Dear Fatimo,
Welcome - the UK is nearer Norway than is Egypt - but it is still far away. A beautiful and pleasant place to be though.
Enjoy your time here.
in peace,
Anglian
I had always been told that Luther was the first person to bring a decorated tree inside to celebrate Christmas. It would be nice if that was not the case! When did the Copts start the custom?
In peace,
Anglian
Dear Coptic Youth,
Iqbal and Κηφᾶς have, as ever, given you the best responses possible.
I can offer another perspective as I am a convert to Orthodoxy. I was born into the Anglican Church, which I was taught was the orthodox Church for Englishmen…
Dear QT,
Were I am American I would think of rendering unto Caesar the things that are his and to God those that belong to him.
In answer to your question:
Which US Candidate for the Presidential Elections (Obama, Clinton, McCain etc) would you vo…
I become increasingly fond of this from the great Syriac Father, Jacob Bar Hebraeus (1226-1286):
When I had given much thought and pondered on the matter, I became convinced that these quarrels of Christians among themselves are not a matter of fa…
Dear He Wept,
We are all being a little vexing I suspect in not saying what would make this world as it is more perfect. ;)
I am put in mind to the story of the aged St. John being carried into Church and when being asked for advice saying: 'Littl…
Brown simply (and I mean simply) rehashes some of the more sensational gnostic nonsense and adds a dash of good-old fashioned Protestant anti-Catholicism and hey presto, a best-seller!
Coptic priests serve God and witness to His message - not even …
Dear Gregory,
This is a topic on which books have been written - the best one I know is by an Anglican clergyman called Michael Green (whose views are very orthodox) and it is called The Books the Church Suppressed and is at amazon here:
http://www…
Dear Κηφᾶς,
I don't think there is a problem here. We know Luke was not one of the 12 original Apostles, so naturally, as one of the 70 (or 72) he takes on board what the 'originals' told him. We know he was a long-time companion of St. Paul, and t…
This is I think, a custom rather than a rule, but has long been practised in the Church. Of course one could hardly insist on priests having long hair - bald men would be at a considerable disadvantage! ;)
In Christ,
Anglian
Your family has done the right thing. Apart from God there is no real wealth, and as Our Lord pointed out, wealth often becomes a barrier to God; in tearing down that barrier you have made the most important step, and now that you are together and p…
They are fortunate that Jehovah does not sue for misrepresentation :D
The jurisdictional problems within Orthodoxy pale into insignificance when compared with the thousands of Protestant and non-Trinitarian denominations. Our Lord founded a Church,…
[quote author=Κηφᾶς link=topic=5987.msg80014#msg80014 date=1196866498]
[coptic]+ Iryny nem `hmot>[/coptic]
I couldn't resist the urge...
John,
666 posts my friend. And how fitting that your 666th post should be in a thread dealing with cults.…
Κηφᾶς offers his usual wise counsel here.
We are sinners, yet the Word became Incarnate and suffered upon the Cross to redeem us. He did not say that only those who were good people would be saved, He said all sinners could be saved.
Of course we…
Dear Mike,
The old Protestant habit of quoting certain verses and thinking we can understand them by themselves without the teachihg of the Church can be a dangerous one, and never more so than in cases like this.
The Word became Incarnate in orde…
[quote author=Κηφᾶς link=topic=5988.msg80011#msg80011 date=1196863645]
[coptic]+ Iryny nem `hmot>[/coptic]
Regarding the notion of different degrees of sin, I had always thought that in the eyes of God, all sins are the same. The wage of all si…
my school gave us an assesment task to talk about different christian cults...and this was the one that was assigned to me by my coptic orthodox school...
That's a trifle worrying. Like Mormonism, Scientology is not a Christian Church - it is man-m…
Dear Perfectsinner,
These are verses very relevant to our world since they show how once we abandon ourselves to the lusts of the flesh we subvert the whole natural order of things. They also address the common modern view that God will not judge u…
Dear Κηφᾶς,
You return refreshed, clearly, because that last post was one of the best.
The existence of the Trinity is an existence of love. Love, true love, is not satisfied or realized fully unless it is shared. Now, of course, each person of t…
Dear Αριψαλιν,
You have taken the first and important step of recognising that you may be going on the wrong path; and you have taken the second important step of seeking help.
As ever, Ophadece offers excellent advice; see your Father of Confessi…
I suspect we need to be careful on this one.
No doubt Mr. Wyatt was a well-intentioned man, but as is the case with many Protestant evangelicals he puts forward hypotheses as though they were fact. The proof that he was examining the tomb of Our Lo…
All of these are excellent points.
Of course it is difficult for young men when their hormones begin to rage, but giving into that temptation does not make it go away; in that sense it is like any other drug (and let us face it, if testosterone was…
In this world there will e no perfection until He comes again.
But if we would but repent, amend our lives and walk in His way, and if we would love one another as He loves us, and if we would remember that we are all children of the living God, th…
I have always been taught that it was because they committed the sin for which there is no repentance - the sun against the Holy Spirit. Having been received into the Church they tried to cheat it and then they lied about it.
In Christ,
Anglian
St. Luke wrote it, and as he says, he did so by gathering together oral tradition and combining it with his own memories. (Verses 1-3 of St. Luke 1). In other words, the blessed Saint is recording what he and many eye witnesses saw. At the time when…