Saint Cyril of Alexandria and the Council of Ephesus
I. BACKGROUND A. The Empire Theodosius the Great died in 395. His two sons replaced him: Arcadius in the East and Honorius in the West. In the West, the Germanic tribes invaded the Western Empire and established a new kingdom. They applied their primitive, barbarian customs instead of the Roman law and most of them were Arians. Emperor Honorius lost his control of the Empire and lived in North Italy. The Visigoths defeated the Roman – …
The Source And Giver Of New Life
The Holy Church teaches us that Jesus Christ our Lord, Who gave Himself "for the life of the world" (Jn. 6:51), is the One, Who saved us from eternal death by His crucifixion, trampling death by death. Through His Resurrection, we are given a new life in Him, where sin and death are forever conquered. By the mercy of God, we are brought back to have life in His everlasting Kingdom. But like any form – …
Be Strong in the Lord and the Power of His Might
As we celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, we remember the power which the apostles received when the Holy Spirit descended upon them, fulfilling our Lord’s promise to them that, “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) This power, which the disciples received on the Day of – …
The Three Holy Youth and the Power of the Resurrection
The power of the three Holy Youth is the power, which the Resurrection of our Lord provides to all the Christians. Daniel and the Three Holy Youth were of royal origin. About 600 B.C., Jerusalem was seized by the Babylonian Empire led by Nebuchadnezzar. This king captured Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, and ordered that some of king descendants and the nobles of the kingdom be brought back. He captured the “best”. He was selective – …
“HE TOOK WHAT IS OURS AND GAVE US WHAT IS HIS”
He took what was ours to be His very own so that we might have all that was His. “He was rich but he became poor for our sake, so that we might be enriched by His poverty.” (2 Cor. 8:9). When they say that the Logos of God did not become flesh, or rather did not undergo birth from a woman according to the flesh, they bankrupt the economy of salvation. For if He – …
A Letter to the Disciples of Saint Antony
At the end of his life, St. Antony gave two sheepskin coats to his two closest disciples—both were bishops and became saints: St. Serapion, the bishop of Thmuis; and St. Athanasius, the Archbishop of Alexandria. This letter is addressed to the disciples of St. Antony and was written immediately after St. Antony’s departure in 356 AD. St. Serapion wrote also four or five other letters to St. Athanasius. 1. After the departure of the blessed – …
God in Your Prayers and in Your Spiritual Life
Lots of people, in their spiritual life, fight on their own, without letting God in with them to ask Him strength and assistance, forgetting the Lord’s saying: ” for without Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). Those people, they don’t ask God to be with them in whatever they do. On the contrary each one of them depends only on his own thinking or on someone else’s, not putting in mind God’s work in – …
Sayings of the Strong Saint Abba Moses
The Gates of Heaven + Abba Poemen said: Abba Moses asked Abba Zechariah a question when he was about to die, saying, "Fr. is it good that we should hold our peace?" And Zechariah said to him, "Yes, my son, hold your peace." And at the time of his death, while Abba Isodore was sitting with him, Abba Moses looked up to heaven and said, "Rejoice and be glad, O my son Zechariah, for – …
Treasures of the Fathers: Fourth Sunday of Tubah
Does God Listen to Sinners? The Lord Jesus…opened the eyes of a man who was born blind. Brethren, if we consider our hereditary punishment, the whole world is blind. And therefore came Christ the Enlightener, because the devil had been the Blinder. He made all men to be born blind, who seduced the first man. Let them run to the Enlightener, let them run, believe, receive the clay made of the spittle. The Word is – …
The Honor Due to a Priest
Whoever honors the priest will honor God, and he who has learned to despise the priest will gradually proceed in time to insult God also. ‘He who receives you receives Me.’ [Mt. 10:40]. And it is written, ‘But hold His priests in honor.’ [Sir. 7:31]. Hence, the Jews learned to despise God because they despised Moses and would have stoned him [cf. 17:4]. And when someone acts reverently towards a priest, he will be much – …
Treasures of the Fathers on the Holy Nativity
+ Today the Lord is born, the life and salvation of mankind; today a reconciliation is made of Divinity to humanity, and of humanity to Divinity; today all creation has leapt for joy; those above sent toward those below; and those below towards those above; today occurred the death of darkness and the life of humanity; today a way was made toward God for man and a way for God into the soul. – Saint – …
The Book of Exodus: Our Journey to Canaan
Crossing the sea is baptism, the second birth. When a child is born, it does not mean he will live. Indeed, he needs a care program, of feeding (Manna- the body of the Lord), water (the side of Christ- the rock), guidance and leadership (the Holy Spirit) and faith that God is always present. Such a spiritual atmosphere provides the newborn child with continual growth, till he reaches Canaan. The child also needs to be – …