Practical and Mystical: Patriarch Kyrillos VI (1959-1971)
Today the memory of Kyrillos has become somewhat overshadowed by the steady news of miraculous interventions attributed to Kyrillos’s intercession after his passing away. In death his influence stretches far beyond Egypt. For example, one of the latest miracles that happened during the fall of 2005 unfolded in Iraq where his miraculous intervention rescued the American husband of a Coptic woman deployed there from certain death. In this essay I discuss some of the bases – …
A Contemporary Crossbearer: The Late Father Pishoy Kamel
As Coptic Orthodox Christians, we celebrate the Feast of the Cross twice a year, on September 27 and March 19. For all of us, the Life-Giving Cross must play a pivotal role in our lives. Therefore, we felt it is apropos to present a brief glimpse into the life of a contemporary cross-bearer, the late Fr. Pishoy Kamel Is’hak, whose departure we commemorate on March 21st. It is not coincidental that his departure was on – …
Titles and Symbols of the Holy Virgin Mary
1. The Queen who is by the Right Side of The King. In this, we mention the words of the psalm “At your hand standsthe queen in gold from Ophir” (Ps. 45:9). That is why, in her icon, she isportrayed at the right hand of the Christ our Lord. And we say about herin the divine mass “the Lady and the Queen of us all” 2. Our Mother the Holy Virgin. When the Christ our – …
The Holy Theotokos: A Model For All Mankind
The Holy Virgin St. Mary had certain characteristics, which makes her the model for all of us. She was the first one to receive Christ, and has become the model of what we can become in Christ. In the midst of our troubled world, St. Mary offers us the personification of humanity saying “Yes” to God; she stands as the greatest example of humanity’s free response to God’s offer of salvation. St. Mary reveals to – …
Saint Maurice
On September 12th, our Church celebrates the Coptic New Year (Feast of the Nairouz), which is the calendar of the Church. The Coptic New Year is the calendar of the martyrs. Our Church offered thousands of martyrs. Since the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian was one of the harshest periods of persecution, especially in Egypt, the Church chose the year 284 AD, which is the beginning of the reign of Diocletian, to mark the – …