All posts by AP

In Memoriam: Anba Serapamon (1937-2020)

There are people that you do not know personally, but you are so aware of and so influenced by, that you feel like you belong to them. It may be a grandparent, it might be your priest, it could be anyone. You feel insecure when they are gone. This is how I feel about Anba Serapamon. From the get-go, I want to make it clear that I am not pretending that His Grace (HG) and I were personally close. I have some personal experience with him, and I have seen the effect of him on many of his children (including my Bishop). It’s his very existence, however, that mattered to me and the whole Church.

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Modern Elder: Remembering Abouna Benyameen el Baramosy

Excerpt from my journal after one of our conversations. Forgive the messy writing!

I was surprised and saddened recently when I heard the news of the departure of Abouna Benyameen. For those of you who visited St. Antony’s monastery in California in the early 2000s, and those of you who are Baramos sons, Abouna Benyameen is no stranger to you. For those of you who didn’t, you missed out. It’s clear to me already that I won’t be able to keep all the stuff about Abouna to one blog, so I’ll include some things here and save others for reflection on another time.
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On Sexiness and Chastity

I’ve participated in or witnessed numerous conversations about whether or not the Church talks about sex enough. Regardless of the answer to that, I think secular society talks about sex too much. It shows it too much. It plasters it all over the place too much. It makes us think about it too much. I want to talk about one particular aspect of purity, which is chastity.

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Divisive language in the church

Clearly. Obviously. Of course. Definitely. Naturally. Absolutely. Exactly. Never. Always. False. Fake. Authentic. Leftist. Rightist. Far right. Far left.

For those who prefer audio, the link can be found here. I recommend that as it flows better and is followed by a Q&A!

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Let’s repent

It’s the season of repentance. Of course, all year long, every moment and every day is a season for repentance, but it’s time for spiritual ICU. These next 55 days should be marked by a real intentionality of improved health. We don’t do vows and stuff, but what New Years resolutions are to secularity, Lent is to spirituality.

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