Im involved in making the Holy Bread at St Barbara & St Noufers Coptic Orthodox Church! Amongst the guys who bake the Holy Bread or “Orban”, we were discussing whether there were actually any guidelines or canons on how the Holy Bread should be made. Being Me, i stumbled across the Following book from the… Continue reading Canons of Holy Bread Baking!
Many times i have been asked by people, can we really believe what the Old Testament Says? Growing up in the Catholic System many of my teachers said the 1st 5 books of the Bible – the “Torah” was Just a myth. So i think its time to start challenging this really foreign Idea. One… Continue reading Is the Old Testament Even True?
The apostles served the Lord Jesus and later provided leadership to the first generation Christian believers. They were of such importance that the word “apostle” occurs approximately seventy-nine times in the New Testament. Acts of the Apostles portrays the apostles as leaders of the first church in Jerusalem during the Church’s first decade. The apostles… Continue reading The Apostolic Passion!
The Roman Catholic Church believes in Filoque. So what is Filoque, Put simply it’s the belief that the Holy Spirit proceeded from both the “Father” and the “Son”. In orthodoxy however we hold firmly to the true faith that was handed to us by the fathers and that which is in accordance with the scriptures.… Continue reading Filoque
It was customary in the apostles era that the congregation prayed the kneeling prayers standing. It is said that the reason for kneeling, as is done in our days, goes back to what happened one time while the Antiochian Patriarch Macarious was saying the petitions that a great wind blew just like what occurred in… Continue reading Why is it called the Kneeling Prayers?
The Holy myron oil, is the oil used in the sacrament of confirmation to annoit the newly baptised as a way of them obtaining the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus instituted it when He said: “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said,… Continue reading Tradition of the HOLY MYRON OIL
I recently received the following email from a fellow servant at St Barbara & St Noufer’s Coptic Orthodox Church. Thanks to that person so very much! The Email Reads as Follows! Why Did Jesus Fold the Napkin? The Gospel of John (20:7) tells us that the napkin, which was placed over the face of Jesus,… Continue reading The Mystery of the Folded Napkin!
The Christian Monastery of Saint Anthony, or Deir Mar Antonios, is the the first ever monastery, and lies at the coast of the Red Sea, to the east of the Fayum oasis. Dedicated to St Anthony, it was founded in 356 AD immediately after the saint’s death, and is now the oldest Christian monastery still… Continue reading Restoration of St Anthony’s Monastery
The Hymn Tolitho is next in our series of the Coptic hymnology of Easter! Lyrics: While the stone was sealed by the Jews and Your holy body was guarded by the soldiers You arose on the third day O Savior, granting life to the world. For that reason the heavenly hosts cry out to You,… Continue reading Hymns of Resurrection Part 3
Next in our Series on the Coptic Hymnolgy of Easter is the Hymn Ekhristos Anesti which has two distinct tunes as you will hear below in the video from St Marks Cathedral in Egypt from this years Easter Mass. The hymn is sung after the re-enactment of our Lord Jesus Christ opening the gates of… Continue reading Hymns of the Resurrection Part 2
The Coptic Church was founded by St Mark the Evangelist who wrote the Gospel of St Mark. Hstory documents that St Mark entered into Egypt somewhere between 40-50AD Furthermore, while it is debated many scholars agree that the 1st Epistle of St Peter was written by St Peter in Egypt in the year 43AD. As… Continue reading History of the Nile Valley Christians!
Why did the Alexandrian Church Split from the Rest of the world, what lead to this division? The Treachery that Split the Christian world all comes down to the happenings of the Council of Chalcedon held in 451AD. CLICK HERE to read the full happenings of the Council of Chalcedon as documented by the Coptic Orthodox… Continue reading Chalcedon – The Treachery that Split the Christian World
“… Watching this elderly man, near the age of seventy, rise daily at four o’clock in the morning to pray with intensity and perseverance, made many feel small in their own eyes by comparison. People would come to the church and find this venerable old man had been praying since dawn. The church was his… Continue reading FEAST OF POPE CYRIL VI
Who is Nathanael? What did Jesus mean when he said to Nathanael that he saw him under the Fig Tree? Why did Nathanael proclaim the Messiah had arrived when he heard this? The article below presents a simple taste of the beauty of Orthodox Tradition on who this individual was. CLICK HERE for the article God… Continue reading I Saw You Under The Fig Tree – Nathanael
Lent is not to be taken as a day to day proposition, it is an epic Journey of Man against Satan. A journey that is capable of lifting him to the Mansions of Heaven. Here is a simple contemplation of the Lenten Journey CLICK HERE Hope you Enjoy Bish
In part 4 of our series looking at the life of St Noufer, we look at the account of Paphnote when he met this Great saint. The exposition you will read was written in old english and i have added new information as well as modernising the english to make it read better for the… Continue reading St Noufer the Hermit
On the road to meeting St Noufer the Hermit, Fr Paphnote encounters a monk by the name of Timothy who tells him his story. It is very interesting to know St Noufers neighbours and as such i thought it reasonable to include his life story as part 3 of our Journey, which aims to discover… Continue reading St Timothy The Hermit
Much of what we know about St Noufer the Hermit comes from the account left by Fr Paphnote, a coptic monk who was summoned by God to search the desert for these great Saints. This is part 2 of our series into the life of St Noufer and it focuses on the biography of Fr… Continue reading Fr Paphnote
It has always been my dream to capture all the information i can gather about St Noufer the Hermit and publish it. I took this as an oath when i was ordained a Sub Deacon with his Name. In realisation of this oath here is the first part of many about this saint. The Theben… Continue reading Theben Desert
Recently one of my great kids in Sunday School, brought up a foreign idea given to her by her School teacher. This idea was that Genesis was a poem, and as a result it made no sense to take its literal meaning. Below is a small synopsis on the issue, to which i replied back… Continue reading Genesis a Poem?
Coptic Iconography has its roots in pharonic art and as such it provides a unique look at the ancient roots of the Coptic Church. Icons were not just a form of art, they were a tool for teaching. Below is the link to an article i have compiled and presented at Youth Group, it covers… Continue reading St Mary Through the Eyes of Iconographers
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