Our beloved father HH Antonios Patriarch of Eritrea
Letters & messages from H.H. Antonios
The Transformed Cross September 27, 2008
Crucifixion was an ancient form of capital punishment. It was degrading, humiliating, and caused agonizing pain. Ultimately the CROSS symbolized absolute failure and death. Due to its barbaric nature, crucifixion was reserved for the lowliest of criminals: the slaves' death or the murderers' punishment. Today, many still look upon the CROSS with profound horror as a cruel way to inflict punishment or bring about death. It probably took Jesus' followers years to accept the symbol of Him on the CROSS as a symbol of their faith.
A Brief Life of St. Cyril of Alexandria September 14, 2008
Our knowledge of Saint Cyril’s childhood education and early upbringing is quite meager. According to Saint Isidore of Pelusium and church historian Socrates, Saint Cyril was born in Alexandria around the year 380.
With the blessing of yet another Coptic New Year approaching, each one of us should consider the importance and meaning of "redeeming the time". St. Paul specifically preaches about the importance of continually walking in God's Will, guarding against all manner of evil. Christians do not dispute God's creation of the world as being good, but rather man created ungodliness within it as evil.
Therefore what is faith? And what is its connection to oil which signifies the Holy Spirit? and what is its connection with the will of God who is in heaven? This faith is alive and is accepted by God as we'll see later... Faith is not simply a belief but also a life. You can test it by its fruits in your life... as the Lord said " You will know them by their fruits....every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.
Is It Correct to Pray to the Virgin? August 16, 2008 We do not pray to the Virgin but we address her when we pray and entreat her to intercede for us. Not only do we address the Virgin, but we also address the angels, nature, people, ourselves and even the Devil. This is based on written texts from the Divine Inspiration and is not considered prayer. Why should we not address our mother the Virgin in particular?
Faith Is Beyond The Level Of Our Senses August 16, 2008 Faith does not contradict but beyond our senses. Faith is a higher power than our limited senses. Our senses are only capable of detecting physical or materialistic things, but there are other matters, which are beyond the material sense. The senses are also limited in what they can physically detect. Instruments are often used to sense details and gain information which the senses alone can not accomplish.
The Orthodox hurch belief of God is based upon how He has revealed Himself to His people through the Holy Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. Orthodox theology never speculates in its beliefs (e.g.., the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, the person of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Jesus Christ, sacramental theology, etc.), but is very comfortable in saying, when things are inexplicable or impossible to comprehend by the human mind, that it is a "mystery."
The Features of the Church: From Doctrine to Unity August 2, 2008 "...Till we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...speaking the truth in love we may grow up in all things into Him who is the head Read more
The Lord Jesus in Our Hearts July 26, 2008
In the beginning, human beings rejected God's rules and ran their lives their own way. The result was to be condemned by God and face death and judgment. But because of God's great love and generosity, He did not want to leave us to suffer the consequence of our foolish rebellion. So to save us, God sent His only Son into our world to become a human being just like us, with a heart, body and soul. Jesus Christ lived on earth and made His body submit to God, to love and care for others and also to suffer for our sake. Read more
The Eritrean Orthodox Youth Retreat of the Eastern US, has been completed with great success
