500 metres away from the famous monastery of St. Pishoy (Deir el Anba Bishoy), is the less known, but still known, monastery of the Syrians, “Deir El Sourian”. The monastery itself has had its recent greats. Bishop Theophilus will go down in history as one of the most charismatic abbots of that monastery. He was the abbot who had all sorts of ways of testing new novices before coming, and it was he who admitted Nazir Gayid to the monastery, who would one day become the thrice-blessed Pope Shenouda III. This monastery also gave us two modern elder saints that have been making their way in the world: Elder Matthias (Mettaous) and Elder Philotheos (Faltaos). There are, of course others. Copts of course are not as keen, it seems, on preserving the written record of some of the teachings of these elders. I pray that we acquire that.
Continue reading Abouna Antonious El Souriani
Tag Archives: coptic orthodox stance
![Q&A: Why am I not allowed to believe in [science]?](https://i0.wp.com/www.freedominchristianity.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/sciencereligion.jpg?resize=672%2C372&ssl=1)
Q&A: Why am I not allowed to believe in [science]?
Question: Why am I not allowed to believe in the Big Bang Theory?
Question: Why am I not allowed to believe in Evolution?
Question: What is my stance supposed to be on dark matter?
Continue reading Q&A: Why am I not allowed to believe in [science]?
Remembering Abouna Fanous…
The recent passing of several giants has grieved me. There were the passings of Fathers Feltaous and Mettaous of the Syrian Monastery, then the passing of Anba Mikhail of Assiut. These and others, to me, symobolise the ending of a great era, a loss of giants. Hearing the news of Abouna Fanous el Anba Bola today, only added to this feeling. With every passing generation, I fear, humanly, that there’s a rich tradition that dies with them. I feel that there are secrets and mysteries that are symbolically lost forever. There are ways that are not explained, and stories that are untold. They are the ones that link us to the past, that tell us of the monks of old and can see with clarity the monks of our generation. They were stalwart pillars of the philosophy of monasticism, and no longer can they, in the flesh, transmit ancient truths to us modern hearers. I pray He raises up a new generation from among us.
What a woman…
Every mother has a story. Every mother came from somewhere, and where she came from affects how she raises her children and interacts with her husband. One mother, however, the mother of all of us, has a story that I think is awe-inspiring. The volumes that are written and could be written about our blessed mother, the Theotokos, the God-bearer and the Christ-Bearer, are countless. She’s not just some lady that got lucky. No, we know that God was waiting for the day that ‘the time had fully come’ before He entered into the world.
Letter to a friend: Dear haters, hating doesn’t answer anything.
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Haters vs other Haters, Atheists vs. Christians, Evolution vs Creation, Science vs. Religion…why the drama? This posting is based on a dialogue with someone sceptical of aspects of Christianity who watched a video of Christians making fools of atheists for their ignorance of science…This post discusses issues of: science vs religion, ridiculing one another, the place of the Bible in all of this, and whether or not pointing out how stupid everyone is, is actually helpful.
Continue reading Letter to a friend: Dear haters, hating doesn’t answer anything.
Q&A: Do I earn God’s grace by works?
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Q: I’m struggling to understand more practically what exactly is God’s grace and how I interact with it. I mean, I heard that grace is supposed to be free, but then there are people who say that I have to earn it by my works. What’s going on here?
Question about Funerals and Cremation
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Q: Someone I know recently passed away, and the family intends to cremate the person’s body. This got me thinking about funerals. What is the purpose of a funeral? and what is the church’s stance on cremation?
On steak and stumbling blocks
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The Situation: You and many of your friends are out to eat during one of the church fasts at Restaurant ABC. You, being the lazy spiritual one have decided not to start fasting yet and will postpone for another week. As all of you order your food and it finally arrives, you begin to eat.
All of your friends have ordered some non-dairy, non-meat item on the item. But, you are currently enjoying that nice 10 oz. new york, rib-eye cut steak. As Tiny Tim, sits next to you looking down at his plate of guacamole, rice, and black beans, his stomach aches for just a sliver of the fat from the steak.
Continue reading On steak and stumbling blocks
Active Euthanasia
Active Euthanasia
An analysis of the arguments for Active Euthanasia (doctor-assisted suicide) and rebuttals against it.