It
was said concerning Abba Agathon that some monks came to find him having heard
tell of his great discernment. Wanting to see if he would lose his temper they
said to him, "Aren't you Agathon who is said to be a fornicator and proud
man? '"Yes, it is very true," he answered. They resumed. "Aren't
you that Agathon who is always talking nonsense?" "I am"
Again
they said, "Aren't you Agathon the heretic?" But at that he replied
"I am not a heretic." So they asked him, "Tell us why you
accepted everything we cast you, but repudiated this last insult." He
replied, "The first accusations I take to myself, for that is good for my
soul. But heresy is separation from God. Now I have no wish to be separated
from God." At this saying they were astonished at his discernment and
returned, edified.-- From the Desert Fathers
The Lord Jesus Christ began His early ministry of preaching and teaching following His commanding Satan to "be gone".
It was during this time that the Lord Jesus Christ was invited to a
wedding that was located in Cana of Galilee. Cana was a small village
to the north of Nazareth where the Lord Jesus Christ grew up.
The
Lord Jesus brought the twelve apostles with Him to the wedding at Cana.
St. Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, attended the wedding too. St.
Mary was invited, because she was a friend of the wedding party's
family and did attend because she lived neared Cana.
The
wedding party was a very nice one that made the bride and groom happy.
But suddenly, and without expecting it to be so, the wine was gone
before the wedding party was over! The wedding's hosts became very
upset and did not know how this could happen and what they could do to
not embarrass themselves or the bride and groom.
St. Mary was
also very concerned as to the family's lack of wine, and believed
within her heart, that her Son, the Lord Jesus Christ had the divine
power to make more wine appear. St. Mary told the Lord Jesus privately,
"They have no wine" (John 2:3). The Lord Jesus asked, "Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come" (John 2:4). The Lord Jesus Christ did not want to have everyone see His miracles just yet.
But
the Lord Jesus Christ would listen to His mother because He loved her.
The Lord Jesus would help everyone in need, when they asked Him. St.
Mary loved her only Son very much and knew that He would do what was
right.
To further show us that St. Mary knew her One Son very
well and had faith in His ability to do the right thing, St. Mary told
the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5).
There
were six large stone jars in the place where they were eating. These
jars were for water that was going to be used for washing. The Lord
Jesus Christ told the servants politely, "Fill the waterpots with water" (John 2:7).
The servants obeyed the Lord Jesus, and they filled the jars full of water. The Lord Jesus then instructed them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast" (John 2:8).
When
the servant poured the water into the cup, it had been miraculously
changed into wine! The servants were astonished and the planner of the
wedding could not imagine from where the delicious tasting wine came
from!
The planner of the wedding told the groom who had just been married, "Every
man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have
well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" (John 2:10). The wine must have tasted extraordinarily good as it was from a miracle of the Lord!
Changing
water to wine at the Wedding at Cana of Galilee was the very first
miracle that the Lord Jesus Christ performed written in the Holy Bible
and He was just beginning as the Lord Jesus would perform many more.
No
other person on earth could work miracles like the Lord Jesus. The
disciples saw the miracle performed at the Wedding in Cana of Galilee
and believed in the Lord Jesus Christ even more than they had before.
What a great blessing the changing of water into wine was for the
wedding planner, the bride and groom along with their families, the
people who attended and yes, for the apostles themselves.
The
Lord Jesus loved his mother very much and listened to her. He changed
the water into wine and saved the wedding from disgrace. The Lord Jesus
listened to His mother, St. Mary and obeyed her. If you follow what the
Lord Jesus Christ does and shows to us by His Holy example, you can
become a good person and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ today.
The
Lord Jesus never tricked anyone with His miracles but rather helped
those whom needed Him and He did not lie. He respected His Holy mother.
If we trust God and love the Lord Jesus, anything is possible and we
open up our lives to the wonderful things each day the Lord Jesus
Christ provides to us. The Lord Jesus Christ loves us so much, and we
should love Him back.
Feast of the Theophany (Jan 19 / Tuba 11)
The
Feast of the Theophany is one of the Seven Major Feasts of our Lord in
the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is celebrated on the 11th of the Coptic
month of Tobe. The word "epiphany" in the sense of this Feast means
"divine appearance" (from the Greek epiphaneia). This Feast is also
known as the Feast of the Theophany, which means "manifestation of
God," because, on this day, when our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized by
St. John the Baptist, the Holy Trinity was manifested to mankind for
the first time. His Holiness Pope Shenouda teaches us, "The Son is
baptized, the Father declares from heaven: ‘This is My beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased,’ and the Holy Spirit appears ‘like of a dove’
(Matt. 3:16, 17). Hence, the baptism of the Lord Christ shows the creed
of the Holy Trinity." Thus, this Christian feast primarily entails the
manifestation of God in Christ, Christ being manifested as the Son of
God and God as the Trinity of the Father and the Son and the
Holy Spirit.
On this day, the Lord Christ was baptized in the River Jordan by
John the Baptist, not for repentance, as the rest of the world, or
because of His need to, but rather on the behalf of and for the sake of
humanity, as well as revealing to us the Holy Trinity, transfigured and
glorified. St. Luke speaks of this in his gospel saying: "Now when all
the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was
praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him
in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my
Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased’" (Lk. 3:21-22). From
these verses, we notice that through the baptism of the Lord Christ,
the heavens were opened once again after Adam was prevented from
returning to the Garden of Eden. The Holy Trinity is also revealed to
us in this passage; the Father by His voice and witness to Christ, the
Son baptized in the River, and the Holy Spirit descending in the form
of a dove on the Lord Christ.
From the early Church, this Feast was of great importance, because,
on it, the Patriarch of Alexandria would announce the days for the
Great Lent, Holy Passion Week, and the Feast of the Resurrection for
that particular year. This task was entrusted by the entire early
Church to the Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt and followed by
churches worldwide.
In the Eastern Orthodox churches, this Feast is celebrated on
January 6 (for those following the Gregorian calendar) or January 19
(for those following the Julian calendar.) These churches celebrate the
same underlying event in this Feast: the manifestation of the Holy
Trinity in the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ and the beginning of
His earthly ministry. In the West, including the Roman Catholic Church,
this Feast is celebrated on January 6 and commemorates the visit of the
oriental kings, the Magi, as the event that marked the manifestation of
Christ’s divinity to the Gentiles, the "nations" who were not Jewish.
In the modern Coptic Orthodox rite, the Feast is celebrated with the
Divine Liturgy on the night before the Feast, as is done in the other
major Feasts of the Lord, such as the Feast of the Nativity (Christmas)
and the Feast of the Resurrection (Easter.) In this liturgical
celebration, believers participate in the Liturgy of the Blessing of
Water (Laqqan) in which the priest anoints believers with water that
has been blessed through the liturgical prayer. After this prayer, the
Divine Liturgy is celebrated until its conclusion, which must fall
after midnight so that the Liturgy ends on the actual day of the Feast.
May the blessings of this Feast be with us, Amen.
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What is it about this fast for the Holy
Theotokos that draws the Coptic Orthodox faithful with such fervor? This
article provides an overview to the Fast for our Lady the Virgin. May her
intercessions be with us all, Amen.
The Church celebrates the fast of our Lady the
Virgin beginning with the first of Mesra (the 7th of August). It is a fast for
which people care very much, and they practice it with forceful ascetism. Some
add days to it, in regard to the great love that people have for the Holy
Virgin.
The fast of The Virgin is an occasion for
spiritual renaissance in the majority of churches. They prepare a spiritual
program for daily sermons, and some churches have daily liturgies as well, even
the churches which are not in the name of The Virgin.
There is a great feast for our Lady the Virgin,
which is celebrated in her ancient church in Mostorod. Feasts of other saints
are also celebrated in these days: the feast of Saint George, at the monastery
in Mit Damsis, is celebrated in the second half of August, and also the feast
of saint Abba Macarius the Great, and the feast of Saint George in his
monastery at Ruzeykat.
Around the same fast of The Virgin, we
celebrate the feasts of reknowned saints: Saint Baïssa (2 Misra, 6 August),
Saint Julita (6 Misra, 12 August), and Saint Marina (15 Misra, 21 August).
During the fast of The Virgin, we also celebrate the feast of the glorious
Transfiguration (13 Misra, 19 August). In the same month (7 Misra, 13 August),
we celebrate the Feast of the Announcement by the angel Gabriel to Joachim
regarding the birth of the Virgin Mary.
The feast of the Virgin is not the only
occasion on which the Church celebrates the feasts of the Virgin, but more is
celebrated in the month of Kiahk, which is full of hymns, doxologies, and
psalms for the Saint Virgin Mary. Copts in Egypt take part in the fast of The
Virgin in a manner that exceeds description.
There are many who fast it ascetically, eating
only water and salt, or without oil. Many add a third week to it, as a kind of
vow. There are also those who vow to fast this fast without eating or drinking
until nighttime, until the appearance of the stars in heaven.
What then is the secret behind this care?
First: The love of Copts for the Virgin who had
visited and blessed their country, and left her traces in numerous places where
churches have been built.
Second: The multiple miracles that happened in
Egypt through the intercession of our Lady the Virgin, made many people
optimistic to build churches dedicated to her name. The apparition of the
Virgin in her church at Zeitoun, and the many miracles that accompanied this
apparition, have certainly increased the affection of the Copts for the Virgin,
and for the fast which bears her name.
* Taken from the larger work, "The Holy
Virgin St. Mary", also available at coepa.org
St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
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(303) 761-6444
Father Yacob Soliman Contact Information:
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Additionally, he is available for private meetings, personal meetings and confessions outside of regular service hours by appointment.
To schedule a meeting or appointment, please contact Fr. Yacob at:
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The Coptic Orthodox Church
"In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border... Blessed is Egypt My People". Isaiah 19:19,25
The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the most ancient Churches of the world, having been founded by Saint Mark the Apostle. A conservative Church, it has carefully preserved the orthodox Christian Faith in its earliest and purest form, handing it down from generation to generation, unaltered and true to the Apostolic doctrines and patterns of worship.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is a deeply spiritual Church, emphasising holiness and the Divine Mysteries, and at the same time, a strongly doctrinal Church, holding faithfully to the canons of the Holy Scriptures, the Apostolic and Orthodox creeds, and the teachings of the Church Fathers of the first three ecumenical councils. The Coptic Orthodox Church has stood firm and remained faithful to the Apostolic Traditions and Orthodox Faith, despite waves of the most fearful persecutions under pagan Roman Emperors, Byzantine and Arab rulers, and in the face of serious heresies which attacked the very essence of the Christian Faith and threatened to split the Church and all of Christendom.
The Copts are the native Christians of Egypt and the direct descendants of
"O
Theotokos, because we have put our trust in you, we shall not be put to
shame, but shall be saved. And because we have attained your help and
intercession, O pure and perfect one, we shall not fear, but shall
drive out our enemies and shall disperse them. And, in all, we take
your great help to protect us as if with a shield. We ask and entreat
you, crying, O Theotokos, to save us by your intercessions, and raise
us up from the dark sleep, in order to powerfully glorify God Who took
flesh from you." -Coptic Prayer Book of the Hours
Having Full Assurance Always on Intercession to the Theotokos-
When you are about to make intercessions to Our Lady the Holy Virgin,
be firmly assured, before praying, that you will not depart from Her
without having received mercy. To think thus and to have confidence in
Her is meet and right. She is the All-merciful Mother of the
All-merciful God, the Word, and Her mercies, incalculably great and
innumerable, have been declared from all ages by all Christian
Churches; She is, indeed, an abyss of mercies and bounties, as is said
of Her in the canon of Odigitry. Therefore to intercede to Her without
such assurance would be foolish and audacious, for doubt would offend
Her goodness, just as God's goodness is offended when people pray to
Him without hoping to receive what they pray for. How do people hurry
for alms to any great and rich man whose kindness is well known, and
has been proved on many occasions? Generally with the most perfect
assurance and hope of receiving from Him that which they desire.
Like-wise, in praying we must neither doubt nor be fainthearted.
The Celebration of the Assumption of the Body of the Pure Virgin St. Mary
August 22 , is the Celebration/Feast of the Assumption of the body of
our pure Lady St. Mary, the Mother of God. While she was keeping vigil,
praying in the Holy Sepulchre, and waiting for the happy minute of her
liberation from the bonds of the flesh, the Holy Spirit informed her of
her forthcoming departure from this vain world. When the time drew
near, the disciples and the virgins of the Mt. of Olives (Zeiton) came
and the Lady was lying on her bed. Our Lord, surrounded by thousands
and thousands of angels, came to Her. He consoled her, and announced
her with the everlasting joy which was prepared for Her. She was happy,
and she stretched out her hands, blessed the Disciples, and the
Virgins. Then, she delivered up her pure soul in the hand of her Son
and God, Jesus Christ, Who ascended her to the higher habitations.
What is it about this fast for the Holy
Theotokos that draws the Coptic Orthodox faithful with such fervor? This
article provides an overview to the Fast for our Lady the Virgin. May her
intercessions be with us all, Amen.
