Well, there's this: Vassula in the Coptic Church
I have no idea what is actually going on in this video, but it scares me. I think I'm going to be sick, in fact. I thought this kind of ridiculousness was limited to Protestant praise hour and the de…
Ah, thank you, everyone. So am I understanding you all correctly that a community would be recognized by the diocese as a full-fledged church only after it gets its own priest? If so, do any of you know the conditions that must be met for this to ha…
St. Antony Monastery English Midnight Praise is a personal favorite of mine, available for download free at the monastery's website. I don't know of any websites specifically dedicated to English-language hymns.
Forgive me, I think I was not clear enough. I meant that in the modern era it might be easier to learn the scriptures than it was in the past (at least in terms of being able to memorize), so it is conceivable that anyone could know more in that way…
Biblical knowledge is one thing. Any one of us could study the Bible even just using the internet and, if we were diligent enough, eventually reach a level of knowledge that may be higher than a given priest (in terms of recall, if not in terms of e…
[quote author=Zoxsasi link=topic=11016.msg133367#msg133367 date=1300524176]
I'm beginning to find praying pointless.
God has a mind of His own... why should I pray for things? Why should I trust God with my problems for?
What will that gain?
I…
Definitely, Zoxsasi. It really does seem like it should be that if we trust in God and pray to Him with the idea that He will reward us with whatever it is we honestly ask of Him. It doesn't really work out that way a lot of time, but yeah...it sure…
Remember Christ's promise to His disciples in the Gospel of John: "My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you."
Peace as the Lord give us is NOT our peace. It is not peace that is dependent on context…
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post, Remnkemi.
So if we can't linguistically recognize what is "real" Coptic, then we can't argue GB is an illegitimate pronunciation.
Well, no, but what we can say is that GB does not represent an org…
Not to be rude or anything, but since when does anyone listen to the Mayans about anything? If the Mayans are so great at predicting the future, why did they lose their empire? ???
Leave such concerns to people who want to obsess over numbers. Suc…
I should the hope the Church does not need to make pronouncements about everything down to individual TV shows. Or, if it does, that they be limited to "abstain from TV during Lent". ;)
Father Peter, I just wanted to bring to your attention if you don't already know that your homily on James 2:7 ("Draw near to God") is truncated. "He has not lost anything, rather he has prepared himself to..."
I am really learning from your words,…
In my capacity as a linguist and windbag, I'd like to address Remnkemi and Fr. Peter with my personal observations, if I may. I am currently injured and as such cannot search through my books right now, but a few general things can be said.
First,…
[quote author=Zoxsasi link=topic=10935.msg132995#msg132995 date=1300142759]
Catholic European Churches are not Egyptian in Culture, they are European Christian, so their entire behaviour will be void of anything Egyptian.
Sorry if i have confused …
Your youth story sounds a lot like mine, Fr. Peter, only I went to Mexico, not Senegal.
I can only pray that my story ends up as yours has (not necessarily the priest part, but definitely the Orthodox part). God bless you for sharing your story in…
Hmm. If you don't mind me asking, why did it matter to you what the Catholic Church also bans, Zoxsasi? I'm curious because I left that communion rather recently, and some of their stances and justifications for the stances they take (and even more …
I would hope that going to Protestant churches would be more readily banned (or discouraged, if they're effectively the same as Zoxsasi says) than watching movies or having a drink (not drinking to excess)! It is very, very confusing to me that it a…
Well, two wrongs not making a right and all...is it right to talk about the "audacity" in attacking Islam? Many of the first people to encounter the Muslims were not Orthodox but heretical Nestorians, and I would still rather they have repelled the …
I'm sorry, Zoxsasi. I wasn't trying to play a "word game" with you. I just don't think discouraging something is the same as banning it outright. From what I understand (please correct me if I am wrong), there are various actions that are effectivel…
But alcohol isn't banned, it is discouraged. Right? So I don't know how it is comparable to Islamic anything.
I myself have enjoyed a drink or two in my past, but I more or less came around to see the wisdom in discouraging it (again, not banning i…
This recording of the Liturgy of St. Cyril in Coptic made by the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies has it. Sorry, I don't know how to link to just one file within the liturgy. It's near the bottom.
Hahaha. Those poor kids! I would melt into the floor from embarrassment. But HH has such a gentle and thoughtful manner. I really love him. And very funny, too!
I wish my Arabic was advanced enough to understand the second video. Can anyone here t…
[quote author=epchois_nai_nan link=topic=10962.msg132785#msg132785 date=1299914554]
[quote author=Pharaoh714 link=topic=10962.msg132777#msg132777 date=1299899776]
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Wow, this guy really needs to get his facts straight.
I'm not very famili…
[quote author=CopticStrength link=topic=10958.msg132773#msg132773 date=1299893585]
Look, I am not worried about myself and my physical body getting hurt, I am worried about is sudden death that will probably lead to eternal death in Hades, without …
Last night we fled to the hills about 15 miles outside of town because that's the highest point in the county (18,000 ft above sea level). The news had falsely predicted that the waves that would hit the Northern California coast (where I live) coul…
[quote author=TITL link=topic=10957.msg132745#msg132745 date=1299870626]
Tell him to sign up for a tasbeha.org account! ;D
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I'm not sure he'd do it. He wants to be a Catholic.
Zoxsasi, something tells me that if you get to heaven you won't be thinking about your position relative to others'. :)
Anyway, as to the topic, I quite like Fr. Peter's explanation, and not just because it's what I thought previously too (or at l…
For my good friend John and his girlfriend, who may be in Tokyo, Japan right now, near where a massive (perhaps 8.9) earthquake has just struck, causing massive damage and tidal waves. I am concerned for their safety, and for the safety of all the p…