Practical and Mystical: Patriarch Kyrillos VI (1959-1971)
Today the memory of Kyrillos has become somewhat overshadowed by the steady news of miraculous interventions attributed to Kyrillos’s intercession after his passing away. In death his influence stretches far beyond Egypt. For example, one of the latest miracles that happened during the fall of 2005 unfolded in Iraq where his miraculous intervention rescued the American husband of a Coptic woman deployed there from certain death. In this essay I discuss some of the bases – …
A Contemporary Crossbearer: The Late Father Pishoy Kamel
As Coptic Orthodox Christians, we celebrate the Feast of the Cross twice a year, on September 27 and March 19. For all of us, the Life-Giving Cross must play a pivotal role in our lives. Therefore, we felt it is apropos to present a brief glimpse into the life of a contemporary cross-bearer, the late Fr. Pishoy Kamel Is’hak, whose departure we commemorate on March 21st. It is not coincidental that his departure was on – …
Titles and Symbols of the Holy Virgin Mary
1. The Queen who is by the Right Side of The King. In this, we mention the words of the psalm “At your hand standsthe queen in gold from Ophir” (Ps. 45:9). That is why, in her icon, she isportrayed at the right hand of the Christ our Lord. And we say about herin the divine mass “the Lady and the Queen of us all” 2. Our Mother the Holy Virgin. When the Christ our – …
The Concept of Intercession
What is Intercession? The formal definition of intercession is a “supplication to God in behalf of another person. Christ intercedes before God the Fr. on behalf of the repentant sinner, and God’s people intercede for one another.” We ask the intercessions of Saint Mary, the Angels, and Archangels. We ask the disciples, apostles, martyrs, fathers, and saints to pray on our behalf. Not only do we intercede to the saints are in heaven, but also – …
The Story of Abba Moses the Strong
Chapter Ten: The Triumph of the Disciple of an Old Man in the Desert Now there was a certain man whose name was Moses, who was by race an Indian (i.e., an Ethiopian), and his flesh was black, and he was the slave of a man in high authority, and because of his evil deeds and thefts his master drove him out of his house; now it is said that he even went so far – …