The Confession of St. Thomas the Apostle And now let us see whether the confession of Thomas the Apostle, when he cried, "My Lord and My God," corresponds with this assertion of the Evangelist. We see that he speaks of Him, Whom he confesses to be God, as My God. Now Thomas was undoubtedly familiar with those words of the Lord, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord your God is One." How then could the faith – …

The period of the Fifty Holy Days is a special period in the ecclesiastical cycle. The prominent feature of this period is joy. The Church prays with a festal tune in all Her liturgies and prayers, including the funerals. During this period, the Church lives the life of happiness, which was experienced by the holy disciples after Christ’s resurrection and His appearance to them. The Divine inspiration describes this joy as such, “Then the disciples – …

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 – …

The following is excerpt from St. John Chrysostom’s Homily 87 on the Commentary on John found in Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, s. 1, v. 14, edited and published in Treasures of the Fathers Volume 4: The Holy Fifty Days, pp. 47-51. "…24Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, – …

Many regard the period of the Fifty Holy Days to be a time to lax spiritually, especially that it comes after the asceticism of Great Lent, with its daily Divine Liturgies, and Holy Pascha Week, with its long prayers and comforting hymns. What further strengthens this belief in the mind of many is the fact that the Fifty Holy Days is a period that is unique for being devoid of any fasting days, something that – …

From El Keraza Magazine, April 20, 2007, pp. 9-10 Congratulations my beloved brothers and sons on the occasion of Glorious Resurrection Feast, and for the grace of resurrection which God granted us to live another life in the happy eternity. I also congratulate our beloved President Mohamed Hosni Mobarak, on the great results achieved from his last tours for the best interest of Egypt and the whole Arab world, wishing him and you all the – …

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 – …

An excerpt from Origen’s Commentary on the Gospel According to St. John, Book I, Ante-Nicene Fathers v. 10. Christ as the Resurrection. Now He is called the light of men and the true light and the light of the word, because He brightens and irradiates the higher parts of men, or, in a word, of all reasonable beings. And similarly it is from and because of the energy with which He causes the old deadness – …

We all know that our Lord Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. The woman who poured the fragrant oil was celebrating–albeit unknowingly–the end of the stench of death and the beginning of a new era. On that day, our Lord Jesus Christ was invited to the house of His beloved. Who are those beloved? They were Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. And what about this new era? We – …

Papal Message for the Feast of Resurrection 27 April 2008 His Holiness Pope Shenouda III Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark My children and brethren in the lands of immigration, clergy and laity. My sincere greetings to you on the occasion of the Glorious Feast of Resurrection. May God make it a blessing to you all and a continual source of spiritual joy. The resurrection of the Lord Christ was – …

My Beloved, the Blessed Children of the Holy Church Christ is Risen Truly He is Risen Today, we rejoice as we celebrate the Feast of feasts: the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We rejoice because of the death of death. The resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ and His victory over death are the proof of the death of death, as St. Cyril of Alexandria said, “For the Word – …

My beloved children in the lands of immigration, clergy and congregation, Grace to you and peace from our Almighty and Holy God. Sincere greetings to you for the glorious Feast of the Resurrection. May God bring this occasion upon you every year while you are full of goodness and blessing. Christ, to whom is glory, rose despite the tight security over His tomb. He appeared to His holy disciples and strengthened their faith. He spoke – …