Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.” After he had cast down their spirit, mark how again he refreshes it, saying, “as ministers of Christ.” Do not then, letting go the Master, receive a name from the servants and ministers. “Stewards;” he says, indicating that we ought not to give these things unto all, but unto whom it is due, and to whom it is – …

As we look at the Church in the Apostolic age, we find that She was characterized by the communal life; they had one accord with unity of heart, soul, and thought (Acts 2: 42-47; 4:32-37). Whenever a dispute arose, the apostles would discuss it, and then they resolved the problem by agreeing on one decision (Acts 6: 1-26; 15: 1-29). This was achieved through the Holy Spirit, Who preserved the one accord and the one – …

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 – …

As we stand at the door of the new millennium, adhering to the Scriptures, the Apostolic Tradition, the Church’s dogmas, and the patristic teachings, all may seem unreal and even “primitive” or archaic. The Orthodox Church has a reputation for incessantly clinging to Tradition, and that She has no message to bring to contemporary society. But as Orthodox Christians, how do we deal with such claims? How do we deal with a society, which can – …

Our Church celebrates two feasts for the Cross. One is on Parmhat 10th (March 19th), which always falls during Great Lent. The other is on Tout 17th (September 27th), which falls at the end of our celebrations of the The Coptic New Year (The Feast of Nairouz), and this latter Feast of the Cross is celebrated for three days. Our celebration of the Cross is actually a celebration of Christ’s victory over Satan and conquering – …

The Letter to the Romans “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good, acceptable and perfect.” (12:2). “Let your love be without hypocrisy.” (12:9). “Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them” (12:14). Live in harmony with one another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with those who are – …

We often say, "I am just human." We usually use this phrase as an excuse for our shortcomings and weaknesses. But what does it really mean to be human? It is the scriptural teaching than man was created in the image and likeness of God and our Christian faith gives great dignity to man. Adam was not created by nature; he was created by God and was given the breath (the spirit) of life. "And – …

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 – …

The inward state of Christ’s disciples, when before His passion He talked with them as with children of great things, but in such a ‎way as befitted the great things to be spoken to children, because, having not yet received the Holy Spirit, as they did after His ‎resurrection, either by His own breathing upon them, or by descent from above, they had a mental capacity for the human rather than ‎the divine,—is everywhere declared – …

The Holy Virgin St. Mary had certain characteristics, which makes her the model for all of us. She was the first one to receive Christ, and has become the model of what we can become in Christ. In the midst of our troubled world, St. Mary offers us the personification of humanity saying “Yes” to God; she stands as the greatest example of humanity’s free response to God’s offer of salvation. St. Mary reveals to – …

During the gospel readings of the Sundays of Great Lent, the reference to miracles is repeated. There are some miracles, which our Lord Jesus Christ performed, and others He refused to perform. Our Lord did some miracles, without being asked, while others were a result of someone’s request. Also, Satan himself asked our Lord Jesus Christ to do miracles. We hear in the gospel reading of the second Sunday of Great Lent (Matt. 4:1-11) Satan – …

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 – …