It is definitely in the church's view that contraception cannot destroy a fertilized egg. However, most birth control methods, including the "pill", prevent fertilization because there's no egg in the first place.
So with all due respect, a couple …
My father of confession told me that when we go through different phases of life, we have to expect changes that can potentially get in the way of our relationship with God, but we must be able to adapt to it.
Take for example someone who is in th…
[quote author=TITL link=topic=13055.msg153360#msg153360 date=1332257040]
I am your father and teacher, all of you my children, listen to my commandments, for I ask you my beloved children, preserve and look after the faith of the Holy Trinity.
I as…
Also, Pope Shenouda III's book on fasting explains everything you would want to know about the fasting and how to actually benefit spiritually from it as best as you can. I believe there are sections in it that talk about what kind of foods and abou…
Why are we separating the people from the church? The people are the church! We are all members in the Body of Christ.
I agree but when the church "deems" something as correct or incorrect, that can't be based on what a few people do. For example, s…
You are confusing absolution with breaking the rules. Whe a priest gives a sick person an absolution not to fast, he is not breaking the rules. But when the church plainly and generically say it is ok not to fast while there is a general fast, then …
Unworthy1,
I agree with you on every point, and maybe I misinterpreted the previous posts as passing judgement on someone instead of passing judgement on someone's actions (though I still stand by the notion that judging someone is wrong).
And you…
The Bible says that God desires mercy, not sacrifice. If I can just put in my measly two cents:
Pope Shenouda says in his book "Spirituality of Fasting" that the fast that is focused purely on what to and what not to eat is pointless, for it is the…
The monasteries sell tonias and batrashels, and they are pretty good quality. I got a custom tonia from one of the monasteries but my family from Egypt helped me out with that one, as in putting in the order beforehand. I also bought a standard batr…
Fr. Tadros Malaty wrote a pretty good commentary on it, providing both general explanations and what the church fathers have said. It's in book form as well on orthodoxebooks.org as a pdf for free.
There are actually prayers the deacon is supposed to say as the go around. The first time they go around they say "pray for the Holy Univerisal and Apostolic Church", the second time they say "pray for our high priest Anba Shenouda the III", the thi…
Hey there's a verson on Copticmusician.com to download.
Also, Paul Hanna produced one. It's a bit different in style because of his Hawaiian background but I personally like it. You can find it on itunes or Amazon. The CD title is Samaritan Man.
There are those who feel that this type of praise can replace our old traditions, and this is the issue, at least in my opinion. It's not the church that needs to adapt to the youth, but rather the youth that must adapt to their church. Otherwise …