distinctive for its many celebrations of the Divine Liturgy. They become the spiritual treasure for the fasting person to help him throughout the rest of the year. Along with the Divine Liturgy – …

On Wednesday, February 17, 2010, Claremont Graduate University School of Religion and Claremont McKenna College Department of Religious Studies will hold a public lecture entitled "Christians and the State: Comparing Russian and Egyptian Experiences" featuring Professor Sergei Plekhanov of York University in Toronto, Canada. The lecture will compare relations between temporal and ecclesiastical authorities among Christians in Russia and Egypt, as well as the the historical and contemporary experiences of these two sister churches to help understand the evolving role of – …

On February 8, 2010, (1 Meshir 1726 A.M.) the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria begins observance of the Great Holy Fast, also known as the Great Lent. As part of the diocese’s spiritual program during this holy season, our father, His Grace Bishop Serapion, has recorded a pastoral message for the Preparatory Sunday of the Great Lent. It is available for streaming and downloading here: Pastoral Message for Preparatory Sunday of the Great Lent 2010  

With great joy and enthusiasm, the Diocese announces the availability of its first electronic book ("eBook") for the Amazon Kindle platform, On the Manifestation of God in the Birth of Christ (Oration 38 of St. Gregory the Theologian) (Pastoral Messages Series). The release of this publication for the Amazon Kindle format is part of the Diocese’s efforts to digitize past and future publications to take advantage of the benefits of the electronic book format. Among – …

The Saint Athanasius and Saint Cyril Theological Library joyfully announces its first annual Great Lent Lecture series, "Fasting in the Desert: A Historical and Spiritual Examination of the Desert Fathers and the Applicability of Their Lives Today." God willing, the Library has organized a series of six lectures on the Sunday evenings of the Great Lent at various churches throughout the diocese, following the Sunday evening prayer. The schedule of these lectures is as follows: – …