Dear Believer,
This is an Orthodox Study New Testament, details of which can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Study-Bible-Testament-Psalms/dp/0718000307
Although it was compiled by Eastern Orthodox scholars and translators, there is n…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
So often people adopt extreme positions on this. Science consists of hypotheses which can be tested; it does not state dogmatic facts; those who do are usually not actually scientists, but are using 'science' to…
Dear Vassilios,
We are, I think in agreement.
The rest is a matter of temperament. For me, the words of St. Isaac the Syrian resonate:
Do not hate the sinner. We are, indeed, all laden with guilt. If for the sake of God you are moved to oppose him…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
There is no way you can 'prove' the existence of God to those who do not want to believe; and there is no need to prove it to those who do believe.
Remember what the Risen Lord said about Doubting Thomas - bles…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
We are called to be stewards of His creation, and if the global warming scare reminds us of the need to be more careful of what we have inherited and what we shall pass on to our children, then perhaps it will d…
Dear Vassilios,
I respect and love your zeal for the Lord; may He bless and keep you.
I always feel that when other Christians attack another Church, in the way you describe Roman Catholics criticising our Church, that it reflects badly on those d…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The answer is Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, whose injunction to us all was to love one another - pretty bad job we've made of that, alas.
It is always difficult to write about this matter, but we must rem…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Since we know that Our Lord was raised from the dead of the third day and later ascended into Heaven, it is no doubt interesting that an ossuary bearing a similar name has been found, but it is sad that someone …
First we must remember the way the media always goes into overdrive on these things - remember the 'Gospel of Judas' etc., etc.
Secondly, the man making it, James Cameron is a big-budget Hollywood mogul - 'Titanic' and 'Terminator', so the T.V. peo…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
How do we know we receive the 'body and blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ'? Because he told us so, and so the Church teaches, and so we believe.
This is one of the great mysteries, and whilst those incurably wedde…
There is an excellent cd-rom you can get from America at this site:
http://www.stmarkmi.org/
which has books about Coptic history, as well as the works of the Holy Fathers, and is great value for money. All proceeds go to the local Coptic Church. I…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
If someone is being a bad Muslim, all the more reason for us to be good Christians.
The advice to 'fight back' in peaceful ways is very wise - that was Our Lord's counsel.
In Christ,
John
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This is an edifying and informative discussion, and we are all in the debt of Esakla23 for a very good commentary.
Being such a new convert to this great Church, I write with hesitation, but try to bring here w…
Dear God's Kid,
:) That is very kind of you, and if I can help remind anyone here of the great treasure you havem then it is some small service in return for your sharing that treasure with others. I have found the Copts I have met so full of the …
As I have been taught, God the Father is unknowable, as He is Ineffable; we know Him through the second person of the Trinity, Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
As the Holy St. Cyril wrote:
Consubstantial is the Son with the Father and the Father…
Dear Mahraeel,
:) Many thanks for the welcome. I hope that I will be able to contribute something from time to time to this excellent community here.
In Christ,
John
Dear Kerestina and Mahraeel,
:) :) Thank you both so much for your kind welcome. The more I discover about the great Coptic tradition, the more I realise how wonderful a witness the Copts have been to the Faith.
In Christ,
John
Dearest Sister in Christ,
Likewise, I understand where you are coming from, but we have to be His disciples, and we are charged with turning the other cheek to our enemies. We cannot, and must not, become like those who use violence against Copts.
…
Dear Mike,
If you have another look at what Iqbal wrote you'll see he isn't saying that the Father and the Son are two different beings - that would be heresy.
St. Cyril of Alexandria, in his Commentary on St. John offers a number of ways of expla…
Thank you both for your very kind welcome :) :)
It is a wonderful feeling to be a part of your great, historic and Holy Church.
An earlier question asked how people came here, well, in my case, it was through the British Orthodox Church, which com…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This is a very interesting discussion.
I have just been received into the Coptic Church after a lifetime as an Anglican. This was not a decision reached lightly, but it is one I am glad I made.
In St. John 14:…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Just a word to say that yesterday, 11 February 2007, I had the joy of being received into the British Orthodox Church, which is, of course, part of the great Coptic Orthodox Church.
Now for Lent!
In Christ,
J…
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Why convert? Because the fulness of the Faith is to be found in the Orthodox Church.
I have spent most of my life as an Anglican, and I love and admire my old Church, which does (as do other Churches) much good…
Dear Vassilios,
His Holiness' book on 'Homosexuality' is a superb statement of the view of the Church; indeed, I recommended it to an acquaintance who was tormented by such thoughts, and after reading it he said he now knew and understood where suc…
One of the most powerful parts of the witness to the Faith of the Copts is the Christ-like way in which they do not return evil for evil.
Our Lord Himself commands us in Matthew 5:43-48
43 You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neig…
As I say, there is nothing incompatible with Orthodoxy in what Matthew Henry writes, and it is good to be able to have such a commentary so easily to hand.
The link I gave in my last post tells us when the Old Testament will be ready, which should …
Dear Brother in Christ,
No, not wrong, for he was a Godly man who devoted his life to the service of Our Lord. But he was not grounded in the Orthodox tradition, so whilst we can read him with profit to our souls, we cannot take him as a guide to w…