English Edition Grades 7&8

2

H.H. Pope Tawadros IIPope of Alexandria &

Patriarch of the See of St. Mark

H.G. Bishop DavidBishop of the Diocese of New York

and New England

3

Page

My Church: Spirit and Life 4

The Book of Acts 24

The Sacrament of Baptism 44

My Church is a Pillar 54

Daniel 66

My Life is a Talent

Memorization

83

90

Table of Contents

4

My Church: Spirit And LifeAs we welcome the year 2020, we thank God

for His marvelous work in making the Mahragan EL-Keraza, which spreads the Word of God to all our Coptic Orthodox churches in Egypt as well as in the Land of Immigration. The materials are translated into as many as nine languages. The Central Committee for Mahragan El-Keraza announced the theme for the 2020 Mahragan - “My Church: Spirit And Life”. It is composed of three main parts:

1.My Church a. Coptic b. Orthodox

2. My Church: Spirit The work of the Holy Spirit in the church

3. My Church: Life a. My personal life b. Serving others

My Coptic Orthodox ChurchA) Coptic

? The Coptic Orthodox church has a glorious and ancient history. The word “Copt” is similar in meaning to the term “Egyptian” and originates

5

from the hieroglyphic word - “Hakebtah”- meaning, in the land of the pharaonic god “Btah.” When this word was translated to the Greek language, the word became “Αίγυπτος” and, finally, we began pro-nouncing it “El qubt” (the Copt).

? Our Coptic Orthodox church has been a patriotic church through-out the centuries - the Copts love their country and always defend it. Therefore, we must hold on to our Coptic identity.

1. I am an Egyptian: A descendant of pharaohs, the builders of the pyra-mids, inventors of “Papyrus”, and pioneers in medicine and chemistry. The word Chemistry is derived from “Rem nkemi” which means “son of the brown earth”. The Egyptians knew about monotheism (the doctrine or belief in One God) before many other nations during the time of Ak-henaten. Egyptians were the authors of the Book of the Dead (which was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased) and The Eloquent Peasant which addressed social and societal justice as well as providing us a vibrant record of the practice of spiritual evolution. Even “Christ-mas” originates from an ancient Egyptian Coptic word - a term that the whole world has adopted.

2. I am Coptic: I am a child of the Coptic Orthodox Church and a child of the saints and martyrs.

¿ The Church of Theologians: Athanasius, Dioscorus, and Cyril ¿ The Church of Monasticism: St. Anthony, St. Macarius, St. Shen-

ouda, and St. Pachomious ¿ The Church of the Martyrs: The Coptic Orthodox church is the

only Christian Church that uses the Gregorian calendar (AD) as well as the Calendar of the Martyrs (AM). The calendar of the Martyrs

6

commemorates the sacrifice of numerous martyrs throughout the church’s long history and the many martyrs that the Coptic Orthodox church still offers up to this day.

¿ The Church of the Evangelists who preached throughout the whole world: Our Church’s history reminds us of St. Maurice and St. Verena, as there are many foundations, monasteries, and cities named after them in Europe. The church continues to spread her divine ser-vices through bishops, priests, and the Coptic congregation through-out every continent of the world. During the age of planes, satellite channels, various types of com-munication, and social media, we can feel that we are all one body and one church and that our rites, history, and beliefs are united. Here is one example - the Mahragan Elkeraza of St. Mark which helps us to live in this unity as we chant one slogan and one melody.

B) OrthodoxThe Coptic Orthodox Church has important features that are unique

to her. We often hear some of these unique features by the mouths of the deacons in the Divine Liturgy when they chant saying: “Pray for the peace of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Orthodox Church of God.” In the Litany of the peace, we are called to pray for:

1. The One: there is only one church – whether from eternity in the

7

mind of God, amongst the entire human race, or in the eternal life to come - the Body of Christ is one and the Bride of Christ is one.

2. The Only One: In the sense that it is unique - there is no other church like the Coptic Orthodox Church. She is the holy enti-ty where the Lord meets with His people, brings together the temporal with the eternal, and joins those on earth with those in Heaven.

3. The Holy: The Holy Spirit of God is the sacrament of holiness for members of the church. Christ is the one who con-secrates every member of the body and dwells in it, making this body a holy and dedicated sanctuary for the Lord. Therefore, the Church is characterized by holiness of the body, thought, con-science, and behavior.

4. The Universal (Catholic) Church: The Old Testament focused on one nation (the children of Israel) but the New Testament expanded to include the whole world - all nations, peoples, tribes, and tongues.

¿ “For God so loved the world...” (John 3:16) ¿ “Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of

the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

8

5. The Apostolic: The Church was instituted as “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Him-self being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The Church is an extension of the Apostolic fathers, stemming from their righteous lives, strong faith, teaching, and preaching. This is why Bishops are ordained following the reading of the Book of Acts (Praxis) as a sign and reminder that they are an extension of the apostolic life in the Church.

6. The Church of God: The Church is not the property of anyone, not even herself. But rather she is the pure property of God who loved her, redeemed her with His blood, and acquired her as a chaste bride.

¿ “For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

¿ This is the reason the bride in the Song of Solomon says: “I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine” (Song of Solomon 6:3).

7. Orthodoxy: The Church emulates the straight path in opinion, belief, and thought (“Ortho” = straight). Likewise, the church glorifies God in this time and in eternity with straight thought and an honest life. There is no separation between belief and life nor between the mind, heart and our daily behavior. Therefore let us come near in humility to learn more about the concept of the Church.

9

Who is the church? “The Community of Believers in Christ, gathered in the conse-crated house of God, led by clergy, in the presence of angels and saints, around the Lord’s Holy Body and Blood.”

1.The assembly of believers: The word “ekklesia”

means “congregation” and the church - according to the Bible - is “the body of Christ” as our teacher Paul says: “Now you are the body of Christ, and members indi-vidually” (1 Corinthians 12:27).

¿ “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same func-tion. So we, being many, are one body in Christ and individually, members of one another” (Romans 12: 4-5).

¿ The Apostolic Fathers “ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God” (Acts 2: 46-47). Here we find a homogeneous com-bination of spiritual communion, almsgiving, praise, and love (agape).

2. Those gathered in the consecrated house of God: The church is “the house

of God and the door to heaven” and the sanctuary is the “Pier-fei” - the place that becomes heaven because of the presence of the Lord of glory, with His angels, saints, and the community of believers.

10

¿ “And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47). Here, St. Luke means the congregation, and possibly the physical places as well.

¿ “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assem-bly, I will sing praises to You” (Hebrews 2:12).

The Apostolic Fathers met with the faithful every Sunday and all the time to pray and teach. The place of their meeting was called the “church”. Today, we consecrate the Coptic Orthodox churches with the chrismation oil (Holy Myron) so that the Spirit of God resides in that place. We consecrate the altar, altar ves-sels, censers, curtains, altar cloth, and icons according to the saying of the book: “Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forev-er” (Ps 93:5). In the absence of a church, the liturgy can be held using the consecrated tablet (Holy Board) as a “portable altar.” The most important thing is the presence of God, with His Holy Spirit, in the midst of His blessed congregation.

3. With The Leadership of the Clergy: Christ said with His pure mouth “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on the earth will be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18). Likewise, when the Lord established the sacra-ment of Priesthood after his glorious resurrection, “He breathed on them and said to them ‘receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are

11

forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained’” (John 20: 22-23). He said this and sent them to serve say-ing, “As the Father has sent me, I also send you” (John 20: 21). In the Church, there are three levels of church leaders: Episcopal, Ecclesiastical, and Diaconal.

4. In the presence of angels and saints: When

we fill the church with icons, especially the consecrated ones, we celebrate the presence of angels and saints in the house of God whenever we gather for praise and communion. That is why the priest prays: “He whom the angels and archangels stand before Him”... “You are He around whom stand the cherubim full of eyes, and the seraphim with six wings, praising continuously without ceasing, saying: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord of hosts, heaven and earth are full of your holy glory” (St. Basil liturgy).

5. Around the Body and Blood of the Lord: The Eucharist is the founda-

tion of the entire Church, the Body and Blood of Emmanuel our God - her Head and her Bridegroom. As our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the bread of life” (John 6:48). Therefore, he who par-takes of the holy communion with spiritual and corporal readi-ness receives many blessings.

What are the blessings of the holy communion?I. Steadfastness in Christ: A person becomes weak when he tries to

12

resist sin, Satan, and the world by himself. But, when he partakes of the holy communion, our Lord says that he “abides in Me and I am in him” (John 6: 56). Thus, one becomes strong through the grace of God and triumphs over evil.

I. Unity with the heavenly orders: As mentioned above, both the angels and saints attend the holy liturgy with us. In His presence, they pray and intercede on our behalf before God. They also set an example for us with their pure and faithful lives. As we partake of the holy mysteries, we feel we are one with the saints in Heaven as we are all members of the body of Christ, the Church.

I. Unity with one another: We partake from one offering and one cup, as Saint Paul the Apostle said: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For we, though many, are one bread and one body; for we all partake of that one bread” (1 Corinthians 10:16-17).

I. We receive forgiveness: The priest raises the paten and proclaims saying: “Given for us for salvation, remission of sins, and eternal life to those who partake of Him” (St. Basil’s liturgy). As long as we offer true repentance and an honest confession, our sins are forgiven as we partake from the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I. We obtain salvation: Along with forgiveness, we receive purifica-tion and sanctification from sin and get rid of sin’s effects and slavery. We accept the dwelling of our glorious God within us so that we may abide in Him and He in us.

13

I. Eternal life: when the Lord said: “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him at the last day” (John 6:54). This is the living bread coming down from heaven giving life to the world.

I.Proclaim the death and Resurrection of the Lord: Whenever we eat from this living bread and drink from this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death and remember Him until He comes. This is our message in the world. When Christ dwells in us, we become powerful through His grace, “we proclaim the Lord’s death and resurrec-tion until He comes.” Therefore, the Eucharist is the pinnacle of worship in which the believer is united with:

¿ The Lord Jesus Himself: “…abides in me and I in him” (John 6:56). ¿ The saints: “they all may be one” (John 17:21). ¿ The Believers: “For we, though many, are one bread and one body”

(1 Corinthians 10:17).

My Church: SpiritThe spirit is the most essential element in the spiritual life be-cause it connects us with God and brings us beyond time, mat-ter, and death into the world of spirit, eternity, and immortality. It is the element through which we can believe in God. There is a difference between the Holy Spirit of God and the human spirit that is in us. The Spirit of God works in us through the human

14

spirit which God placed in us as a means of connection between God and man. There is a difference between the natural person and the spiritual person because the natural person is born with sin and his nature is corrupted. Therefore, it is difficult and even impossible for the natural person to comprehend the spiritual kingdom and learn about God, the angels, eternity, saints, etc. On the other hand, the spiritual person is:

? Renewed through baptism ? Sanctified by the Chrismation oil (Holy Myron) ? United with the Lord through communion ? Offering continuous repentance

This spiritual person, through the grace of God working in him and by the Spirit of God which dwells in him, can enter the spiritual world and have the mind of our glorious God. For this reason we say that the spirit is the first element in the Christian life. We call it the “spiritual” life in appreciation of the human spirit’s connection with God. Hence, the spiritual life means that the body is submissive to the Spirit, and the human spirit is sub-missive to the Holy Spirit.

The work of the Holy Spirit in the church ¿ “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the church-

es” (Revelation 2: 7). ¿ “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of

God” (Romans 8:14).Following the Lord’s ascension to heaven, on the day of Pente-cost, the Holy Spirit was sent upon the disciples and comfort-

15

ed them. Consequently, they established the Holy Church as Christ’s teachings were spread throughout the whole world and many churches were built.

The Holy Spirit and His Work in the Church’s sacraments:The Seven Sacraments of the Church are sacred works and di-vine gifts through which we receive unseen blessings through visible actions. The work of the Holy Spirit sanctifies the sacra-ment and transfers its effective-ness to the believers. These sac-raments were established by God as a means for believers to obtain the abundance of God’s grace through the work of the Holy Spirit.

1) The Sacrament of Baptism: Through baptism, we are born a second birth when we are immersed in water three times in the name of the Holy Trini-ty. Baptism is the door of all sacraments because it is identical to entering the kingdom of grace. “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3: 5). Through it we receive justification and remission of sins (Acts 2:38); we receive adoption (Galatians. 3:26-27); we are freed from our grandfather’s sin and receive the inheritance of eternal life (Mark 16:16, 1 Peter1: 3).

16

2) The Sacrament of Chrismation/Holy Myron: It is a sacred/holy sacrament through which we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things” (1 John 2: 20). The 36 seals given to the baptized one sanctify him and can be divided into 3 sets of 12 annointments:

? The first set of 12 sanctify the thoughts, senses, heart and will

? The second set of 12 sanctify the actions ? The third set of 12 sanctify the steps of the

baptized one

3) The Sacrament of Thanksgiving (The Eucharist): Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

promised to establish the sacrament of the Eucharist to unite Himself with those who believe in Him and remain steadfast in Him, “Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eter-nal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed. And My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood, abides in Me, and I in him” (John 6: 54-56).

4) The Sacrament of repentance and confession: This sacrament involves the return of the sinner to God and reconcilia-tion with Him by confessing his/her sins before the Fa-ther of confession. “If you forgive the sins of any, they

are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained” (John

17

20:23). “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

5) The Sacrament of the unction of the sick: Through this sacrament, the priest anoints the sick person and asks the grace of God for his recovery from spiritual and physical illness, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:14-15).

6) The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony: Marriage is a natural covenant that God established in the beginning with Adam and Eve. Christ blessed marriage by attending the wedding of Cana of Galilee, raising it to the position of a sacrament, sanctifying it, and saying about the two spouses: “And the two shall become one flesh. So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Mathew 19:5-6). Also, “This is a great mystery” (Ephesians 5:32). In this sacrament, the Holy Spirit descends upon those getting married and makes them one body.

Agio

c O :eoc Agioc Ic,uroc AgiocA;anat

oc

18

7) The Sacrament of Priesthood: “Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1: 6). The Holy Spirit descends upon the candidate for priesthood when the bishop lays his hand on the head of the elected person. The bishop will pass on to him the grace of the priesthood and its gifts. “He breathed on them, and said to them: Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

Requirements for carrying out the sacraments:I. A suitable material: This can be water for baptism, bread and wine for the sacra-ment of Eucharist, and oil for chrisma-tion and annointing the sick, etc.

I.An ordained priest: The priest prays for the presence of the Holy Spirit through the sacramental prayers.

The Holy Spirit performs many fundamental works in a believer’s life:

¿ He convicts man of his sins to repent (John 16:8).

¿ He guides him to the path of salvation (John 16:13, John 14:26).

¿ He reminds him of the Lord’s words in different situations (John 14:26).

¿ He sanctifies and cleanses him from the defilement of sin (Acts 2:3). ¿ He brings forth in him the fruits of the Holy Spirit: “Love, joy, peace,

19

longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-con-trol” (Galatians 5:22-23).

¿ He provides talents for service (1 Peter 4: 10).

“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God” (Ephesians 4:30) -> The Holy Spirit is sad-dened when we return to the works of the old man. Thus, the Apostle instructs us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

“Do not quench the spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) -> Train your senses to obey God’s voice within you.

“Walk in the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16) -> We must make our will accord with God’s will and stay away from performing the works of the flesh.

“Be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) -> When the Holy Spirit overflows within us, fountains of living water will emerge within us (John 7:38). This is an internal action that the Spirit of God does within our hearts. As a re-sult, our hearts become inflamed with the love of Christ and our souls are blazed with passion to worship in spirit and truth.

My Church: LifeOur spiritual life and service to others is an expression of our mem-bership in the body of Christ (the Church) and the work of the Holy Spirit within us.

A) My Personal Life: The Holy Church has provided us with many means of spiritual growth and ecclesiastical living, including:

1. Confession: Confession must be faithful, regular, done willingly, and

20

accompanied with a sincere repentance before God prior to meeting with the priest. It must be done with full confidence that the Spirit of God is working through this blessed sacrament. With sincere implementation of the spiritual father’s guidance and spiritual exercises, the confessor will receive an absolution and a solution for his/her sinful ways.

2. Prayer: This is the secret link that connects us to God and the means by which we are spiritually nourished.

3. The Eucharist: As we unite with the Lord, His saints, and each other, the Holy Eucharist is the climax of our prayers. In the Eucharist, we meet as a sacred assembly that prays for those who have fallen asleep, the sick, the travelers, the offerings, the Church leaders, the congregation, the widows, the orphans, the strangers, the guests, the president, the soldiers, the air of heaven, the crops, the water, and the fruits. In the Eucharist, we enlist all 4 types of prayers: thanksgiving, asking for mercy, requests, and praise.

4. Agpeya Prayers: The prayers compiled by the Church in the Agpeya are the prayers of David the Prophet and other righteous people of God. The agpeya fulfills a broad spectrum of a human’s spiritual needs and unites the important events in Christ’s life with the Church. From the Resurrection (first hour/prime), to the descent of the Holy Spirit (third hour), the crucifixion of Christ (sixth hour), and His death (ninth hour). We commemorate taking down the body of Christ from the cross (at sunset/vespers), the burial of Christ (compline/twelfth hour), and we anticipate the second coming of Christ (midnight watches).

5. Arrow Prayers: One example is the Jesus Prayer - “O my Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, I am a sinner” - which St. Anthony advised his disciples to pray continually.

21

6. Spontaneous and open prayers: In these prayers we speak with the Lord Jesus about everything: remorse for our sins, our determination to forsake sin, our hope in Christ and our love for Christ, and our gratitude for His spiritual and temporal gifts. Throughout these prayers, we must also remember others with love and honesty so that God may work with them and in them.

7. The Holy Bible: The Word of God is satisfying bread which rejoices and nourishes the spirit. It is the light that shines in our way - “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119: 105), “For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light” (Proverbs 6:23). The prophet David praised God day and night saying “The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119: 130). Therefore, God’s children are eager to read the Bible and learn God’s Word and teaching.

8. Spiritual Readings: These additional readings preserve the mind and fill it with spiritual knowledge and discernment. By them, one’s mind becomes purified from all unrighteous thoughts and sinful desires. They strengthen us so that we are not tempted to wander here or there as the Church Fathers have taught us; “Tire yourself in reading as it will save you from unchasteness” and “frequent reading strengthens the wondering mind”

9. Spiritual meetings: When we meet as members of the Holy church community, we pray, praise, sing, contemplate on the word of God, and enter into an enriching atmosphere filled with sound spiritual teaching, comforting prayers, and joyful communion. Didn’t the Apostle command us, saying: “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification”(1 Corinthians 14:26).

22

And the apostle also instructs us concerning the necessity of gathering in spiritual fellowship - “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some” (Hebrews 10:25).

10. Fasting and asceticism: Through these spiritual practices, the body is disciplined while the spirit is free to guide us in the right path. Prostrations, standing up while worshiping, and raising hands all serve to enrich the spirit. Fasting controls the desires of the flesh and fulfills the spirit. These are offerings made by the body as it is strengthened by the spirit in sacred unity.

These are all pathways to spiritual growth which the believer must prac-tice in his own private life as he transitions from repentance to spiritual growth. Repentance and growth are both a constant struggle which be-come a permanent way of life. Both matters are sequential, parallel, and overlap, as there is no repentance without growth, nor growth without continuous repentance.

B) Serving others: The church’s role in the lives of her children is to prepare them through the Holy Spirit before sending them to serve others. Each person according to his talent, will-ingness, and training, can serve in the field of ecclesiastical education or the

23

service of visitation connecting the children to the Church and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is essential and important to not only serve others as being members in one body but also in becoming a benefit to those whom we serve. It is dangerous if we do not serve others during our lives. We must be wary of any evil attempts to take us away from the service. There are multiple fields of service in the Church, including:

I. Education, Preaching, Giving, Management/Administration

I. Acts of mercy - Donating to the Brethren of the Lord, caring for the sick, elderly, and those with disabilities as well as reaching out to distant Christians (those who don’t attend church and have no one to remember them).

I. Acts of love - loving and kind relationships with all of God’s children

I. Worship - services of prayers and praise

I. Showing empathy towards others – rejoicing with the joyful and mourning with those who are sad

I. Taking in strangers - caring for them and providing for their needs. With this service, the believer testifies to Christ in society as He is the one who commanded us to be:

i. Light that spreads everywhere and chases away darkness.ii. Salt that is given to save the world from corruption. iii. A pleasant aroma that spreads spontaneously in our daily lives.iv. Live yeast which ferments the entire dough; a symbol of the

spiritual life that dwells within us through Jesus Christ. The christian service embraces us and helps us to serve others in our family, church, and society through the power of the grace of God that dwells within us. “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Mathew 5:16).

24

The Book of ActsDo you know who the true hero is in the Book of Acts? It is the Holy Spirit

working through the Apostles.A Study on the Holy Book of Acts:

¿ The Holy Book of Acts and the Four Gospels comprise the Historical Books of the New Testament. The Gospels relate the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ, while the Book of Acts relate the story of the Church, the work of the Holy Spirit in the church, and the evangelism of our Fathers the Holy Apostles and disciples.

¿ The Book of Acts is the story of the beginning of the Church: how it spread, and how it succeeded in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Sections in the Book of Acts: ¿ The works of St. Peter the Apostle – chapters 1-12

¿ The works of St. Paul the Apostle – chapters 13-28

The Holy Spirit: ¿ Established the Church ¿ Gave the disciples and apostles what they ought to speak ¿ Filled them every time they prayed and asked for His gifts ¿ Led all their decisions ¿ Gave them power, the ability to perform miracles, gifts such as speaking in

tongues, teaching, and prophesying

The Writer of the the Book of Acts: ¿ The writer of the Book is St. Luke (who also wrote the Gospel according to

St. Luke). His name means, “The enlightened one” or “the bearer of the light.” He was a physician and an artist. St. Luke painted the first icon of St. Mary, an ex-ample to all the subsequent artists.

25

¿ The Book of Acts is written to Theophilus - a name meaning, “the lover of God.” The church understands this book to be directed toward every person who loves God.

¿ The Holy Book of Acts does not end with ‘Amen’ because it is an extended story. The Church still lives its events and will continue to do so until the end of the ages as evangelism still spreads throughout the whole world.

Comparing the Gospels and the Book of Acts:

¿ The Gospels are the life of Christ, the Book of Acts is Christianity

¿ The Gospels are the life of Christ in the flesh, the Book of Acts is God in humanity

¿ The Gospels are the preaching of Christ, the Book of Acts is the preaching of our Fathers the Apostles about Christ

¿ The Book of Acts is Christ in the life of the disciples, and the work of Christ through the Holy Spirit in their evangelism

¿ The Gospels tell about the Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, whereas the Book of Acts tells us about the birth of the Church, the body of Christ.

¿ In the Gospels, we see the suffering of the Bridegroom for His bride, in the Book of Acts, we see the suffering of the bride out of her love for the Bridegroom.

¿ In the Gospels, the Lord washes the feet of the disciples and in the Book of Acts, those feet preach to the whole world.

¿ In the Gospels, the Holy Spirit creates a body for the Son in the womb of the

Virgin. In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit creates the Church - the body of Christ

The Purpose of the Book of Acts: ¿ To confirm how this young plant, the new Church, was able to stand steadfast

against persecutions from the Jews and Romans, and how it grew through the work of the Holy Spirit in it.

26

¿ This Book remains open to continue the evangelistic work; and witnessing for Christ even to bloodshed. The good word of the Church is still spreading world-wide and producing saints by which the world is blessed.

¿ This Book reveals the fact that the Church is evangelistic, always moving, alive. She lives the life of constant repentance, bringing in many people daily. A part of the Book of Acts is read in every Holy Liturgy, after which the Synaxarium is read.

Chapter 1: The PromiseVerse 1 - 11: The Ascension

¿ Verse 1: The “former account” refers to the Gospel according to St. Luke

¿ Verse 2 - 3: Our Lord Jesus Christ showed Himself by many infallible proofs to confirm the Resurrection

¿ “And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Re-joice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.” (Matthew 28:9)

Verses 4 - 12: Promise of the Father & Descent of the Holy Spirit ¿ Our Lord Jesus Christ handed down to His disciples everything they needed to

establish the Church, such as the Sacraments and traditions. The disciples handed these things down to the next generation. This process continued until our time and will continue - this is what we call, “Tradition.”

¿ “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).

? Do you witness for the Lord in your home, school, community, etc.?

Verse 12 - 14: The Disciples meet in the Upper Room ¿ Forty days after the Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven,

but He never left us alone. He ascended to send us the Holy Spirit, who lives with us and with the Church to eternity.

¿ In order for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the Apostles;

27

They had to obey our Lord Jesus Christ and remain in Jerusalem They had to continue in prayers and supplicationsWith one accord, they preserved a life of fellowship

¿ Us too, if we desire to have the Holy Spirit work in us, must;Obey our Lord Jesus Christ by being in the church Continue in prayers and supplications

Unite with one accord in fellowship and love

Verse 15 - 26: Choosing St. Matthias instead of Judas ¿ Even though our Lord called Judas to the discipleship, he betrayed Him.

How about us? We go to church but our actions may be far from glorifying God. Be careful and make sure your works and actions witness that you are a disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¿ For the first time, the disciples used the “lot method” of decision making, but they prayed first asking the Holy Spirit to guide them.

¿ Currently, the church uses the “Altar lot” only to choose the patriarch, the suc-cessor of St. Mark. This lot is always preceded by many prayers and fasts. In every-day life however, we do not use the lot method. We reach out to God in prayer, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the church by talking to our Father of Confession and spiritual leaders.

¿ The name “Matthias” means “Yahweh’s gift.”

Chapter 2: Power From AboveVerses 1-13: The Descent of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues

¿ According to Jewish tradition, Pentecost was the feast of harvest. During the feast of Harvest, people repented and came to the faith. This is the harvest of the prophets, apostles, and evangelists. Jews from all countries and tongues went to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast and on this day, the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples— The day of Pentecost.

28

¿ Speaking in tongues (verse 3) - to aid in evangelizing the whole world ¿ Miracles (verses 7 - 13) - to teach us about the gifts of the Spirit and when

as well as how to use them for edification

Verses 14-41: The Descent of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues

¿ St. Peter recalls the prophesies of Joel (verse 16), and David (verse 29) to teach them about the awaited Messiah, who was incarnate, crucified, died, arose, ascended to heaven, and sent His Holy Spirit to dwell in His disci-ples on that day of Pentecost (vs. 16-36) so that they may speak in tongues, prophesy, & perform many miracles, that the Good News may spread to the ends of the earth.

¿ The Holy Spirit powerfully worked through the sermon of St. Peter, and

they baptized 3000 souls. These were the first fruits of the Church. They were to receive the Holy Spirit under certain conditions (vs. 37-41); true repentance from the heart, followed by baptism

3000 souls were pierced in their hearts by St. Peter’s words. How about us? When we sin, do we hear the Holy Spirit condemning our consciences unto repentance and confession before our father the priest? Let us not neglect His voice that lives in us!

Verses 42-47: The First Image of the Church ¿ The gospels had not been written

yet but they were taught orally by our fathers the apostles.

¿ The early Christians led a life of string fellowship ( prayer, fasting, giving alms)

The Descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples was accompanied by many signs: ¿ A mighty, rushing wind (verse 2) - to capture the attention of those who were

outside celebrating the feast. ¿ Fire (Verse 3) - to prove the presence of God

29

The fruits of the life of the Church are: ¿ An honorable church - each soul walked un the fear of God (verse 43) ¿ Joy & Simplicity of heart (verse 46) ¿ Life of Praise (verse 47) ¿ Favor with all people (verse 47) ¿ Many others joined Christianity (verse 47)

Chapter 3: Who Deserves the Glory?Verses 1-10: Healing the Paralytic

¿ Our fathers the apostles went to pray at a certain time, as the church likewise has structured prayers for different times of the day in the Agpeya

¿ Healing the paralytic man is one of the first miracles mentioned in the Book of Acts which was performed by the apostles as our Lord Jesus had promised them.

¿ In verse 4, when St. Peter “fixed his eyes” on the paralytic man, this means he observed him very intently.

¿ Although the apostles had nothing monetary to give the paralytic man, their wealth was in Christ. Through our Lord’s Name, the paralytic man received new life. He then went on to praise God and thank Him for His gift of healing.

Verses 11-26: St. Peter & St. John witness for the Lord Jesus

¿ God alone deserves the glory and honor throughout our lives because our success, health, and works are from Him.

“So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart.” (Acts 2:46) “Breaking Bread” = The Eucharist

30

This is what saints Peter and John did when the paralytic was healed . They gave God the glory. If we neglect to give God the glory and think that our success comes from our own power or understanding, His Hand leaves us and we expe-rience extreme want. Read what happened to Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30-34.

¿ As one of the Fathers says, “There is no gift with no increase except that without thanksgiving.”

¿ Saints Peter and John witnessed to Christ and His saving and life giving suf-ferings. They also witnessed to how the Jews persecuted Him as was foretold by the prophets.

Chapter 4: Satan Inflames the Jewish LeadersVerses 1-22: St. Peter & St. John Witness Before the High Priest

¿ The captain of the temple was in charge of the temple’s security. The Saddu-cees—Jewish priests and high priests, had a good relationship with the Roman authorities as they did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, nor in angels; thus, they both opposed the Lord Jesus Christ.

¿ Despite the fact that they arrested the disciples, many believed on the Lord; the number of believers increased to 5000 men!

¿ The Sanhedrin is the council that tried our Lord Jesus Christ. It is composed of the High Priest and 70 elders. This same council met to convict the apostles.

¿ The Jews thought that the apostles had invoked the one of the names of the prophets of magicians. But ST. Peter confirmed that only the Name of Jesus can perform such miracles.

¿ Thus, the Church praises the name of our Lord Jesus in the Sunday Psali say-ing, “My Lord Jesus Christ help me,” to strengthen the believers.

Verses 23-37: St. Peter & St. John Pray with the Congregation ¿ Our Fathers the Apostles and the people began their prayer with the Psalms

31

(ps. 2), then continued with personal prayers asking for strength and help to con-tinue witnessing for the Lord Jesus.

¿ Through the power of prayer, the place were they were meeting was shaken and all were filled with the Holy Spirit. The believer is like a lamp. He/she must be filled with oil to give light.

¿ These gatherings and fellowship of prayer confirm the unity of the church.

Chapter 5: Take Heed - Do Not Lie to the Holy SpiritVerses 1-11: Ananias & Sapphira Lie

¿ Ananias and Sapphira’s sin was not that they did not give to the church; God does not force anyone to give. Their sin was that they lied to the Holy Spirit. Actually, they did not love giving, neither to God nor the poor nor the Church. They only wanted to look good in front of the Apostles and the congregation. They thought that they can hide things from God. Their punishment was very strong as an example for us; we must not only see God as merciful, but also just!

Verses 12-16: Miracles Performed at the Hands of the Apostles

¿ “And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people.” Peo-ple carried their sick into the streets so that St. Peter’s shadow may fall on them and heal them.

¿But some people were afraid to join them. They were afraid of being persecuted by the Jews & Romans.

How about you? Are you afraid of your friends’ criticism? Do you go along with them, even to sin, when you know it’s wrong?

32

Verses 17-40: The Apostles Arrested, Gamliel Advises ¿ As the Fathers the Apostles and believers were filled with the Holy Spirit, the

devil filled the hearts of the Sadducees, Jewish priests, and their followers with envy and evil.

¿ God never abandons His children but sometimes God allows His children to partake of His cross for the love of His Name. God allowed His apostles to be put in prison and sent His angel that night to open the prison doors. When people see how much the children of God endure for His Name, they understand how much they love Him and their faith; this could be a reason for others to accept the faith.

¿ Theudas and Judas were rev-olutionists. They revolted against the Romans, but they failed.

¿ The Holy Apostles felt that suffering for the Lord Jesus Christ was an honor they did not deserve. For those who suffer with Him will also be glorified with Him. Thus, they returned rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name.

Chapter 6: The First DeaconVerses 1-8: The Seven Deacons Chosen

¿ There was a contention between the Jews and the Greeks because the Greek widows were accidentally neglected

¿ “Daily distribution”=how things were distributed to the poor

33

¿ The seven deacons were chosen by a vote. When they prayed over them and laid their hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and became their guide. Notice that they were men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.

¿ In Acts chapter 6, the rite of ordaining deacons is explained and it is exactly how the Church ordains deacons: our father the bishop puts his hand on the deacon to ordain him

¿ Even though the deacons were cho-sen for serving tables and taking care of the widows (a seemingly simple service), St. Stephen, one of the deacons who was full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people, and courageously witnessed for Christ in the Syna-gogues of the Jews!

¿ “Stephen” = a Greek name meaning ‘crown’ or ‘a crown made of flowers’

Verses 9-15: St. Stephen’s Wisdom ¿ ‘Synagogue’ = knesta in Aramaic = Nest in Hebrew = Church in Christianity ¿ There were 480 Synagogues in Jerusalem. Each had a specific name according

to the group. St. Stephen disputed with many of them in order to bring them to

the faith in the Lord and enlighten their ways.

Chapter 7: The First MartyrVerses 1-53: St. Stephen’s Message

¿ St. Stephen spoke to the Jews in a Christian manner, not mockingly nor with sarcasm, but with a heart filled with God’s love.

34

¿ They were a disobedient people, always rebellious. They did not realize that the more one is given the more is required of him. If one is given much grace and strays from the Way, his judgment will be great!

¿ St. Stephen began his message with the Fathers, then the prophets, until he reached the Lord Jesus Christ.

¿ He mentions Abraham, of whom the Jews were extremely proud. Abraham obeyed the Word of God, and he left the Chaldeans and went to a land he did not know. He trusted the words of God and His promise that He would give him and his descendants the promised land.

¿ He mentions Moses, who freed them from the land of bondage (Egypt) to the promised land (Palestine). He spoke with God, received from Him the Law, and by inspiration wrote the Torah. Despite all of this, the people rebelled against God on multiple occasions: in heart, mind and actions.

¿ St. Stephen rebukes the Jews for their disobedience; they were uncircumcised in heart and ears. Circumcision is the cutting of a small part of the body (symbolizing casting out sin from one’s life) as a sign of the covenant between God and man. They were only cir-cumcised according the flesh, but their hearts were far from God, filled with evil and defile-ment (uncircumcised). Their ears also were uncircumcised, and did not hear the message of God.

Verses 54-56: The Stoning of St. Stephen ¿ As a result of his message, the Jews stoned St. Stephen. While they stoned him,

the following took place: ¿ St. Stephen received courage from his vision of the Lord. Martyrdom is a door

35

which leads to the Lord. Those who follow the Lord Jesus all the way find courage and power to do impossible things.

¿ Even though St. Stephen served tables, he was very well versed in the Holy Bible. This helped him to relay to the Jews the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Savior spoken of by the prophets in the Old Testament, and by the Apostles in the New Testament. It is impossible to live without Him.

¿ St. Stephen’s unity with Christ and his great love for God enabled him to for-give those who stoned him as His master forgave His murderers on the cross.

Chapter 8: The Persecution of the Church Leads

to its Growth Verses 1-8: The Church Persecuted, the Believers Disappeared

¿ The devil enticed a man named Saul to persecute the church. Saul went to the homes of the Christians and dragged men and women to prison. The Christians then became dispersed into various villages of Judea and Samaria. Although the devil meant to hurt the church, God changed this into good because those who scattered went preaching the Good News of the Gospel. Christianity was spread and the Lord’s plan to evangilize Judea and Samaria was fulfilled.

¿ Persecution made the church stronger and the brave apostles didn’t mind the pain but rejoiced in it.

¿ The Lord proved the words of the Apostles by accompanying them with mir-acles so that the people would believe the word of God. St. Philip preached the Samaritans. When they believed, they felt true joy - joy they’d never felt before. Joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit.

¿ We must understand that God permits for trials, not to hurt us but that we may benefit.

Verses 9-25: What did Simon the Sorcerer do? ¿ The devil has the ability to deceive us with his evil works (as those of Simon).

But when the word of God is revealed and works in us, it is a light that destroys darkness, revealing the evil work of satan and his deception.

36

¿ Through baptism, one receives the grace of the new birth. Through Holy My-ron, one receives the grace of the Holy Spirit. In the early Church, the Holy Spirit was given by the laying of the hands on the Apostles.

¿ Even though Simon was baptized, his thoughts were still evil: he wanted to buy, with money, the gift of giving the Holy Spirit by laying of hands.

Verses 26-40: St. Philip & the Ethiopian Eunuch ¿ God always helps those who work to understand the Holy Bible just as He sent

Philip to help the Ethiopian eunuch to guide him.It was not enough for the eu-nuch to believe in Christianity. He had to be baptized. Notice that he was baptized by immersion, “And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away.” (Acts 8:38 - 39) This proved that this was the work of the Holy Spirit.

¿ “But Philip was found at Azotus” which is 20 miles north of Gaza. This means that the Spirit carried Philip to wherever God wanted him to serve.

37

Chapter 9: The Wolf Becomes a LambVerses 1-9: God Calls Saul

¿ Saul was a Jew from Tarsus. He was a pharisee (strict Jew) who was a Roman citizen by birth. He was educated by Gamaliel – one of the most popular Jewish teachers at the time (review Acts 5:33-40). He was very well educated and versed in the Law and prophets, which helped him later to refute the Jews and prove Christianity from the Old Testament. He was guarding the clothes of those who stoned St. Stephen, and was con-senting to his death. “Saul… made havoc of the church, enter-ing every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison” (Acts 8:3).

¿ After the Lord called Saul, he discov-ered that all the proph-esies of the Old Testa-ment were fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, he believed that Christianity is the true faith. He turned his zealous spirit to defend it, even suffering for it!

¿ Even though Saul was persecuting the believers, the Lord said he was perse-cuting Him personally, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Whenever we face troubles and persecutions for the sake of our faith in the Lord Jesus, the Lord feels every hurt!

¿ The Goads is an instrument used by ploughmen for guiding their oxen, and for

38

horse riders to put their feet on. If the horse strays, the rider swings the goads into its belly to redirect it to the path. It is impossible for the horse to kick the goads. God sends goads (tribulations) to those who are far from Him to help him/her return to God’s way (the straight way).

¿ “So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Do you ask God, “Lord, what do You want me to do? Lord, what would you like me to leave behind for Your sake?” Do you ask for God’s will instead of your will? And how do you hear God’s answer? You can hear it from:

¿ The Holy Bible ¿ Your father of confession ¿ Your spiritual guide, just as God sent Saul to Ananias ¿ Sunday school

Verses 10-30: Saul is Baptized, the Jews persecute him ¿ The scales that were on Saul’s eyes

were like a screen that blinded him from seeing the Truth and the knowl-edge that the Lord Jesus Christ is the True God.

How about you? Repent of your sins. Confess to your father of confession, so that the scales may fall from your eyes and you may see and know God.

¿ The same tool that the devil used to persecute the Church (Saul) became the one to spread Christianity (Paul) and the one which the Church used to destroy the works of the devil. Thus, he incited the Jews to kill him, but Paul increased in power.

Verses 31-43: The Church Grows & is Supported by Miracles ¿ Despite persecution and tribulations, the Church continued to grow. God gave

the Apostles the gift of working miracles as proof of their message that the Lord Jesus is God: St. Peter healed the paralytic and raised Tabitha from the dead. No-

39

tice that he prayed before performing the miracle that God may give him strength to perform it.

Chapter 10: God Does Not Accept HypocrisyVerses 1-8: Who is Cornelius?

¿ The Good News had been preached in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. Now it was time for it to spread to the Gentiles. The Jews separated themselves from the Gentiles because they considered them as dogs. The Jews refused to accept the Gentiles in the faith unless they became Jews.

Cornelius was: ¿ A centurion. He was a Gentile, but He loved God and feared Him without even

knowing Him. ¿ Through his faith, he found favor with God and He fasted. Thus, his prayers

and almsgiving went up as sweet smelling incense before God. ¿ He was searching for God and that’s why he found Him. This made him a lov-

ing person and therefore closer to the King-dom of God.

Verses 9-16: St. Peter’s Vision ¿ It was difficult for St. Peter, being a Jew,

to imagine that God would accept the Gen-tiles into the faith. The vision he saw was a declaration that God would accept them. In the vision, the unclean animals represent the Gentiles, as the Jews viewed them. Christi-anity denounces segregation of nations; the Love of our Lord and Master Jesus Christ unites all and accepts all.

Verses 17 - 48: Cornelius Believes ¿ In the Old Testament, the Lord forbade the Jews from having any dealings

with the Gentiles so that they would not imitate them in worshipping idols, nor in their immoral behavior, nor eat what was forbidden (unclean or strangled ani-mals) because the Gentiles were drowning in evil. But after the Lord cleansed the

40

whole world, all the believers became the universal Church (the sheet) which came down from heaven.

¿ God is not biased toward a specific nation, but accepts every one who does His will.

¿ In St. Peter’s sermon, he told Cornelius and his household that the Lord Jesus Christ took flesh because of the love of God for the whole world. He came to take away all sorrow and pain, but they crucified Him. Then, He arose from the dead, and ascended to heaven. In turn, we must live with the Lord Jesus, the Risen Christ, to understand the power of living with God.

¿ To declare that the Holy Spirit descended on them, God gave them the gift of speaking in tongues, as He did to the Apostles at the first. For He loves all the

same, Jews and Gentiles.

Chapter 11: The Son of

EncouragementVerses 1-18: The Jews Object the Acceptance of the Gentiles

¿ The news of accepting the Gentiles and what St. Peter did came to the ears of those in Jerusalem. This angered the Christians who followed Judaism strictly, and they contented with St. Peter when he went to Je-rusalem. This shows how much the Jews hated the Gentiles; even after they were baptized, they still carried this hatred towards them. They even wanted to circum-cise those Gentiles who would become Christians; they wanted the Gentiles to pass through Judaism before becoming Christians and follow all the traditions of Judaism.

¿ St. Luke repeated the vision on purpose to confirm that God accepted the Gentiles into the faith.

41

Verses 19-21: The Result of the Dispersion ¿ After the Archdeacon Stephen was stoned, great persecution and tribulation

arose against the Christians. Many dispersed, but notice that this persecution led to spreading the Good News; they went preaching the faith. The names of many who preached were not written here, but they are written in the Book of Life. Therefore, do not look for the reward of your good deeds here. Do not seek praise from people; your glory will be eternal in the kingdom of heaven.

Verses 22-30: The Good News in Antioch ¿ Antioch was the 3rd largest city in the world at that time after Rome and Alex-

andria. The 1st church of the Gentiles was established in Antioch by St. Barnabas: ¿ Barnabas means “Son of encouragement” ¿ St. Barnabas was filled with the Holy Spirit and faith, thus, many believed be-

cause of him. ¿ He was the uncle of St. Mark, who evangelized Egypt. ¿ He accompanied St. Paul and introduced him to the disciples. He traveled with

St. Paul preaching the word. ¿ The mother Church of Jerusalem sent him to Antioch to check on the church

there. ¿ The first Church acted as one body. When the church of Antioch heard of the

persecution in Jerusalem, they sent them help. How about us? Are we true witness for Christ? Do our actions and deeds witness for Him? Are we projecting a beautiful image of Him everywhere we go at all times?

Chapter 12: The Proud Eaten by WormsVerses 1-5: St. Peter Imprisoned

¿ King Herod was the grandchild of Herod the great who ordered the killing of the children of Bethlehem.

¿ Saint James the son of Zebedee was martyred. He was the first martyr among the apostles.

¿ In times of tribulations and trials, we seek prayer. This is what the church did

42

when Saint Peter was imprisonedHow about you? Do you pray for your family? your friends? your brothers and sisters in church? people in tribulation everywhere?

Verses 6-17: How did St. Peter get Out of Prison? ¿ In prison, Saint Peter had perfect peace. He wasn’t worried about anything.

Even though his hands and his feet were bound by chains and four sets of soldiers were guarding him, he fell into a deep sleep. He was in such a deep sleep that the Angel had to smite him on his side to wake him up.

¿ How did Saint Peter change from being afraid and denying the Lord to this deep and great peace? No doubt his trust and faith in the power of our Lord Jesus Christ give him this great peace.

How about us? During tribulation do we think about the problem and then are filled with fear? Or do we think about the power of God who protects us, then are filled with comfort?

¿ The disciples thought Saint Peter’s Angel was knocking on the door, that is his Guardian Angel, or his spirit (they thought that he might have been martyred).

¿ Saint James is the son of Alpheus, the cousin of the Lord. He was the bishop of Jerusalem, and the head of the Council. He wrote the Epistle of Saint James. He is not Saint James the son of Zebedee who was martyred at the beginning of this chapter.

Verses 18-25: The Confusion & Herod’s End ¿ The people exalted Herod the King treating him as a god. Therefore, he

thought that he was a god and he did not give glory to God. So, God smote him, and he died. When God works in us and we become successful, instead of giving the glory to God, we give the glory to ourselves and forget to thank God for His fa-vors. We must give God the glory and thank Him and praise Him for every success, for He is all powerful. He gives us wisdom, intelligence and all things.

¿ Herod worked hard to destroy the church, but God is always working to build it up.

¿ Herod died but the church was victorious and grew, reaching the whole world and multiplying

43

44

The Sacrament of BaptismThe sacraments of the Church are gifts that we feel in our hearts and live by in our lives. They are given through the Holy Spirit, to those who seek it by means of prayers and according to the rites carried out by ordained priests of the church. The Lord Jesus Christ established the sacraments of the Church so that the faithful may obtain gifts that open the way to the kingdom of heaven, helping them on this journey. Our Coptic Orthodox Church believes in seven holy sacraments, four of which are necessary for salvation. The four sacraments necessary for salvation are as follows: baptism, confir-mation, repentance & confession, and the Eucharist.

What is the Sacrament of Baptism? ¿ The sacrament of baptism is the door to all the other sacraments. Without

baptism, one cannot partake of any of the other sacraments of the Church. Bap-tism is a new birth from water and Spirit. It is impossible to be saved without Baptism, “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, un-less one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

¿ Our fathers the Apostles carried out the sacrament of baptism since the day

45

of Pentecost, and we have followed in their steps ever since… “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

¿ During human conception, the embryo receives nutrients from the mother’s own food, through her womb. When the infant is born and is separated from the mother, he is nourished by her milk for a while thereafter. When the child grows older and begins to feed himself, he becomes independent and is no longer dependent on his mother’s existence to live. On the other hand, the second birth, which is through water and Spirit, is a birth from the Church to eternity since the Church extends her life through eternity. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27).

¿ Without baptism, it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Thus, it is necessary to baptize all of our children so that they are not deprived of this grace.

¿ Baptism is performed through full immersion in water because our Lord Jesus Christ was baptized in this same way (Matthew 3:16). Likewise, the apostles also were baptized in this same manner (Acts 8:36-38).

Establishing the Sacrament of Baptism ¿ Our Lord Jesus Christ established the sacrament of baptism when He came to

the Jordan River to be baptized by St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17). ¿ The Lord ordered His

disciples saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

¿ The Lord Jesus Christ confirmed the importance of baptism during His con-versation with Nicodemus,

46

“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3).

Other Names for the Sacrament of Baptism ¿ “The Pillar” – Baptism is so essential to salvation and Christian spiritual life ¿ “The Dye” – through the Holy Spirit the baptized person is dyed with the dye

of the Lord Jesus Christ—the baptized ‘puts on’ Christ through the baptism. ¿ “The Door of the Sacraments” – It is a door as it is the necessary first step in

order to receive the graces of the remaining sacraments.

¿ “The Second Birth” – As it is written, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

The Rites of the Sacrament of Baptism1. The Prayer of Absolution for the Woman

¿ A mother will present her child for baptism 40 days after birth for males and 80 days after birth for females. The rite of baptism begins with a prayer that provides the mother with absolution in order for her to participate in the church sacrament of communion after her delivery. It is important to note that in special circumstances where an infant suffers from terminal illness, he/she may be bap-tized immediately so that they may enter the kingdom of heaven, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

¿ The prayer of absolution begins with the Lord’s Prayer, and concludes with the priest asking God to look upon the woman, fill her with the Holy Spirit, and purify her from her sins and transgressions. The priest then anoints her with the Oil of Blessing so that she may be healed from any health issue she may be suffering from at that time.

47

2. The Prayer of Renouncing the Devil ¿ RENOUNCING SATAN: The mother undresses her infant and carries him/her

on her left arm while facing towards the West. She lifts up her right hand, and recites after the priest saying : “I renounce you satan and all your profane deeds, and all your evil armors, and all your bad devils, all your power, and all your detested worshipping, all your evil and deceiving traps and your army and your dominion and the rest of your hypocrisy. I renounce you, I renounce you, I renounce you.” Then the priest breathes three times on the face of the infant and orders the profane spirit to come out from this infant’s life by the order and power of the Holy Spirit saying, “Be expelled evil spirit”.

¿ Facing the West symbolizes exile and separation from God. It symbolizes sub-mission to the dominion of satan who was the first to be exiled and separated from God when he fell from his angelic rank as a result of pride.

¿ Renouncing satan means that we are breaking the covenant with him, the covenant of obeying him, which he had with our forefathers. This covenant had started when Adam and Eve submitted to satan’s will and obeyed his evil counsel over God’s commandment.

3. The Prayer of Accepting Christ ¿ CONFESSING CHRIST AND RECITING THE ORTHODOX CREED: The moth-

er looks towards the East with her infant on her left arm, raises her right hand, and recites after the priest saying: “I confess to you O Christ my God and to all Your redeeming laws and enlivening service and Your life giving works. I believe in one God the Father the Almighty, and His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ and the Life-Giving Holy Spirit, and the resurrection of the body, and the One, Holy, Universal and Apos-tolic Church, Amen.” The priest then asks her three times, “Do you believe on behalf of this infant?” And three times she responds, “I believe.”

48

¿ Facing the East signifies a new birth, as the day starts by the rising of the sun in the East, or the birth of a new day.

¿ Undressing the infant reminds us of the nakedness of Adam and Eve when they obeyed satan and dis-obeyed the commandment of God. They were put to shame before God and hid from Him as we read in Gen-esis 3:7-10 when they realized their nakedness. This is exactly what sin and satan does to human beings; they strip them from all virtues and from the protection of God’s grace, and hence put them to shame before others.

¿ The raising of the right hand of the mother while looking toward the East and reciting the Orthodox Creed, signifies the undertaking of an oath before God. This indicates the seriousness of what is being said and the necessity of

being committed to this undertaking as this is a holy covenant.

The priest anoints the baby with the Ghaliloun (or oil of joy) on the chest (heart), back (will), and arms with the sign of the Cross, saying: “Search the hearts of Your ser-vants who came to the intimacy of Your grace, and if the evil of satan is hidden in them, declare it, cast it out from the souls and bodies of Your servants, renew their lives so they may wear the garments of salvation and the weapons of undefeated faith, to become Your flock and sons of Your heavenly shelter and heirs of Your incorruptible eternal King-dom of Christ.”

49

4. Sanctifying the Baptismal Water “The Liturgy of Baptism” ¿ The priest prays this part inaudibly. The sanctification of the baptismal water

through prayers, is done in preparation for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. When the priest pours the Holy Myron oil into the water, the water is transformed into a living water by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, to grant new birth to the soul and body. The water becomes effective in the salvation of the baptized infant, enabling him/her to walk along the path of salvation, and enter and see the King-dom of God.

¿ The priest takes the simple oil or Apocalypse oil, and pours it into the Baptis-mal water three times, while making the sign of the Cross. With every sign of the cross, the deacons say, “Amen”.

¿ The priest breathes three times on the water while praying, “Sanctify this water and this oil to cause new birth, amen. Eternal life, amen. An incorruptible garment, amen.” He then makes the sign of the cross on the water three times saying, “O God the Pantocrator, touch this water so by it and by Your Holy Spirit You may renew the birth of Your servants”.

¿ The priest takes the Holy Myron oil and pours a little into the baptismal water three times, while making the sign of the cross each time to sanctify the water. The priest stirs the water with the cross while reciting the Psalms, resembling the angel who was stirring the water of the pool of Bethesda to gain power of healing, “For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water, then whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had” (John 5:4). The priest says the following verses from the Psalms (28: 2,3; 31: 5; 65:11; 50:7,9,10; 132:13), while moving the water with the Cross. The deacons respond after every sentence saying, “Alleluia”

There are three kinds of oil used during Baptism: ¿ Simple Oil: The simple oil is pure olive oil, which is most probably the oil upon

which the Apocalypse Vigil of Easter Saturday was prayed. It helps the baptized to accept the Word of God and understand the Gospel, and simply accept faith.

¿ Ghaliloun Oil: “Ghaliloun” is a Greek word that means an “ointment of joy and happiness”. It is made with some of the Holy Myron oil, and is used after the re-

50

nouncing of satan. It helps the soul rejoice in the Word of God, in the acceptance of faith and in entry to the Church Community.

¿ Myron Oil: is used as the seal of the Holy Spirit, and it is with this oil that the child is anointed after baptism, on the body, the senses, joints and heart. All the body’s organs are sanctified, and hence the body becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. The anointing of the Myron is like a royal seal, signifying that this body is a possession of the True King and Lord Jesus Christ. The devil cannot approach it to dwell in it or possess it, as he has no dominion over it. It is possessed by the Lord Jesus and is sealed by His Seal, that is, the sign of the cross. This Holy Myron oil is made out of oils and perfumes.

¿ The priest prays the prayer of the laying of hands on the catechumens (those coming for baptism) after anointing them with the Ghaliloun oil saying : “Search the hearts of Your servants who came to the intimacy of Your grace, and if the evil of satan is hidden in them, declare it, cast it out from the souls and bodies of Your servants, renew their lives so they may wear the garments of salvation and the weapons of undefeated faith, to become Your flock and sons of Your heavenly shelter and heirs of Your incorruptible eternal Kingdom of Christ.”

¿ Then the priest prays: “Save Your creation from the bondage of the enemy. Accept them in Your Kingdom. Open their hearts to shine by the light of the Gospel of Your Kingdom, and may their lives be accompanied by the angels of light to save them from every conspiracy and every arrow that flies by day and the pestilence in darkness and the terror by night, and cast away from them all intrigues of the profane souls. The wicked soul that worries their hearts, cast it away, make them sleep in Your Holy flock of Your Christ, pure members in

51

the Apostolic Church, pure vessels, blameless souls and children of the light and heirs

of the Kingdom. Through Jesus Christ...”

Baptism By Immersion ¿ The priest holds the infant from under the arms while the infant faces the

West. The priest gradually dips the infant into the water until the infant is com-pletely immersed, while saying: “I baptize you *name* in the name of the Father...” (Note: if the infant does not have a Christian name, then the priest must give him a baptism name from either the Holy Bible, or a saint’s name)--and this is the first immersion. He then lifts the infant from the water and breathes into him, then immerses the infant again saying: “And the Son...”-- this is the second immersion.

¿ Finally, the priest lifts the infant from the water and breathes into him again, then immerses the infant for the third time in the water while saying: “And the Holy Spirit”-- and this is the third immersion. The priest then lifts the infant from the water and breathes into him for the third time. Before immersion, the priest receives the infant from the left side of his/her mother’s arm, but after the bap-tism the infant is returned to his/her mother’s right arm. This action signifies that baptism transforms us from the side of rejection, which is darkness, to the side of acceptance, which is the light. After baptizing the infant, the mother receives him on the right side of the priest in a large clean white towel and wipes his/her body from the water.

The Anointments/The ConfirmationThe priest anoints the infant with 36 signs. They are divided into 3 sets of 12 crosses.

52

The First Set: Includes the Top of the Head, Face, Heart, Stomach, and Back. ¿ Cross # 1: The head- The priest anoints the head to sanctify it. The head con-

tains the brain, by which we are able to think and which distinguishes humankind from all other creatures.

¿ Crosses # 2-3: Includes the face and the two nostrils, ¿ Crosses # 4: The mouth. ¿ Crosses # 5-8: The two ears and the two eyes. Crosses 2-8 are for the sanctifi-

cation of the senses. ¿ Crosses # 9 -10: The heart and stomach. These crosses are for the sanctifica-

tion of the emotions. ¿ Crosses # 11- 12: Both upper and lower back. These crosses are for the sancti-

fication of the will.

The Second Set: On the Arms ¿ Crosses # 13-24: Every joint of the arms and hands from the back to the front,

sanctifying the actions.

The Third Set: On the Legs ¿ Crosses # 25-36: Every joint of the legs from the back to the front, sanctifying

the path.Thus the heart, emotions, senses, will, actions & path of the confirmed are total-ly sanctified and protected by the anointing.The priest then ties a red ribbon (also called a “girdle”) around the waist of the bap-tized. The girdle is red which symbolizes the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ which was shed for us. The Christian must strive to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ by enduring hardships, in order to attain crowns of glory (2 Timothy 2:3-5)

The Procession:After the baptism, the infant is carried by the parents for a procession around the church symbolizing the death and burial for three days (corresponding to the three

immersions into the water) and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is a

death and resurrection with Christ.

53

54

My Church is a Pillar1. The Heroes of Orthodoxy

¿ One of the heroes of the faith who suffered to save the true faith is the 25th Pope of Alexandria, Pope Dioscorus. He sent 2 of his teeth and some of the hair of his beard to his people in Egypt saying, “This is the fruit of my struggle.”

¿ His beginnings: This great saint was born in Alexandria. Before becoming a Pope, Dioscorus served as the dean of the Catechetical School of Alexandria. He was the personal secretary of Saint Cyril the Great, Patriarch of Alexandria, whom he accompanied to the Third Ecumenical Council held at Ephesus.

¿ The Ecumenical Council of Ephesus was con-vened in the year 431 AD to condemn the heresy of Nestorius. Nestorius erroneously said, “The Lord Jesus Christ is of 2 natures, and the Virgin St. Mary gave birth to His human nature, thus she should not be called the Mother of God!”

¿ The council also condemned the heresy of Pelagius. Pelagius erroneously said that Adam’s sin concerns him only, and has no effect on the hu-man race. Pelagius also said man is able to reach the heights of holiness without the aid of Grace.

¿ The most important results of the Council of Ephesus were the excommunication of Nestorius and the confirmation that the Virgin St. Mary had given birth to the Incarnated God the Word. The term Theotokos, or “The Mother

55

of God” was affirmed as correct. Also, the introduction to the creed, “We exalt you, the Mother of the True Light…” was written.

Pope Dioscorus Enthroned on the See of St. Mark ¿ With the departure of Pope Cyril I, the See of St.

Mark became vacant. Pope Dioscorus was chosen for this great post as he shined in the church sky. This took place in the year 444 AD, during the reign of Emperor Theodosius II (the Less). He was faced with great re-sponsibilities, annihilating the heresies of the times.

The Heresy of Eutychus ¿ Eutychus, an abbot of a Constantinopolitan mon-

astery, arose to refute the heresy of Nestorius. But he fell into another heresy by saying: The Lord Jesus Christ has one nature, that His Divine nature and His human nature had completely dissolved into His Divine; just as a drop of vinegar would dissolve in an ocean.

¿ This is the opposite of what the Coptic Orthodox Church believes. We believe that our Lord, God and Sav-ior Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word (Logos), is complete in His Divine and human nature. His Divine nature is one with His human nature, yet without mingling, confusion or alteration; a complete Hypostatic Union. His Divinity never parted from His humanity, not for a single moment nor the twinkling of an eye.

¿ Words are inadequate to describe this union. The closest symbol of this unity is what St. Cyril the Pillar of the faith taught. St Cyril teaches the unity to be like iron united with fire. In this union, the fire has its complete characteristics, as well as those of the iron. The two are not interchanged. In the union of iron with fire, the iron is not changed into fire nor fire into iron. Both are united without min-gling, confusion or alteration.

¿ The patriarch of Constantinople, Flavian, who was Nestorian, ordered to con-vene a local council in Constantinople to excommunicate Eutychus and denounce his monasticism.

56

Pope Dioscorus Leads the Second Council of Ephesus in 449 A.D. ¿ The reason this council was convened is based on the request of Emperor

Theodosius the Less to refute the heresy of Eutychus. Eutychus erroneously stated that the human nature of Christ dissolved in His Divine nature, thus the Lord Jesus Christ became one mixed nature. The goal of Pope Dioscorus was to keep the true Christian faith.

¿ Eutychus pretended that he repented and ac-cepted the true faith. St. Dioscorus allowed Eutychus to return on the condition that he would refute his heresy. Simultaneously, St. Dioscorus excommunicated Flavian.

¿ However, later on Eutychus again declared his cor-rupt belief and was condemned by the Council of Chalcedon held in 451 A.D. He was excommunicated by the Coptic Church.

¿ Leo, the Archbishop of Rome became envious: After the second Council of Ephesus, Leo, the Archbishop of Rome, began to convene a council in his city. He refused to accept the Laws established in the Second Council of Ephesus. He accepted the Nestorian belief. (Recall the Nestorians were excommunicated by St. Cyril the Pillar of the Faith for their heresy of denying the Virgin St. Mary is the Mother of God.) Therefore, Pope Dioscorus excommunicated Leo the Pope of Rome.

The Tome of Leo ¿ A message was sent by Archbishop Leo to the Council of Chalcedon stating

that the Lord Jesus Christ is two separate natures according to divinity and hu-manity. Each nature has its own functions which works alternatively from the other. This is the opposite of what the Coptic Orthodox Church believes. For this reason, the Church was split after the council of Chalcedon.

¿ The Emperor Theodosius departed without a son to reign after him and his sis-ter Pulcheria married General Marcian and they were declared emperors. Marcian had Nestorian tendencies. Pulcheria, who was very cunning, feared for her throne. Thus, Pulcheria supported Rome against Alexandria because she feared Pope

57

Dioscorus. Marcian feared him as well. ¿ Their fear for the throne caused them to call for a council in Chalcedon to

discuss the state of the excommunicated bishops. She gathered signatures for the “Tome” of Leo to be introduced as the basic paper for a new council to be held at Chalcedon.

The Council of Chalcedon 451 AD ¿ The council was convened because Leo, the Archbishop of Rome, refused to

accept the results of the Second Council of Ephesus 449 AD. Recall this council was convened to refute the heresy of Eutychus, who erroneously stated that the humanity of Christ dissolved in His Divinity (our doctrine refuses this heresy). The Council cleared him when he declared the true faith. The true faith is that after the Incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, He is “One Nature of two after the unity.”

¿ Archbishop Leo made great efforts to set aside Pope Dioscorus as he wanted to reign over the See of Alexandria in Pope Dioscorus’ place.

58

¿ The Council convened 15 times and Pope Dioscorus continued to declare, “I will not accept the Lord to be divided in two.” He continued to establish the teachings of the Fathers, and he refused the reading of Leo’s Tome. No one was able to oppose him because of the strength of his defense. The political realm even tried to dissuade him by threats, but all failed.

¿ The Council of Chalcedon was convened by Pulcheria and Marcion based on the request of Archbishop Leo of Rome

Pope Dioscorus is Persecuted ¿ As the Empress Pulcheria was completely unable to dissuade Pope Dioscorus

from opposing the Emperor or to persuade him to sign Leo’s Tome, she shame-lessly said, “Dioscorus, during my father’s reign, there was a strong willed man like yourself whom my mother removed from his See (St. John Chrysostom).” He replied saying, “Yes, I know what happened to your mother. She was struck with a severe illness, as you know, until she went to the body of St. John and begged for his forgive-ness.” At this, Pulcheria gathered all her strength, smacked him with all her might, knocking out two of his teeth. Then, her men of war and the excommunicated bishops attacked him, struck him severely, and tore his beard.

¿ Even so, Pope Dioscorus remained steadfast and bore the tortures while re-peating, “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter” (Romans 8:36). Then, he sent his teeth and the hair of his beard to his children saying, “I have suffered much to keep the faith of my fathers the saints. And as for you, who have built your faith on the Orthodox rock of faith, fear nei-ther heretics, bloodshed, nor winds of false doctrine.”

59

The Decisions of the council ¿ Refutation of the decisions of the Second Council of Ephesus ¿ The excommunication of Eutychus ¿ The exile of Pope Dioscorus

Pope Dioscorus Rejected The Council of Chalcedon: ¿ While other bishops under pressure signed Leo’s Tome, Pope Dioscorus re-

fused to sign saying, “Even if they cut off my hand, and my blood was poured out on the paper, I will not sign.”

¿ When Pope Dioscorus found out that the council had exiled him under pres-sure from Emperor Marian and his wife, fearing the danger of the spread of the false teachings of this council, he sent to see who had signed the Tome. The bishops of Egypt refused to sign the Tome. Pope Dioscorus wrote on the Tome, in each of its four corners, “This council and all who support it and/or accept its doctrine are Anathema.” He anathematized anyone who added anything to the truth of the Three Ecumenical Councils: Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus. He also anathemized anyone who changed the sayings of the Fathers of these coun-cils.

¿ Emperor Marcain was enraged and thought of killing Pope Dioscorus, but the bishops refused. Thus, Emperor Marcian exiled Pope Dioscorus to the Island of Gagra.

¿ One of the most prominent results of this council was the split of the church. Some teach the true faith (the Lord is one nature of two) and others follow the teachings of Leo (the Lord is two natures).

¿ We must never give up our true faith and doctrine, not even for the sake of love. For example, the Lord refused the false teachings of the Sadducees who didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead, nor in eternal life.

The Departure of Pope Dioscorus ¿ Pope Dioscorus remained five years in exile, preaching Christ to the Pagans.

He departed in the year 457 AD. The Christian Church history is indebted to Pope Dioscorus for defending the true faith against those who thought of the two natures of Christ and against the heresy of Nestorius. Pope Dioscorus also marks the end of the unity of the Church, and the beginning of the first Ecclesiastical

60

schism in the year 451 AD in Chalcedon. This also began an era of persecution by the Malachite, Byzantine Church --that which followed the Emperor, for which the emperor chose its patriarch, to the Coptic Church. The Church celebrates the departure of Pope Dioscorus on Tout 7.

The Life of a Holy Saint ¿ My Church is alive and rich through her saints - ascetics, monks, clergy and lay

people. Throughout history, she has offered saints and martyrs and continues to do so until now.

¿ An example of this saintly life is El Moaalem Ibrahim El Gohary: He was born of righteous parents, and was educated. As a young child, Ibrahim excelled in writing and arithmetic. When he grew up, he began to transcribe religious books and distribute them to churches at his own expense. He brought the books to Pope John (Youannis) XVIII, 107th patriarch of Alexandria, who was enthroned from 1486-1512 A.M. (1770-1796 A.D.) He was very generous in his transcriptions and was a great support to the Church.

¿ While Egypt was under Ottoman Rule, governmental Ministers were called, “Moalem’.

¿ Some of the greatest ministers of that time were El Moalem Ibrahim El Gohary and his brother, El Moalem Girgis El Gohary. They were some of the most famous Copts who held high ranking governmental positions, while still remaining humble, loving the Lord, the Church and the needy.

He was a humble and meek man ¿ When he started to work,

Ibrahim was a scribe to one of the mamalik. The pope mediated with the chief scribe, Moalem Rizk and he took him as his private scribe. He continued in this position until the

61

end of Ali Bek El-Kebir when Mohammed Abu- El-Daheb became the governor, and Ibrahim El-Gohary became the chief scribe of all of Egypt.

¿ The chief scribe of all Egypt is a position which is equal to prime minister to-day. This was the highest governmental position anyone could reach at that time. But this did not affect him. On the contrary, he grew in humility, love, and gener-osity, never preferring one person to another because of religion.

¿ Ibrahim El-Gohary remained in his office until a coup occurred which forced Ibrahim Bek and Murad Bek together with Ibrahim El-Gohary to flee to upper Egypt. The new Governor Hasan Qubtan persecuted the Copts, sold their women and children as slaves to the Mamalik, invaded their homes, violated them and confiscated their belongings. He also confiscated El Moalem Ibrahim El- Gohary’s money.

¿ He went on to change the Copts’ names who were named after the prophets, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph. At that time also, there was a plague in Egypt. The governor was called back to Istanbul, and Ibrahim Bek and Mourad Bek returned to Cairo. Ibrahim El-Gohari returned to his former position and by the Grace of God, El Moalem Ibrahim El Gohary convinced Ibrahim and Mourad Bik to return the money, lands, and property that was confiscated from the Copts, the churches and the monasteries.

His Righteousness and Spirituality ¿ Do not be overcome by evil. There was

a sheikh who, whenever he saw El Moalem Girgis El Gohary, would curse and swear at him. As this went on for a while, Girgis be-came upset. He went to his brother Ibrahim and asked him to stop the man (as he was Prime Minister of Egypt). Ibrahim replied, “Don’t worry, I’ll cut off his tongue.” Then he sent him loads of gifts – butter, cheese, lentils

62

and said, “These are from El Moalem Girgis El Gohary”. The next day, as Girgis walked by that man, the sheikh got up and began to welcome Girgis with words of great respect. Girgis later understood what his brother did and how he did according to the commandment, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head. Do not be over-come by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:20, 21).

He Served at All Times ¿ One time before the feast, a poor Christian woman came complaining about

how her husband was imprisoned and that her children continuously weep his absence to the wife of El Moalem Fanous El Kabir. This righteous woman sent her everything they needed to celebrate the feast, but when her husband returned from church, he found her sad and unable to celebrate. When he questioned her about this she said, “How can we feast when that poor family lives in sorrow?” Then she asked him to do his best to help free the man this night. So, he went im-mediately to the authorities and asked for his release. The man was released and feasted with his family. When he was delayed in meeting with the Pope, as was the custom of the ministers, and El Moalem Ibrahim knew why, he was sad and asked him why he didn’t ask him to help out. The pope replied, “He got him out of prison, you help him find a job.” And so he did.

He served all People ¿ El Moalem Ibrahim found out that a man had been unemployed for 6 months.

He called him and offered him a job, to which the man replied, “Please give it to my brother. He has been unemployed for 7 months, but I still have enough.” El Moalem then found jobs for both of them.

63

He searched for the needy ¿ El Moalem Ibrahim used to pray in the churches of Cairo and Old Cairo. One

day after the Liturgy, he noticed that a man went searching in a trash pile. Upon observation, he saw that the man found a dead duck and took it thanking God. Pretending he didn’t know what had happened, El Moalem waited until the man left the trash pile and approached him, asking about his condition. He was sad that the man did not ask for help and told him that he would take care of him and that he should not hesitate to ask for help once more. Then he sent his servant after him to provide him with his needs.

A cheerful giver ¿ One time a poor man wanted to test El Moalem; he approached him one day

many times asking for alms in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whenever any-one asked him for alms in the name of the Lord, he never refused. That day, he gave that man every single time he asked him, even though the man revealed himself to El Moalem 18 times that one day! At last he cried out, “Blessed are you O El Gohary … God be with you!” El Moalem Ibrahim replied, “Why are you aston-ished? I own nothing, I am only a steward for this money.”

The heavens comforted him ¿ El Moalem’s wife was a righteous woman who encouraged him to do good

deeds. When his son grew up, his father pre-pared for him a private home furnished with furniture for his wedding day. But God chose that his son be with him before his marriage, and Ibrahim was greatly grieved.

¿ The death of his son was the most shock-ing event in his life, but his desire to help the widows, the orphans and the poor intensely increased. Everyone was so astonished by his endurance, patience, and his great control over his disappointment. His wife’s grief was very great - she refused to send the

64

usual endowments to the monasteries. St. Anthony the Great appeared to her in a dream, and comforted her saying, “You must know that God loved your son, and took him in his youth. He also loves his father for a reason, to keep his name pure, for the popularity of his father might have caused his son to shame him and ruin his repu-tation. This is a reward from God to your husband for his godliness and his righteous-ness. Be comforted, and continue your good deeds.”

¿ St. Anthony also appeared to Ibrahim El-Gohary, comforted him and strength-ened his faith. When his wife woke up, and told her husband about her dream, he told her that he also saw the same dream that same night. They surrendered their will to God, and they changed their mourning clothes. Their hearts were filled with comfort, and continued in their good and charitable deeds.

His love for the Church ¿ Ibrahim El-Gohari was

famous for his love of the construction of churches and monasteries, and repairing what was destroyed by the evil hands, as well as furnishing churches.

¿ Because of his influential position in the government and his great favor with the rulers, he was able to issue regulations to permit Copts to rebuild the destroyed churches and monasteries. He also donated many endow-ments of good land and money for reconstruction that amounted to 238 endow-ments as documented in the patriarchate.

His love of prayer ¿ There is a letter written, signed and sealed by him in El Sorian Monastery

asking the Abbots of the Monasteries of Wady El Natroon to pray liturgies for the

65

problem that befell the churches. ¿ The Church declared El Moalem Ibrahim El Gohary and his brother El Moalem

Girgis El Gohary saints because they pleased the Lord with their good deeds, their great generosity, their patience, and enduring trials from the evil one and the world. Sainthood is not a thing just for the clergy & monks, but it is available to everyone who carries out the commandment, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:16)

¿ El Moallem Ibrahim El Gohary departed to his eternal home on Monday the 25th of Bashans 1511 A.M. (May 31, 1796 A.D.). Everyone grieved his departure including the governor Ibrahim Bek who walked in his funeral procession to hon-or him as he had honored him before his death.

¿ Pope Youannis eulogized him for his great love to him. El Moallem Ibrahim El Goahry was buried in the private tomb that he built for himself beside the church of St. George in Old Cairo, which had an oil lamp that was lit day and night. He died without leaving a posterity, but his memory lives forever

66

Daniel, a Man Greatly BelovedThe Holy Bible consists of many stories of prophets and heroes of faith, which call for our attention. One of these great Bible characters is Daniel the Prophet, who was called “greatly beloved.”Daniel was placed in a certain situation that required him to choose between two options:

¿ The first option was to live in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar; and he would forget his God and everything related to God’s commandments and the tradi-tions of his faith. He would have also enjoyed all the worldly pleasures and all the delicacies of food and drink. This is option is considered the wide and easy way which most people might take. Daniel would have had an excuse to take that road because he was taken captive and had no freedom of choice.

¿ The other option was to give up all of those things, of his own will, and choose to not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which the king drank. But this way would put Daniel’s life in danger because is was against the king’s commands. This option is considered the more difficult and narrow way. This is the way of the cross. Only very few people enter by this narrow gate.

In order for us to understand where Daniel falls in history, let us very briefly review the historical timeline of the most famous characters in the Old Testament:

� The timeline starts with Adam, then Noah and the flood, then Abra-ham (around 2000 B.C.), Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.

� Joseph went to Egypt. Later Joseph’s brothers also went to Egypt. Over the years, their descendants became slaves in Egypt. Finally, Mo-ses came and brought them out of Egypt to Sinai. Then Joshua brought them to the Promised Land.

� After Joshua died, the era of the Judges began. Some of the judges include: Gideon, Jephthah, and Samson, etc. Samuel the Prophet was considered the last judge because the people asked Samuel to appoint a king for them like the rest of the nations. Saul the son of Kish became the first King of Israel. David became the king of Israel after Saul. Then Solo-mon the son of David became the king.

67

The Unified Kingdom (12 Tribes of Israel)Under the Reigns of:

King Saul ->King David -> King Solomon

After Solomon, the Kingdom of Israel divided in two

Northern Kingdom

(Israel)

Southern kingdom (Judah)

¿ Samaria is the capital of the

Northern Kingdom

¿ The Northern Kingdom consisted

of 10 tribes out of the 12 tribes Israel

¿ A total of 19 Kings have reigned

over Israel. They descended from 54

different dynasties. All of them were

evil kings.

¿ The first king was Jeroboam the

son of Nabat.

¿ The last king was was Hoshea the son of Elah.

¿ Jerusalem is the capital of the South-

ern Kingdom

¿ The Southern Kingdom consisted of

2 tribes out of the 12 tribes Israel:

� Tribe of Judah; and Tribe of

Benjamin

¿ A total of 20 Kings reigned over

Judah. They were all David’s descendants.

Some of them were righteous kings.

¿ The first king was Rehoboam the son

of Solomon.

¿ The last king was Zedekiah the son

of Josiah.

The Northern Kingdom got totally destroyed

since the time Shalmaneser the king of Assyria

took them into captivitytookaptivity in the

year 722 B.C.

In the year 586 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar the King of Babylon

took the people of the Southern Kingdom into captivity.

They remained under the Babylonian captivity for 70 years;

then they eventually return back to Jerusalem.

Since both kingdoms were evil, God chastened them through captivity.

¿ King Nebuchadnezzar was one of the greatest kings of Babylon and he invad-ed Judah at 3 levels:

� Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin the king of Judah into captivity. He also brought all of the mighty people of Jerusalem as captives to Babylon. No one else remained in Jerusalem except for the poorest people of the

68

� descendants and some of the nobles. From among those were Daniel and his three friends (Daniel 1).

� Nebuchadnezzar also took the articles (treasures) of the House of God and the treasures of the king’s house. He broke all the golden vessels in the Temple of God which Solomon had made. He took captive all their mighty men and all their craftsmen.

¿ The following prophets had prophesied that the kingdom of Judah was going to be taken as captive in Babylon: Isaiah (Is. 39:6-7), Jeremiah (Jer. 25:11), Micah (Mi. 4:10). The prophecy of Isaiah came about 100 years before the Babylonian captivity took place. Jeremiah prophesied that the duration of the captivity would be 70 years but the people did not believe him.

Characters in the book of Daniel:Daniel the Prophet

¿ Daniel was from the tribe of Judah (Daniel 1:6), and from the royal family (Daniel 1:3). When he was about 18 years old, Daniel was taken captive to Babylon during the first captivity.

¿ Daniel was a child at the time of Ezekiel the Prophet. Ezekiel mentioned that Daniel was a wise person or a prophet (Ezekiel 28:3). This means that Daniel started to live a holy life since his child-hood. Daniel was known for his power-ful prayer and its effectiveness (Ezekiel 14:14, 20). Daniel was determined to continue in the life of holiness even during his captivity as we read: “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine

land. Then Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king of Judah in place of Jehoiachin.

� Nebuchadnezzar ordered to bring into captivity some of the king’s

69

which he drank” (Daniel 1:8). ¿ Daniel the Prophet lived in the palace of the greatest kings of Babylon (such

as King Nebuchadnezzar and King Belshazzar) and of the greatest kings of Persia (such as King Cyrus and King Darius).

¿ When the people around Daniel tried to plot against him, Daniel would hum-ble himself before God through prayer and fasting (Daniel 6:4).

¿ Daniel deserved the love of God, of the Angels, and of the kings. Therefore he was called “man greatly beloved” (Daniel 10:11).

¿ Daniel the Prophet lived more than 90 years in wisdom and holiness. He was greatly distinguished in the palaces of the kings of Babylon and Persia. At the time of his burial, Daniel was honored by being buried in the same burial place as the kings of Persia.

The Three Saintly Youths ¿ The three saintly youths were Daniel’s friends and they lived the same lifestyle

as Daniel. They were holy in conduct, held on to God, and never obeyed the king’s orders to worship the idols. This is the influence of a good friendship.

Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon ¿ Based on ancient writing, Nebuchadnez-

zar was known for his pride and ego, power, and love for the idols. He used to think that the idols are the ones that invited him to be-come a king over the Babylonian empire.

¿ He believed that Babylon was where his gods lived. Therefore, he worked hard to make it the greatest country in the world. He eventually built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, which are one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The Chaldeans ¿ The Chaldeans are the priests in Babylon; but foreigners have used the term

70

“Chaldeans” to refer to all citizens of Babylon. This is similar to how foreigners used to call all Egyptians “pharaohs” even though the title “pharaoh” was giv-en only to the king of Egypt.

¿ The most famous gods in Babylon were: Marduk, Bel, Enlil the god of the moon, and their greatest god Nabu.

Outline of the Book of Daniel: ¿ The Book of Daniel is divided into a historical

section (chapters 1 to 6) and a prophetic section (chapters 7 to 12). In this year’s keraza we’ll be focusing on the first six chapters, the historical part of the Book of Daniel.

¿ The main chapter in the Book of Daniel is chapter 9, which prophesies about the first coming of the Messiah and His crucifixion. This chapter also prophesies about the persecution of the children of God at the end of ages, the coming of the antichrist, and the resurrection of the dead.

¿ The remainder of the book of Daniel is found as part of the second canonical books. It consists of:

� The Praise of the Three Saintly Youths (which fits between verses 23 and 24 of Daniel chapter 3)

� The Story of Susannah the Chaste (Daniel chapter 13) � The Story of the Idol Bel and the Dragon (Daniel chapter 14)

Chapter 1: ¿ Nebuchadnezzar’s army surrounded Jerusalem. Then Nebuchadnezzar en-

tered Jerusalem and he brought Jehoiakim the king of Judah along with some youths as captives in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar also confiscated the vessels of the House of God and brought everything to Babylon. Among the captives were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

¿ King Nebuchadnezzar instructed that they bring him some of the children of Israel who are good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, who had ability to serve in the

71

king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language of the Chaldeans. The King also ordered that they must eat of the king’s delicious food.

God gave grace to Daniel in the eyes of the chief of the eunuchs. When we notice that people love and respect us, know that this is because of God’s grace. So why did Daniel receive this grace? Daniel received this grace because

¿ “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the por-tion of the king’s delicacies” (Daniel 1:8).

How about us? What is in our hearts that would allow us to receive His grace? If we are in an environment where people around us have different morals, beliefs, con-ducts, and habits from ours, would we be remain steadfast in our own faith and mor-als, or would we easily give up the way we were brought up in the church?

¿ As a result of his refusal to eat of the king’s delicacies, God rewarded Daniel and the three youth with both wisdom and strength which surpassed all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. When the king examined Daniel and the three youths, he found that their wisdom was ten times better than the wisest people in the kingdom. Notice that God rewards the person who is faithful in his spiritual life. If we desire to understand the Word of God and grow in our spiritual life, we must resist the pleasures and lusts of this world, hold fast to God’s commandments, witness to God, and reject any excuses we might give to ourselves.

¿ After Daniel and the three saintly youth were chosen, their names were changed from names related to God into names related to the idols of Babylon. Their language also was changed from Hebrew to the Chaldean language in order to cause them forget the language of their fathers. Despite all these efforts, they could not change the hearts of Daniel and the three saintly youths. Daniel held on to his relationship

72

with God and His commandments as we read, “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).

� “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthi-ans 15:33). Notice that the friendship between Daniel and the three youth encouraged them to walk in the spiritual path and resist all temptations and the pleasures of this world.

� Spiritual fasting does not weaken the body, but rather it gives enlight-enment. As the Bible teaches us, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matthew. 4:4).

Chapter 2: ¿ Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream, and “his spirit was so troubled that

his sleep left him”. Then the king gave a command to call all the wise people in his kingdom to come and interpret for him the dream. But when they were not able to understand the dream or interpret it, the king ordered to kill them all. They also sought to kill Daniel and his friends with the wise men of Babylon. So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time that he might interpret the dream for the king.

Why do you think Daniel asked

for some time? ¿ Daniel understood

that the solution to the problem of interpreting the dream meant that he should turn to God in prayer. Daniel did this first and foremost instead of trying to figure it out alone with his human wisdom. As we will find

73

out here, God never puts to shame anyone who turns to Him in prayer. ¿ Daniel told his three friends about this matter so they all prayed to God. There-

fore, God revealed to Daniel the dream and its interpretation. ¿ As soon as God revealed the dream to Daniel, he started praising God, who is

the source of all wisdom. We tend to always turn to God during hard times but do we remember to praise God and thank Him after the problem is resolved?

¿ Daniel stood before Nebuchadnezzar and declared to him with all faith and confidence that no man on earth could figure out another person’s dream apart from the God of heaven and earth who is able to reveal these secrets. Then Daniel told the king his dream and its interpretation. Daniel explained to the king that he didn’t understand the dream by using his own human wisdom. Instead, he explained that the dream was revealed by God who wanted to show the king what is going to happen in the last days. Notice here how Daniel speaks in a respectful manner with the king.

¿ Then king Nebuchadnezzar confessed the power and greatness of the God of Daniel. The king also prostrated before Daniel and greatly esteemed him and promoted him. Daniel petitioned the king and interceded for his three friends.

¿ Prayer is our first weapon when facing even the most difficult problems. Here are some of the outcomes of Daniel prayer:

� God saved Daniel from being killed by the king

74

� God gave Daniel divine wisdom above and beyond his human wisdom � God revealed to Daniel the secrets of the king’s dream that none of the

wise men were able to figure out ¿ Daniel witnessed to God before the King with courage and faith, and without

fear. Instead of taking the credit for himself, Daniel glorified God and explained to the king that God is the One who revealed the dream and its interpretation to him.

Chapter 3: ¿ King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge golden statue and ordered everyone to

worship it, or else they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. ¿ After the king had promoted the three saintly youth, the Chaldeans became

jealous of them and wanted to get rid of them. They took advantage of the fact that the three youth worshiped God alone and refused to worship the king’s gold-en image. So the Chaldeans told the king that the three youth hadn’t paid due regard to him and as a result, the king became very angry. Notice the way that the Chaldeans delivered the news to the king.

¿ The king became very angry with the three youth and warned them that if they did not worship the gold-en image, they would be thrown into the fiery furnace. The king even challenged God when he said to the three youth, “Who is the God who will deliver you from my hands?” The three youth answered the king saying:

� We have no need to answer you in this mat-ter

� Our God whom we serve will deliver us � We do not serve your gods

This teaches us that under certain circumstances it is far wiser to not open a matter for discussion.

¿ Even though the king had ordered a very strict punishment to anyone who did not worship the golden image, the three saintly youth refused to obey this order because of their love for God. When they spoke to the King, he was even

75

more enraged. The king ordered that they heat the furnace seven times more than usual, bind the three youth, and throw them into the fiery furnace.

¿ The fire could neither touch nor harm the three youth. The fire only burned their chains to loosen them but it did not touch their clothes nor their bodies.

¿ A Fourth One, who looked like the Son of God, appeared among the three youth and was walking with them in the midst of the fire. God will not necessarily save us from every affliction, but He promised that He will be with us in our afflic-tions. When the king saw the Fourth who looked like the Son of God, the king real-ized God’s power and glory and blessed His Name. The king ordered that the three youth come out of the fiery furnace. The king also made a decree that anyone in the world (not just in Babylon) who speaks inappropriately against the God of the three youth would be cut in pieces. The king highly esteemed the three youth and promoted them in the province of Babylon.

¿ Therefore we learn that the person who holds on to God, will be rescued from affliction by God. God will raise that person above the tribulation with even greater honor than before.

¿ The three saintly youth praised God in the midst of the fiery furnace. Azariah prayed a very powerful prayer (which we sing in the Third Hoos of the Mid-night Praise). The fire had no power on the three youth; it did not touch their bodies nor the hair on their heads. The Son of God came down to be with them and He turned the hot fire in the fur-nace into a cold dew.

� The three saintly youth did not hold on to God in order for Him to saves them from the fiery furnace; but rather they were ready to die for the sake of keeping God’s commandments. We do not worship God with condi-

76

tions; but regardless of whether or not God does what we want, we still love Him because He first loved us.

Chapter 4: ¿ King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that disturbed him. Even though the king

did not fear neither man nor war, this dream made him afraid and troubled him because it was from God. The king issued a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon to tell him the interpretation of the dream; but none of them was able to interpret it. Then the king asked Daniel. Daniel was the only one who was able to interpret the dream because God gave him this gift.

¿ Nebuchadnezzar did not learn from previous experiences that all the magi-cians and wise men of Babylon had failed, and so the king sought them out again. When the wise men of Babylon failed yet again, the king finally turned to Daniel.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream: ¿ Chopping down the tree and cutting off

its branches symbolize that the king will be expelled from living among people and will become like the animals. Leaving the root in its place symbolizes that the king will return to his kingdom again should he return to God and repent.

¿ This dream had a special meaning for the king because the Babylonians used to worship trees. The tree symbolizes Nebuchadnezzar and his kingdom. It’s many fruits represent that it’s not just a spectacle but rather pro-tects those around it and supports them.

¿ When Daniel was about to make the dream’s interpretation known to the king, he wondered how he would present such bad news to the king. Daniel focused on advising the king to repent:

� stop the negatives (reject and forsake sin and unrighteousness) � Do the positives (pursue walking in righteousness and being merciful

77

to the poor). � Daniel advised the king, “Break off your sins by being righteous, and

your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor” (Daniel 4:27). ¿ The dream was fulfilled because the king was prideful and thought that he

was a god. The king lost his mind, lived like an animal, and dwelt among the beasts of the field. After a period of chastisement (7 years) which God permitted, the king was healed and his understanding and reason were returned to him. The king lifted his eyes to heaven and his vision was transformed from being self-im-pressed to confessing the greatness of God. This is repentance and humility.

� God gave the king warnings, and Daniel gave him advice; but the king refused to listen. Let us learn to listen attentively and humbly to the Word of God and to act upon the Godly advice we hear.

� Daniel the Prophet witnessed for God in every opportunity, calling oth-ers to repentance. What about us? Do we witness for God with our good behavior and conduct? Do we encourage one another to repent?

Chapter 5: ¿ King Belshazzar made a great feast and ordered that they bring the vessels of

gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple of Jerusalem. His purpose was to dishonor the holy vessels of God.

¿ God made him see a Hand that appeared and wrote on the wall. This troubled the king so much that he started shaking out of fear. His hip joints were loosened and his knees knocked against each other. The Hand that appeared in front of

the king was the Hand of God which wrote an order against the king and his kingdom because of their sins.

¿ The terrifying words written on the wall were God’s warning to the king that he will be defeated by the king of Persia.

78

Everyone else who saw the Hand’s writing on the wall also became scared. This happened so that all the people who dishonored God would realize that God is greater than all of this and that He is able to defeat and prevent their actions. The holy vessels of God represent our bodies which are the temple of the God, “If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him” (1 Corinthians 3:17). Therefore, it is wrong to tamper with our bodies.

¿ No one was able to interpret the meaning of the words written on the wall. Therefore, the queen came to the banquet hall and told the king about Daniel. Notice how Daniel held on to his original name such that the queen used both of his names. Daniel was about 90 years old by that time but despite his old age, Daniel replied to the king with great courage. Daniel refused all the gifts that king offered him because he knew the end of his kingdom and therefore wouldn’t have enjoyed his gifts.

¿ Regardless, Daniel still fulfilled his duty without waiting for any rewards from the king. Daniel started by explaining how God had dealt with Nebuchadnezzar when he became prideful. This was a necessary introduction when speaking to Belshazzar. The sin of Belshazzar was much greater than the sin of Nebuchadnez-zar because Belshazzar did not learn from the consequences which happened to his father Nebuchadnezzar.

¿ “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN” were the words written on the wall in the Aramaic language. Daniel understood that, because the word “MENE” was repeat-ed twice and because the Hand that wrote on the wall disappeared, it meant that God’s decision was final and would not change.

¿ Belshazzar was so impressed with Daniel’s interpretation that he com-

79

manded that they clothe Daniel with a purple royal robe. This was commanded by Belshazzar without even thinking about the meaning of Daniel’s words and without repentance.

Notice Belshazzar’s strange reaction. What do you think of it? Are we sometimes like Belshazzar, careless, prideful, or apathetic? Might we hear a powerful sermon about eternity but because we are so distracted by fancy words and a good speaker we don’t apply what we hear, not repenting or thinking about how to change our lives accordingly?

� Do not dishonor holy things or take them lightly. The punishment of this sin can lead to death because it means we are dishonoring His gift and are being careless about God.

� The Christian person is a strong person. He does not fear anyone but is always powerfully witnessing for Christ, even in the midst of the darkness of this world.

Chapter 6: ¿ The kingdom of Persia defeated the kingdom of Babylon in the last chapter.

The following events in this chapter took place when Daniel was around 90 years old.

¿ The kingdom was transferred from Babylon to Persia. It was custom that when a kingdom changes, the new king should get rid of all the men that worked for the pervious king and hire new men to work for him. Despite this custom, it was amazing how the new king of Persia kept Daniel as one of his men and even ap-pointed Daniel to a very high position.

80

¿ Without a doubt, the new king Darius had heard about Daniel and asked about his reputation and personality and as a result, trusted him. King Darius ap-pointed Daniel as one of the three governors who ruled over the entire kingdom.

¿ The king thought to set Daniel over the whole realm of Medes and Persia, which was the greatest and strongest kingdom at the time.

¿ The other governors and the satraps envied Daniel and thought how to get rid of him. They kept observing Daniel to try and attach any fault to him.

¿ The king signed a decree saying that anyone who asks a request from any god or man other than the king shall be cast into the den of lions. Daniel heard about this decree, and upon hearing it, he felt that this was a conspiracy from the ene-mies around him.

¿ Daniel went home to pray with all his windows opened. He was not afraid of declaring that he worshipped God. Daniel was not trying to challenge the king but rather prayed just as he usually did (prayer was his custom since his early days).

¿ Daniel knew that the punishment of anyone who disobeyed the king’s decree was to be thrown in the Lions’ den. Nonetheless, Daniel preferred to be thrown into the lions’ den than to spend one day without prayer.

¿ King Darius tried to save Daniel from his enemies but could not based on the law of the kingdom of Medes and Persia. Therefore, the king commanded that Daniel be thrown into the Lions’ den. The king told Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you” (Daniel 6:16).

¿ Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; he was sad and could not fall asleep. The king arose very early in the morning and went with haste to the den of lions. The king cried out with a loud voice sorrowing over Daniel and saying, “Daniel, ser-vant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” So Dan-iel replied saying, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the

81

lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me” (Daniel 6:20-22). ¿ The king became exceedingly

happy and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the lions’ den. The king also commanded that all those who accused Daniel be thrown into the lions’ den instead of Daniel. The lions overpowered those accusers, and broke all their bones in pieces.

¿ The king made a decree that all nations must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel because He is the living God and there is no one who could deliver like Him. Daniel was very successful and prospered during the time of King Darius and King Cyrus the Persian.

� He who understands the value of prayer will never let one day pass by without prayer. Daniel looked toward Jerusalem and prayed three times just as he used to do before. This meant that Daniel had a daily spiritual canon despite his many responsibilities.

� Notice what the Bible says about Daniel: “He knelt down on his knees” (Daniel 6:10) Can you imagine that this old man was regular in his dai-ly prostrations (“metanoias”) even at the age of 90 years old! There’s no doubt that this is what made Daniel so distinguished. We find God’s love for Daniel very apparent in the fact that the king tried to save him. God does not leave His children even in the most difficult afflictions. We learned that God sent His angel to shut the lions’ mouths and to give as-surance and peace to Daniel. Even the king rejoiced with the deliverance of Daniel. Notice that Daniel witnessed to God in all situations in his life; everyone was amazed about Daniel’s great God!

¿ We must be faithful in our prayers and in our spiritual struggles. We saw Dan-

82

iel’s faithfulness in his fasting, prayers, and prostrations. ¿ Witness to God in your behavior and conduct. Others will glorify and love God

through your conduct, attachment to God, and love towards God. ¿ Having a strong relationship with Christ and keeping His commandments are

the secrets for the success of the children of God.

83

My Life is a TalentGod created each one of us to fulfill a specific mission on earth. Each one of us should discover his role and mission in life. This mission should contribute to building the person, his family, his church, and his community.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

In order for us to be effective and fruitful, we must find out: ¿ What we want from God: “So Jesus answered and said to him, ‘What do you

want Me to do for you?’” (Mark 10:51). ¿ What God wants from us: “Lord, what do You want me to do?” (Acts 9:6)

Each Person Has a Talent ¿ Each one of us has one or more talent(s) that distinguish us from each other.

Every person must invest in his talent to benefit himself, the church community, and humanity. In doing so, the person will be able to answer the following questions:

Who am I? Why did God create me? What does God want me to do?

¿ God gives us our talents, abilities, time, and many oth-er gifts. He is waiting for us to invest in these talents wisely until His second coming. As God has entrusted us with these talents, we are therefore responsible to use them in ways beneficial to both ourselves and others to further the goal of entering the Kingdom of heaven.

The number of talents we each have does not matter but our faithfulness in invest-

84

ing them is what matters most.

What is the Meaning of a “Talent”? ¿ A talent is every gift we receive from God. Any and every opportunity that God

grants to me during my life is a gift from Him. We should use our talents for the glory of God’s Name, for the good of others, and for my personal edifica-tion.

¿ God gave each person unique talents according to their own ability. Everyone has a talent. Even if two people are siblings and live in the same house, they may have different talents.

The Types of Talents ¿ General Talents: General talents are free gifts from God to all people but which

are not exclusively owned by us. These gifts include: � Life: The life that I live is a gift from God, “For to me, to live is Christ”

(Philippians. 2:1) � Time: We all have time (24 hours each day); but each one of us chooses

differently how to use this time. One person might deal with his time as a gift from God, by valuing the time, taking care of it, and investing in it. Another person however might neglect and waste his time instead.

� Take heed: your time = your life; your time therefore affects your eterni-ty.

� The body: As the body is also God’s gift to you, you must take care of it and keep it healthy.

� The mind: The mind is also a gift from God. Always think about ways to build up your mind, making it stronger, and filling it with beneficial con-tent that edifies. Doing so will enlighten your mind.

� Emotions: It is important to control our feelings and emotions and to use them in beneficial and edifying ways.

85

� Health: Our health is also a talent. Those who might be suffering from illness will truly understand the value of this gift as the completely healthy might tend to take this gift for granted. It is important for us to evaluate our health by asking ourselves these questions: How do I take care of my health? Do I consider my health to be a gift from God and recognize I am responsible for preserving it and using it to help others? It will also be re-quired of us one day to give an account of your health before God regard-ing what was within your control.

� Membership in the church: Have you ever thought about thanking God for being a member of His church? Do you thank God for being His child? This is truly the greatest gift--that we are the children of God.

¿ Personal Talent: People have different talents, such as music, photography, art, acting, sculpturing. Some people are gifted with beautiful voices and musi-cal ears. Some people love of hymns, poetry, reading and learning. Some people are social and outgoing, calm, delicate in feelings, energetic, leaders, optimistic in life, etc.

¿ If you do not use your talents and potentials, ask yourself why? Then, don’t stop there; take positive actions to invest in your talents.

How Do I Discover My Talents? ¿ Ask Yourself:

� One way to discover your talent is to look deep inside you. Since it is you who knows yourself best, you are best situated and most capable to discover your own talents. Perhaps trying a new hobby or skill for a while and seeing how it goes could reveal your talent. For example, unless you try singing, you will never find out that you have a good voice. Perhaps recalling your childhood talents might help identify talents you want to continue to pursue.

86

¿ Read and Research: � Since discovering your talent is a very important matter, you must put

effort in reading and researching to discover the avenues that attract you and that you enjoy. Moreover, this will help you eliminate things you are not interested in also.

¿ Ask Those Around You: � Another way you could discover your talent is by asking your father of

confession, Sunday school servant, parents, siblings, or friends. Asking those who are closest to you is best as they are the ones who will know you most besides yourself.

� It would be beneficial to you to ask those who have the most experi-ence. Those around you may be able to give you an outside perspective and description of your abilities and characteristics that set you apart from others. This outside perspective is highly beneficial as things might be identified for you which you might not have otherwise been aware.

¿ Try it Out: � The trial method is another way by which one might discover his/her

talents. Perhaps you could try to learn and perform an activity that brings you joy when you do it. This activity might initially start off as a hobby but later develop into something more and reveal a hidden talent within you.

¿ Be Cautious of Comparison: � We should all discover our talents but it is very important that we do

not compare ourselves with others. You are a distinguished person and are unique in your talent, whether it is discovered or yet to be discovered. God is able to use your talent for His glory; this is what our focus should be.

¿ Consider the Good Advice of Those Around You: � The people around you may help you discover things that might be

hard for you to discover by yourself. Therefore, listening to them might also prove beneficial.

87

The Next Step ¿ Once you discover your talent after using the above methods, it is important

that you ensure that you grow your talent so that it flourishes. This can be done by constant training, practicing, learning and studying this talent. By doing this, with God’s help, you will master your talent and make it fruitful.

¿ As God wants us all to discover our talents, invest in them and use them for His glory, it is important to ensure that you neither neglect discovering your talent nor hide a discovered talent. Fail-ing to discover our talents or hiding our talents could have many consequences, of which include addiction.

¿ In addition to being a potential consequence for hiding our talents, addiction is also a hindrance to discovering our talents:

¿ What is Addiction? � Addiction is a disease that is the consequence of getting used to a

specific behavior or taking an addictive substance. These habits direct the person’s behaviors and influence the states of his psychology, body, and spirit, as well as his relationships in obvious ways.

¿ Types of Addiction: ¿ Addictions to certain behaviors:

� The person becomes addicted to a specific habit, and thinks that he cannot get rid of it or belittles its effect. For example, being addicted to certain places, games, Internet websites, etc.

¿ Addiction to certain substances: � The person becomes addicted to taking addictive substances, and gets

attached to them. The person becomes physically reliant on these sub-

88

stances believing that he cannot live without them and may even belittle their effects in front of others. These substances include: alcohol, opiates, narcotic drugs, sedatives, stimulants, and hallucinogens, etc.

¿ Reasons for Addiction: ? Evil company: being among friends who push you to trying addictive sub-

stances. ? Free time: not using your time to do something good/useful. ? Using medications without consulting your physician or pharmacisT ? False means of escape- the devil might use the stresses of life to convince

someone to seek addictive substantives as a false means of escape.

¿ Spiritual Consequences of Addiction: � Defiling God’s holy temple � Falling into many other sins � Feeling enslaved and controlled

(like a slave to his master) � Feeling of defeat and feeling lost � Losing the kingdom of heaven

and the heavenly crown � Delaying and avoiding repen-

tance Therefore, pay attention lest you destroy both your body and your soul, and lose heaven and everything on earth.

¿ The Treatment: � Be convinced of God’s blessings and protection � Refrain from becoming negligent towards your talents � Always be content, filled and satisfied, with God’s gifts to you. As it is

written, “A satisfied soul loathes the honeycomb” (Prov. 27:7)

89

He who dwells in the help of the Most High, shall rest under the shelter of the God of heaven. He shall say to the Lord, “You are my defender and my refuge: my God; I will hope in Him.” For He shall deliver you from the snare of the hunter, and from troublesome matter. He shall overshadow you in the midst of His shoulders, and you shall hope under His wings: His truth shall encompass you as a shield. You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night; nor of an arrow flying in the day; nor of a matter walking in darkness; nor of calamity and demon of noon-day. A thousand shall fall at your left hand, and ten thousand at your right hand; but they shall not be able to come near you. Only with your eyes shall you observe, and see the reward of sinners.

For You, O Lord, are my hope. You have made the Most High your refuge. No evil things shall come upon you, and no plague shall draw near to your dwelling. For He shall give his angels charge concerning you, to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up on their hands, lest you stumble Your foot against a stone. You shall tread on the serpent and basilisk: and You shall trample on the lion and dragon.

For he has hoped in Me, and I shall deliver him: I shall protect him, because he has known My name. He shall beseech Me, and I shall hear him: I am with him in affliction; and I shall deliver him, and glorify him. I shall satisfy him with length of days, and show him My salvation. ALLELUIA.

Me morizationPSALM 90 (AGPEYA) HE WHO DWELLS...

90

1. Behold, I am about to stand before the Just Judge terrified and trembling because of my many sins. For a life spent in pleasures deserves condemnation. But repent, O my soul, so long as you dwell on this earth, for inside the grave, dust does not praise. And among the dead, no one remembers, neither in hades, does anyone give thanks. Therefore arise from the slumber of laziness, and entreat the Savior, repenting and saying, “God, have mercy on me and save me.”

Glory to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.2. If life were everlasting, and this world ever-existing, you would have

an excuse, O my soul. But if your wicked deeds and ugly evils were exposed before the Just Judge, what answer would you give while you are lying on the bed of sins, negligent in disciplining the flesh!? O Christ our God, before Your awesome seat of judgement I am terrified, and before Your council of judgement I submit, and from the Light of Your divine radiance I tremble, I, the wretched and defiled, who lies on my bed, negligent in my life. But I take example of the Publican, beating my chest and saying, “O God, forgive me and have mercy on me, a sinner.”

Now and forever and unto the ages of all ages, Amen.3. O pure Virgin, overshadow your servant with your instant help, and

keep the waves of evil thoughts away from me, and raise up my ailing soul for prayer and vigil, for it has gone into a deep sleep. For you are a capable, compassionate and helpful mother, the bearer of the Fountain of Life, my King and my God, Jesus Christ, my hope.

Me morizationTHE LITANIES OF THE

COMPLINE PRAYER

91

Me morization

Lord, all our sins which we committed against You in this day, whether in deeds or in words or in thoughts or through all senses, please remit and forgive us, for the sake of Your holy name, as You are Good and Lover of mankind. God, grant us a peaceful night and a sleep free from all anxiety. And send us an angel of peace to protect us from every evil, and every affliction, and every temptation of the enemy; through the Grace, compassion and love of mankind of Your Only-Begotten Son, our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, to Whom is due, with You and with the Holy Spirit, the Life-Giver Who is of one essence with You, all glory, honor and dominion, now and forever and unto the ages of all ages. Amen.

The Absolution of the Compline Prayer

92

Me morization

O Lord, God of hosts, who exists before all ages and abides forever, who created the sun for daylight, and the night as rest for all men; we thank You, O King of ages, for You have let us pass through the night in peace, and brought us to the daybreak. Therefore, we ask You, O our Master, the King of all ages, to let Your face shine upon us, and the light of Your divine knowledge enlighten us. Grant us, O our Master, to be sons of light and sons of day, to pass this day in righteousness, chastity and good conduct, that we may complete all the rest of the days of our life without offence; through the grace, the compassion and the love of mankind of Your Only-Begotten Son Jesus Christ, and the gift of Your Holy Spirit, now and at all times and forever. Amen.

THE FIRST ABSOLUTION OF THE PRIME PRAYER

93

Me morization Marensep`hmot `ntotf ...

Marensephmot `ntotf `mpireferpe;nanef ouoh `nnayt@ V] Viwt `mpen= o= c ouoh pennou] ouoh penCwtyr I= y= c P= ,= c.

Let us give thanks to the be-neficent and merciful God, the Father of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ

Je aferckepazin ejwn@ aferboy;in ` eron@ afareh ` eron afsopten ` erof. Af]a-co eron@ af]toten afenten sa ` ehryi ` etaiounou ;ai

For He has covered us, helped us, guarded us, accepted us to Himself, spared us, supported us, and has brought us to this hour.

N;of onmaren]ho ` erof hop-wc `ntefareheron@ qen paie-hoou e;ouab vai nem nie-hoou tyrou `nte penwnq@ qen hiryny niben@ `nje pi-pantokratwr `P= o= c pennou].

Let us also ask Him, the Lord our God, the Pantocrator, to guard us in all peace this holy day and all the days of our life

94

N;of on maren]ho ` erof hopwc `ntefareheron@ qen paiehoou e;ouab vai nem niehoou tyrou `nte penwnq@ qen hiryny niben@ `nje pipan-tokratwr P[oic Pennou].

Let us also ask Him, the Lord our God, the Pantocrator, to guard us in all peace this holy day and all the days of our life

Vnyb P= o= c V] pi Pantokratwr@ `Viwt `m Pen[oic ouoh pennou] ouoh Pencwtyr Iycouc Pi,rictoc

O Master, Lord; God the Pan-tocrator, the Father of our Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ.

Tensephmot `ntotk kata hwb niben nem e;be hwb ni-ben nem qen hwb niben

We thank You for everything, concerning everything, and in everything

Je akerckepazin ` ejwn@ ak-erboy;in ` eron@ akareh ` eron@ aksopten ` erok@ `ak]aco ` eron@ ak]toten@ akenten sa ` ehryi ` etaiounou ;ai

For You have covered us, helped, us guarded us, ac-cepted us to Yourself, spared us, supported us, and have brought us to this hour

95

Through the grace of God and under the auspices of His Grace Bishop David, Bishop of the Diocese of New York and New England and the current Papal Exarch of the Archdiocese of North America for H.H. Pope Tawadros II, this Mahragan book was translated and formatted by the blessed servants of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York and New England. All material was translated from the Arabic Language to the English Language.