The Virgin Mary “Theotokos” and the Coptic Orthodox Church

The Virgin Mary “Theotokos” and the Coptic Orthodox Church

Among the saints, the Virgin Mary occupies the first place and stands higher than all.

Hymns, readings and praises ( the “Theodokia”s) for the Holy Virgin during  liturgy, praises & naming a  Church fasting to the LORD after her name. 

Virgin Mary and The Church 

The Copts feel so close to the Virgin, and invoke her help in all situations 

 Focus on the teaching of the church about the veneration of the Mother of God 

✥ Relationship between Christology and Mariology

✥ The“Yes” of the Mother of God.

✥ Mary as the second “Eve”

✥ Mary as our faithful advocate and faithful intercessor.

✥ Christology And Mariology

 

+ In the Orthodox Church, Christology and Mariology are inseparable. 

+ The insistence of the Orthodox Church on calling the Virgin “Theotokos” which means the Mother of God, or God-bearer underscores the fact that Christ is One of the Holy Trinity and not merely a man somehow joined to God. 

+ Some suppose that the Virgin Mary was merely a passive “channel” through which God entered the world.  Such a faulty assumption could threaten the reality of the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

+ The Church insists that the Virgin Mary was the Mother of the Incarnate God in every sense of the word. 

✥ The "Yes" of The Virgin Mary 

+ Man was created in the image of God.  He was given the freedom either to realize his life as love and communion with God, or to deny his divine calling and enclose himself in the hell of self-love.  

+ The Virgin Mary, alone among the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, said “Yes” to God with such purity“

Behold the Handmaid of the Lord, be it unto me according to thy word”  Luke: 1:38 KJV   

+ The coming of Christ was the fruit of a long, historical process.  The Virgin Mary is the culmination of all that God has done through Israel to prepare the world for His coming. 

+ This is made very evident through many symbols of the Old Testament that points to the Virgin Mary as for e.g:  

- The ladder of Jacob

- The burning bush

- The Ark of the Covenant

- The golden vessel of the “Manna”

 ✥ St. Mary as the second "Eve"  

+ It is not accidental that we read in the Book of Genesis that Eve, not Adam, was the first to eat from the forbidden fruit. 

+ The Virgin Mary's "Yes" is the answer to Eve's "No" 

+ At the beginning and in the middle of history, there stand two women, Eve and Mary.  Eve is the mother of fallen and sinning mankind.  Mary is the mother of a new, reborn mankind which is being saved.  In the first there was the cause of universal evil; in the second, the cause of universal good. 

+ The Virgin is the historical foundation for our salvation, and fulfils the most basic purpose of humanity as a whole. 

+ Our task is to strive to respond to God as the Virgin Mary did.

✥ The Faithful Advocate and Fervent Intercessor 

+ At the wedding of Cana, we clearly see that role of our Mother, the Virgin Mary. 

+ For the first time we hear of an appeal for the needs of man from the lips of the Mother of God to her Divine Son. The kind hearted heart of the All-holy Virgin Mary, herself the representative of the race of man, intercedes; it brings the needs of people before the Savoir and calls Him to the work of salvation.

✥ The Virgin Mary In Church History 

+ The church of Atreeb 

+ The Moving of “El-Mokatam” mountain

+ The Virgin Mary and the lives of some Popes. 

May the Intercessions of our Holy Mother, our faithful advocate and fervent intercessor Be with us  all.  AMEN.

Are You A Rose In God's Garden?

Are You A Rose In God's Garden? 

The Lord called us His noble vineyard "A certain man planted a vineyard"  (Luke 20:9)  "Yet I had planted you a noble vine"   (Jeremiah 2:21)  He surrounds us with His Love (Hedge) to protect us from the adversary "And set a hedge around it".  (Mark 12:1)

God expects the noble vineyard (us) to bear much fruit " By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit."  (John 15:8)

Now Are You A Rose in God's Garden or a Fruit in His Vineyard?

Sixty beautiful long stemmed roses - what a sight! The mixed bouquet of red, pink, white and yellow mingled together to make an exquisite arrangement.  My sisters' children surprised her with these to celebrate a most special birthday, and she was thrilled with the gift.

She said, "I watched them all day, unfolding a little at a time." "When they die,"  she continued, "I plan to dry them so that I might still enjoy them."  I looked at those roses and noticed something interesting.

Each day, as they unfolded, each colour did so at its own speed.

The pink and white were the first but the red never did. They just stayed in bud the entire week I was visiting. The yellow were the first to wilt and begin to die, their beautiful heads drooping toward the ground. Each colour in the bouquet was set on its path of blooming, so to speak. Each held great beauty, ready to unfold in its own time.

I believe God looks at us just as my sister looked at her bouquet. We are His vineyard; His bouquet of Love, and He watches us unfold and change.  He sees the beauty in each of His children. No matter the speed; we blossom.  He sees us as we are in tight bud at first, holding all the love He has bestowed upon us . Then we begin to open up to the power of the Holy Spirit, and as we unfold we share what He has given us, we become more beautiful.

In full bloom, we are what He has called us to be here on earth, and then we, like the rose, wither and die. But we will not be forgotten, for when God uses us to touch the lives of others, the memory of His Love will remain with them.

Are you a rose in God's Garden? It is a delight and privilege to be a rose in His Garden or a fruit in His vineyard. He invites you to be a part of it

  Quoted-Marion Smith

Patriarch Abune Paulose of Ethiopia Enters Eternal Rest

by OCP on: August 16, 2012

16/8/2012

Addis Ababa: His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch and Catholicos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Archbishop of Axum and Ichege of the See of Saint Teklehaimanot passed away last night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was 76 years old.Official sources has confirmed the demise of the Patriarch .The Patriarch was seriously ill and was admitted to the Dejazmach Balcha Hospital in Addis Ababa.It has been reported that the Patriarch has been undergoing a medication for a long time.

The body of the deceased Patriarch is presently at the Balcha Hospital. The date of funeral has not been confirmed yet.

May Lord have mercy upon the soul of His Holiness Patriarch Abune Paulose of Ethiopia.

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2012/08/patriarch-abune-paulose-of-ethiopia-enters-eternal-rest/

JESUS IS COMING BACK

JESUS IS COMING BACK

In the public hospital of Itagual in North America was born a girl with hands joined together, like one who's praying.

When they opened up the hands of the child, you can't imagine what was written.  

 'JESUS IS COMING BACK'  

The doctors started weeping and all who were at the hospital.

The suburb of Itagual is undergoing a movement now.  People who have withdrawn from church are going back and others are receiving Christ as the ONLY Savior. 

GOD sent that child simply to convey HIS message. 

After a few hours, she died. 

Mission accomplished.

HISTORY OF THE VIRGIN MARY'S FAST

History Of The Virgin Mary's Fast 

The Fast of Virgin Mary, began by the famous story of Thomas the Apostle. After his return from a missionary in india, he asked the Apostles about Virgin Mary. They told him that she had died.

He asked them to show him where they buried her. They went with him to the grave, but they found the tomb empty. Thomas the Apostle recounted that during his return, he saw the angels carrying the body of the Virgin Mary and that he took blessing of her holy body.

In order to see her blessed body and take her blessing, all the Apostles fasted 15 days. This was according to our Coptic calendar from the first day of Misra (Mesra) to 15 Misra. In Ethiopian calendar from the first day of Nehase (Nähase, Nehasie, Nehasse) to 15 Nehase.The early Church history did not mention anything else about St Mary's fast.

in the 13th century, the Church history states that Virgin's fast was confined to the nuns and sisters. In the 14th century it has became common among Orthodox Christians.

In the early 17th Century, Pope Gabriel VIII of Alexandria declared it a special fast for those who vow to fast it, but no blame on those who do not fast it. After that all people used to fast it, so it became a permanent decision by the Church for everyone to fast

May the blessings of Our Holy Mother Mary be with us all, and save the people of her Son, for whom He paid His precious blood on the cross. 

Have a blessed fast

Verses

Jesus said to them, I am the bread of life; 

whoever comes to me shall not hunger, 

and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 

John 6: 35 ESV

Verses and Fathers Sayings

Verses and Fathers Sayings

Henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
(Luke 1: 48) 




You are blessed more favored than heaven,
and more honored than earth, you exceed
every thought, who can speak of your honor.

(From Friday Theotokia) 


 

Don't Waste Time Hating Anyone

Don't Waste Time Hating Anyone

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the Journey they had an Argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us,we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE!!!

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

“Happiness is not something you find, it’s something you create…”

‘Life Is Too Short To Waste Time Hating Anyone’

Jesus said:  "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."  John 13:34

He also said: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”  Mark 12:31

Do not waste a MOMENT OF YOUR LIFE heating another person.

THROUGH YOUR LOVE YOU INSCRIBED ME ON YOUR PALMS

THROUGH YOUR LOVE
YOU INSCRIBED ME ON YOUR PALMS


From the inspiration of Ezekiel (4)

You counted me as Your beloved Jerusalem, and the holy Zion.
But with my sins and the abominations of my heart,
I became inscribed on a clay tablet.
I became despised; sunk in mud.
By my negligence, the enemy surrounded me, and destroyed my walls.
You, who wishes to make Your fiery Spirit a wall for my life!

O Father, You have stretched  Your divine arm;
Having sent to me Your Son incarnated,
To cleanse me of dust, to grant me Your fiery Spirit,
And to carry me up to Your bosom.

My sin took away my vitality; I became as though paralyzed;
Sometimes reclining on my left side, struck by evil;
And sometimes reclining on my right side struck by self-righteousness.

My sin deprived me of fulfillment;
Turning my inner Paradise into utter poverty.
Who will rescue me from this famine,
But You, O the fulfillment of my soul?!


Fr. Tadros Malaty
From the Inspiration of The Book of Ezekiel