While we are starting a new Coptic Year (1729 Martyrs), I would like to talk about renewal and transforming one’s life to the better.

In the words of our teacher St. Paul the Apostle about ministry, he pointed out that he was like a wise master builder who builds God’s building (1 Corinthians 3). A true servant works towards building the kingdom of God. Wisdom is needed in this building process as our Lord Jesus Christ pointed out the characteristics of the successful servant: “Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.” (Luke 12:42-43). Likewise, our beloved Fr. Isaac was a wise master builder, vigilant for building and serving every soul that God placed in his path.

In the previous article, we talked about God, the lover of mankind, the compassionate who is unchanging. He is also Just and Holy in the same time. In this article, we will resume our topic:

Some wonder why some of the old Testament’s events has too much violence and killing while in the New Testament the commandment is all about tolerance and love. Does God change? Why does He command some of His men in the Old Testament to kill people or destroy entire cities? Doesn’t this contradicts the nature of God being the lover of mankind?

Words are going around these days regarding many Copts being in fear of the radical Islamic movement reaching power within the Egyptian government. As a result many Christian families are turning to immigration in fear of a severe wave of persecution against them. In this context, I would like to shed some light on few important facts:

In this article, we will conclude our topic about the common characteristics seen in the lives of saints. May we strive in following their spiritual path.

We resume talking about some of the common characteristics in the lives of Saints.

We continue our topic about the most important characteristics of the lives of saints so we can measure ourselves and follow them as models.

First, Sainthood is a call to everyone. The Holy Spirit speaks through our teacher Peter the apostle: “ As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy, for I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1: 14-15, Leviticus 11: 44-45, 19:2, 20:7, 20:26). Additionally, we cannot enter the kingdom of God except as saints because God is “The King of the Saints” (Revelations 15:3) and we will not enjoy His presence until we enter into sainthood, i.e. being pure and consecrated to Him, “ Holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.” (Hebrews 12:14).

Today, we celebrate the departure of the great saint, Anba Pishoy, and yesterday we celebrated the departure of Anba Shenouda the Archimandrite. Therefore, in this article, I would like to talk about the relationship of the the saints with church.

In this article, we continue presenting some of the sayings and spiritual experiences of the strong martyr, Saint Moses the black.

Today we celebrate the martyrdom of the Strong, St. Moses the Black. This saint had a marvelous life story and was transformed from a life of wickedness to a life of holiness. The Synaxarium says about him: “Beloved Ones, contemplate in the power of repentance, and what it did. It transformed an infidel slave who was a murderer, adulterer and robber into a great Father, teacher, comforter, and priest who wrote rules for the monks, and saint whose name is mentioned on the altar in our prayers.”