Archdeacon Habeeb Girgis and the Renaissance of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Few would dispute that the Coptic Church, which was founded by St. Mark the evangelist, began its modern renaissance towards the latter half of the nineteenth century, after many centuries of darkness. A darkness which was forced upon her by two major historical events. The first of which were the woeful decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) which separated her from the rest of Christiandom. The second was the Arab conquest of Egypt – …
In Praise of St. Peter and St. Paul
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 16:24) See how we should begin and end everything? For with this St Paul laid the foundation of his Epistle, and with this he puts on the roof, at once praying for the mother of all good things for the Romans, and calling the whole of his loving-kindness to their mind. For this is the best proof of a generous teacher, to – …
A Prayer
O God and Lord of the Powers, and Maker of all creation, Who, because of Thy clemency and incomparable mercy, didst send Thine Only-Begotten Son and our Lord Jesus Christ for the salvation of mankind, and with His venerable Cross didst tear asunder the record of our sins, and thereby didst conquer the rulers and powers of darkness; Receive from us sinful people, O merciful Master, these prayers of gratitude and supplication, and deliver us – …
To Husbands, on Maintaining Peace towards their Wives
1. I am very grateful to you for the eagerness with which you welcomed my words on prayer, because you have made me happy. Happy is he that speaketh in the ears of those who hearken (Ecclesiasticus 25:9). I am convinced of this, not only by the applause and praise that I received, but also by what I saw you doing. For, as I was exhorting you not to pray against your enemies and telling – …
On the Holy Waters of Baptism
Excerpt from On the Spirit, Chapter 15 Through the Holy Spirit comes our restoration to paradise, our ascension into the kingdom of heaven, our return to the adoption of sons, our liberty to call God our Father, our being made partakers of the grace of Christ, our being called children of light, our sharing in eternal glory, and, in a word, our being brought into a state of all “fullness of blessing,” (Rom. 15:29) both in this – …
Excerpt from Festal Letter 5
Brethren, how fine a thing it is to move from festival to festival, from prayer to prayer, from holy day to holy day. The time is now at hand when we enter on a new beginning: the proclamation of the blessed Passover, in which the Lord was sacrificed. We feed as on the food of life, we constantly refresh our souls with his precious blood, as from a fountain. Yet we are always thirsting, burning – …