Sunday, 24 January 2016

Exposition: Saint Antony

Exposition: Hail to our father the great among the saints Ava Antonious (Antony), the father of all monks

†	Hail to you our Father, Saint Ava Antony, who has become father to all monks.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who has become a star in the wilderness.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who left the world with everything in it.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who determined to leave this transitory world reflecting, "I would rather leave this world willingly than unwillingly and of my own accord rather than against my will."
†	Hail to you my Father Saint Ava Antony for you listened to the words of the Gospel: "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." (Matt 19:21) Henceforth, you went and sold all that you had and distributed it among the poor and followed the Master whom your soul loved, leaving just very little for your sister. And, when you heard the word of the Master once more saying, "Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things" (Matt 6:34), you put your sister in a convent and made your way to the wilderness, carrying the cross faithfully after your Master whom your soul loved.
†	Hail to you my Father Saint Ava Antony whose good reputation spread all over the world.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who crushed the devils by the power of your prayer and your true humility.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who endured so many hostilities and mischief of the devils, and who conquered them by the power of Christ our Master, glory be to Him.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, O you mighty fighter who conquered Satan and all his ranks. Blessed are you, O my Father, the saint, and blessings are acquired from you.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who are full of every grace.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who enlightened the world with your spiritual teachings.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, the star of the wilderness, the crown of Monasticism and the father of the dwellers of all monasteries and prairies.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who has become a harbor and salvation for all monks.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who blossomed as a palm tree and grew as the cedar of Lebanon, raised in the house of the Lord.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, for you deserved to attend the departure of St. Paul the Anchorite to eternal rest, and wrap his holy body in the garment of St. Athanasius, after taking his coarse garment, and then you prayed upon him and buried him.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, the lightened lamp attired in spirit, father of all monks.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who has become a harbor and salvation to obtain eternal life.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who left earthly property, and loved angelic purity and inhabited the wilderness as a mighty lion before the attacks of the wicked devils.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who loved the Lord and longed for Him since your childhood, rejecting the glory of the world with everything in it, saying with David the Psalter, "God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; My soul thirsts for You; My flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land Where there is no water. So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, To see Your power and Your glory… My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me." (Psa 63:1-2,8)
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who has become beloved to our Master Jesus Christ, glory be to Him... A friend to the angels, a prophet in your generation, a founder of the law of virtue, harbor and salvation for the many souls which you brought back to God, unconquerable fighter against the malicious spirits.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, who disciplined his body in virtue till the Spirit dwelt in you and you finished your struggle on the 22nd day of the blessed Coptic month of Touba.
†	Hail to you our Father, the great Saint Ava Antony, whose departure to eternal life was attended by our Master Jesus Christ-glory be to Him- the angels, the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, and the saints, to lead your blessed soul in a great procession to the place of rest and comfort in the Paradise of Delight.
†	Great is your name in all Egypt and the whole world, O, our Father, the great saint Ava Antony.
†	Hail to your holy body, out of which, recovery of our spiritual and bodily ailments has sprung.
†	Hail to the sepulcher full of grace.
†	Verily, your good remembrance has moved my heart, O our Father Ava Antony.
†	Intercede for us O our Father the great Saint Ava Antony before the Lord to help us, as He had helped you to complete your strife peacefully through your prayers, and forgive us our sins through your supplications and to gather us with you forever in the new Jerusalem ww.stantonymonastery.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70:exposition-saint-antony&catid=24:saint-antony&Itemid=5 .

Pain or Glory? by Pope Shenouda

This last Sunday Orthodox Churches all around the world celebrated the Resurrection of Christ!

Christians during the 50 days after the feast of Ressurection used to greet each other with “Khristos Anesti” (Christ is Risen) and the reply would be “Alithos Anesti” (He is truly Risen). Orthodox Churches worldwide still use this same greeting until now. So, Khristos Anesti!

In order to talk about the Resurrection, I need to talk about Palm Sunday first, then God willing I’ll post about the Resurrection very soon.

Our father Pope Shenouda went to Heaven, but he left behind him spiritual treasures for our benefit. He wrote more than a hundred books and so many articles. So I thought in his memory I will post an article he wrote several years ago. For the arabic version click here.

___________________________________________________________

Orthodox Christians celebrate Palm Sunday today, when Christ was received in Jerusalem with olive branches and palm tree leaves.

And on this occasion we want to reflect on an important spiritual point about which to choose: Pain or Glory?

On that day Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and his fame as a teacher has astonished many people, as well as his miracles and healing of the sick, resuscitating the dead and casting out devils, doing what no one has done before. Moreover, being known as a huge public leader had gathered around him many hearts with love and admiration.

So he was received by the people of Jerusalem as the king, with palm tree leaves and olive branches, and the loud cheering, and they wanted to inaugurate Him as their king, in order to save them from the Roman rule, and maintain for them a powerful kingdom of prestige and power, and return to them the greatness of Solomon ..

But Jesus refused to be king, and rejected the earthly Kingdom, as He wanted to form a spiritual Kingdom where He would reign on the hearts, not an earthly kingdom of the throne and scepter, of soldiers and knights…

He knew that the Jews were thinking about the earthly secular world, in pursuit of power, fame and influence. So, He came to save them and save the world from this earthly, materialistic perspective. He did not come into the world to be the king of the Jews and bring to them the world, but on the contrary, to save them from its desires.

Rejecting the idea of being the earthly King, had made those Jews reject Him, and conspired to kill him. Thus, Christ rejected the glory, and preferred the road of pain.

He preferred to be persecuted by the Jews, than to be a king over them. He never wanted to be involved with the people in their wishes and desires. Indeed, what’s the benefit of a king to them, when they are far from God and taking only the manifestations of religion and leaving its soul, so God rebuked them, saying: “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me” (Mathew15:8)

Jesus wanted to purify the people and sanctify them, not to rule over them, he wanted to free their hearts from sin, not to free them from the Romans who possessed them as a result of their sins.

But the Jews were far from that spiritual way of thinking, they did not think at all about their souls and their salvation, which was the thing that concerned Christ the most.

All their thoughts were limited to the earthly kingdom alone. So they were disappointed in Christ, who talked with them about spirituality and refused the earthly Kingdom. Thus they settled their minds to kill Him. And started the conspiracy about Him, on the same day that they chose Him as a king!!! Thus they rejected Him.

It’s not strange that He was rejected for it was said about Him that “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11) “And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John1: 5) … He Came to light the world, and men loved darkness rather than light… They Rejected Christ, and asked for Barabbas … Their hearts were darkened, and they did not understand where their well-being was… As they sought to kill Christ, they punished themselves not Him… And Christ walked in the way of Calvary, on the way of the cross…

With that, Christ has established an important principle, which is that pain is superior to the worldly glory, or that pain is the way to the real glory .. No glory without pain … Or, that the glory of man lies in pain.

That’s why Christians have always loved the passion of the Christ, and celebrated His pain … In every age they have a week called “Holy Week” or “Week of pain” … Not ashamed but proud of the sufferings of Christ. They believe that his pain for us is a sign of love, and a sign of giving, and a sign that He refused the transient glories of the world. However, that the name of glories is the wrong name..

The Prince of Poets, Ahmed Shawqi, was right when he said:

The genius enjoyed the pain … The most brilliant thing in life is pain

Everyone who walks in the way of God must suffer for Him, and should find pleasure in pain… And all virtue without pain is a cheap virtue free of giving…

Therefore, every human being on the last day, will give an account of his work, and will be rewarded by the amount of his pain for the Lord. As the Book says: “each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor” (1Corinthians 3:8)… If that is so, we are entitled to ask:

What is the amount of your suffering for the Lord? What is the amount of your giving and your pain?

Apply this rule on all your deeds; If you found an obstacle in the way of virtue, give all your efforts to cross it. If you found pain in the path of goodness, endure it with joy and satisfaction. If you found a good deed that needs effort and fatigue, do not care about tiredness, and be with a strong heart…

Know that God, whom you love, can never forget the tiredness of love. Remember the stories of the holy martyrs who have suffered for the Lord, and were happy in their pain, and the people who were astonished by the strength of their endurance. No matter how much is your pain, it cannot be compared to their pain and sufferings. As well as the prophets and heroes of faith (Hebrews 11), all of them were exhausted because of their High goals, and God rewarded them for their pains, which were their way to glory.

Rest does not create heroes, neither does pleasure create saints.

And how correct were the wise words of the poet who said:

And if the souls are high, then the bodies are weary to reach this height

We in this life, must exert all our energies, and sacrifice all our comfort, for God and His kingdom, and for the ideals that we believe in, and putting before us the words of Scripture:“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1Corinthians 15:58)

And the pains that we endure for God, we must bear with contentment and without grumbling because being discontent makes us lose the reward, which is the evidence that the inside of the heart is not responsive to external pain, and not submitting itself as a pleasing sacrifice to God. Our saintly fathers used to rejoice in pain. The disciples of Christ when they were whipped by the Jews, the book says about them: “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5: 41). History shows us that, in the first century, the prisons were full of praises and hymns and spiritual songs of the Christian people who were awaiting for their death in any moment.

The pain of the present age, cannot be measured with the glory which awaits the believer in eternity. Whoever contemplates in heaven and its glory, and in eternal bliss, and in the angels and saints, and what God has prepared for His saints in the other world, trivializes for him all the tiredness he endures for God’s sake. Trivializes for him all the waking and staying up in the night to pray, and the tiredness he bears when fasting and worshiping, and the effort he exerts to get away from a certain sin, or in order to get rid of a wrong habit.

Know that the holy pain is not a sign of weakness; it is an evidence of the strength of the heart from inside. It was never said that the martyrs were weak in their deaths and their sufferings, but they were strong in heart and in faith…

meditationsofacopt.wordpress.com

Saturday, 23 January 2016

Saint Takla Hemanot the Ethiopian

Part 6: His Death

When Saint Takla's days came to an end, and his body turned like a burned piece of wood, God appeared to him and told him that he would die of plague, and he would go to heaven with three of his followers.

When it was time for him to die, he got sick of the plague as well as three other monks. He saw God, Virgin Mary and many angels headed by the Archangel Michael.. And his cave was lighted with heavenly light, and it was full of a nice scent and his soul was carried to heaven. This was on 24th of Mesra, at the age of 99 years and 8 months.

His followers took his body and mummified it and he was buried in his cave. He remained there outside the monastery for 56 years. In the 57th year, Saint Takla Hemanoat appeared to Pope "Hezkial" (who was "Elishah", his follower) and told him to move his body to the monastery, and he did.

There was a great celebration and the saint told them of a sign that after they carry his body around the alter three times, the lamp would light by its own, and when that happened, everybody was happy. While the people were touring with the body of the saint, a man was tripped over by the people because it was crowded. His leg was broken; but once he touched the body of the saint, he was cured and went walking as if nothing happened. Saint Takla's body was buried under the alter in the church that bears his name in the monastery of "Libanous" in "Shawa".
St-Takla.org

Saint Takle Himanot the Ethiopian

Part 5: His Monasticism

Then one day Jesus Christ appeared to the saint and told him to go to the land of "Amhara" and stay in its monastery until He talks to him again and told him that Michael the Archangel would be with him.

On his way to the land of "Amhara", Saint Takla met a monk and they both went to the monastery on a holy cloud prepared by God till they reached there in two days instead of several months.

When the saint was known all over the place, he asked God to protect him from pride, so Michael the Archangel appeared to him and told him to go to the monastery of "Saint Stephans". On the way he saw a deep river that he couldn't cross, so an angel appeared to him and asked him to follow him on the surface of the water. The angel disappeared and the saint appeared as if he was walking on land, until he reached the other side. He lived there in great awe; always praying and fasting.

One night God showed him the happiness and the glory of the saints in heaven and he became very happy; specially that he always remembered and imagined the souls of the saints.

From there Saint Takla Hemanoat got out to the land of the "Fakharany" with the guidance of the angel. He went there to a saint monk called "John" and remained there under his guidance for 12 years in the monastery of "Adgway".

The angel appeared to the saint and asked him to go to a cave down the valley. The saint said goodbye to the head monk of the monastery and all the monks went out to see him off. The monks were used to tying whoever gets down with a rope (since the monastery was on top of a hill). While Saint Takla was going down, the rope was cut and the monks were terrified, but they saw six wings getting out from his sides, and carried him until he reached the ground. The monks got back glorifying God for his greatness and for protecting his people.

THE ANCHORITE OF SAINT TAKLA'S

Our saint got down to a big desert, and he found there many saints who were used to fasting for five days and do not eat any food; but they were used to eating from the desert plants and drink from the dew drops on Saturdays and Sundays. He visited many monasteries and churches and he was very keen on visiting Jerusalem, so he went there and saw where Jesus was baptized.

Then the angel of God appeared to Saint Takla telling him to go to the land of "El-Sofan" where his grave would be, and there he should build a church bearing his name.

SAINT TAKLA'S LAST DAYS

He last settled in the land of "Shawiry" where he built his well-known monastery known as "Elbianos". Many people followed him and became Monks. He exerted a lot of effort in praying and fasting and kneeling before God. He even used to pray standing on one foot; the right one, until his leg was broken! His monks took it and covered it. He never got out of
St-Takla.org
his cave, but remained there till his death.

Saint Takla Himanot the Ethiopian

Part 4: His Priesthood

Then he became a priest and his prayers and fasting increased. He stayed with his father until his mother passed away on the 12th of Mesra. Then his father passed away too.

One day while he was practicing his hobby of hunting in the woods, God appeared to him held on the wings of angels saying: "I am your God who protected you since your childhood… Now you hunt people instead of animals. From now your name will be "Takla Hemanoat"." Then the heavenly insight disappeared.

"KETANA" BELIEVES IN CHRIST

The saint heard that in "Ketana" the people worship a tree that is haunted by a devil which they fear. They were also controlled by a group of magicians. So he went there and prayed until the devil cried out: "Send Takla Hemanoat away. He is dangerous". Then the saint asked for the help of the Archangel and hence asked the tree to follow him. Its roots made a sound like thunder while it was moving and a lot of people were afraid and the roots killed a lot on the road. The devil shouted asking the saint why he was torturing him and if it wasn't enough that he left the land of "Talanes"? The saint asked the devil to confess before all the people that he was cheating and to tell them who the real God is, so the devil confessed that Jesus Christ is the real God.

The saint started preaching the people and they were all baptized. They were 111,500. They constructed a church and had their communion. As for the people who were killed by the devil; Saint Takla prayed to God to arise them from the dead. God answered his prayers. The saint baptized about 60,000 people and all "Ketana" became Christians..

While the saint was devoted to praying and fasting in the desert, he heard a voice calling him 3 times asking him to go to "Damout" because there are many people there who needed preaching. Saint Takla was asked to build a church under the name of Virgin Mary there.

While he was on his way to "Damout", Saint Takla Haymanot was haunted by many devils and he crossed himself to force them away. When he got there, he started breaking all the statues that the people worship.

The saint knew that the son of the prince was haunted by a devil; so he prayed for him and the devil got out in the shape of a monkey. The prince believed in Christ and was baptized along with his wife and son. Saint Takla was able to cure a lot of diseases and got out devils by praying to God.

When king "Montemly" heard that Saint Takla baptized his son, he was very sad and sent his soldiers to the prince to extradite Saint Takla, but the prince refused. So the king sent more soldiers to get the prince and the saint.

When they reached the king, they were tortured a lot, but God's angel cured them. Then they were thrown in a cave full of monsters, but again God's angel got them out safely. Then the king himself tried to throw a spear at Saint Takla, but his hand was paralyzed and he cried of pain. The king then ordered the two men to be hanged on two trees. But when the saint was hanged by the neck in the tree, it bent till the saint's feet reached the ground, and there were holy lights from heaven and people saw angels… All this happened till the king at last believed in God and was
St-Takla.org
baptized.

Saint Takla Himanot the Ethiopian

Part 3: HIS CONSECRATION AS A DEACON

One night Michael, the Archangel appeared to Pope "Kyrillos" of "Ethiopia" in a dream, and told him that the next day a dark colored man would go to him, and would kneel before him. That man had a blessed son, and he was chosen for heaven and he was great before God.. "Consecrate him as a Deacon, then leave him go peacefully", he said.

After this was done while the father and the son were returning, the son asked a group of people for a place to spend the night. One of the group insulted him and hit him without cause. The son shouted asking the help of the Archangel and the man was greatly harmed. The son couldn't bear that because he was full of the Holy Spirit, and he prayed for the man to be cured and the angel cured him, so he believed in God and all his friends and family.

While the son and the father were getting back, (after spending the night at "Amhara") their water was finished and the food became less; so the saint prayed aside and God then created a spring so they could drank from.

The saint's parents wanted him to get married, but he refused because he dedicated himself completely to God. So they accepted, but the girl stayed with them at their home (according to the traditions at these countries), but s
St-Takla.org
he stayed a virgin as she wished too..

Saint Takla Himanot the Ethiopian

Part 2: His Birth

On the 24th of Kiahk, "Sarah" gave birth to a beautiful son and called him "The happiness of Sehioun", or " The happiness of the churches". There were many miracles done by him; like when he talked when he was only 3 days old. He was baptized on his 40th day.

After a year and a half, there was a terrible famine that his parents couldn't make the following feast for Michael the Archangel. One day, the mother was praying to God so that she could do anything for the feast of the Archangel. While she was carrying her baby, he wiped her tears and pointed to the kitchen where some flour in a plate were present. He put his hands in the flour and it poured and poured, that the mother gathered every container she had in the house. And the same happened with the ghee, oil and honey. This was on the 12th of Baramhat.

God also gave him the gift of studying the psalms and the Holy Bibl
St-Takla.org

Saint Takla Himanot the Ethiopian

አባታችን ቅዱስ አቡነተክለ ሃይማኖት

St-Takla.org Image: Saint Taklahymanout the Ethiopian

صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: القديس تكلاهيمانوت الإثيوبي

Our patron saint is the most famous saint in Ethiopia.. And he is one of the very few, if not the only human on earth given wings! It is good to note here that Saint Tekla Himanout is one of the very few saints that Christians celebrate their birthday.. He performs many miracles daily in the lives of His children, and we touch it everyday in His Church..

Here is His story divided into six parts.. And don't forget to watch St. Takla's Arabic flash movie, narrated by a four years old girl. There are also translations of the story: St. Takla's Life in Arabic - St. Takla's Story in French.

Finally, we have visited Ethiopia looking for the Holy places of St. Teklehimanot.. You'll find the details of St-Takla.org's visit St-Takla.org to Habesha, 2008.

1} A Brief Biography of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III

His Holiness was born on August 3, 1923 in the city of Asuit in Upper Egypt; he was given the name of Nazir Gayed. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in History in 1947 from the University of Cairo. Mr. Gayed was very active in his church and served as a Sunday School teacher, first at Saint Anthony's Church in Shobra and then at Saint Mary's Church in Mahmasha. He worked as a high school English and Social Studies teacher in Cairo by day, and attended classes at the Coptic Theological Seminary by night. Upon graduation from the seminary in 1949, he was chosen to teach New Testament Studies. He was appointed in 1953 as a teacher in the Monastic School.

St-Takla.org Image: The Great Pope Shenouda the third, Pope of Alexandria and the See of Saint Mark

صورة في موقع الأنبا تكلا: قدس البابا شنوده الثالث بابا الأسكندرية وبطريرك الكرازه المرقسيه

From his youth, His Holiness enjoyed writing very much, especially poems; he is a remarkably literate man as evidenced by the over 100 books that have been written by him. For many years, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the Sunday School Magazine. At the same time, he followed his post-graduate studies at the Seminary of Archeology.

On July 18, 1954, Mr. Gayed was led to the monastic life at "El-Suryan" Monastery in the western desert of Egypt; he was given the name of Father Antonyos El-Suryaani. For six years, from 1956 to 1962, he lived a life of solitude in a cave about seven miles away from the monastery, dedicating all his time to meditation, prayer, and asceticism.

In 1962, he was ordained by the late Pope Cyril VI as Bishop of Ecclesiastical (Religious) Education and was named President of the Coptic Theological Seminary; he was given the name of Bishop Shenouda on September 30, 1962. Continuing from his literary past, Bishop Shenouda published the first issue of "El-Keraza" magazine in Arabic in 1965, and remains the Editor-in-Chief to this day.

On November 14, 1971, His Holiness was enthroned as Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of Alexandria, and successor of the see of St. Mark.

2 - Early Life

His Holiness Pope Shenouda II was born the youngest of eight children on August 3, 1923 in the Upper Egyptian province of Assyut, and was named Nazeer Gayed. By the age of sixteen, Nazeer began service in the Sunday School of St. Anthony's Church in Shobra, Cairo, where he also went to school.

In 1943, Nazeer entered the University of Cairo and completed a Bachelor of Arts in English and History while he spent his summer vacations at the Monastery of St. Mary (Souryan). Although at this time only graduate students were admitted to the evening classes at the Coptic Theological Seminary, Dean Archdeacon Habib Guirguis admitted Nazeer while he was still in his final year of undergraduate study.

After graduation from the University of Cairo in 1947, Nazeer completed his military service and began work as a teacher of English and History. Meanwhile, he completed his Bachelor of Theology and the Dean appointed him as lecturer in the Old and New Testaments. In 1950 Nazeer resigned from his secular employment to take a full-time lecturing position. In 1953, he was appointed a lecturer at the Monastic College in Helwan.

Nazeer and other servants labored for several years to establish a strong Sunday School and youth group at St. Anthony's Church in Shobra. his service produced hundreds of devoted servants who began establishing youth groups in neighboring parishes.

3 - Monastic Life

The road to monasticism was a natural consequence of the desire from his early years to consecrate his life to Christ. "...I found in monasticism," Pope Shenouda once said, "a life of complete freedom and clarification." he joined the Souryan Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun and, a year later, he was ordained a priest, taking the name Fr. Antonyos (Anthony) El-Souryani. In 1959, His Holiness Pope Kyrillos VI appointed Fr. Antonyos as his personal secretary.

On September 30, 1962, Pope Kyrillos VI ordained Fr. Antonyos as Bishop Shenouda, the first bishop for Christian Education. He became the President and Dean of the Theological Seminary, and by late 1969 the enrollment of full-time students doubled and the enrollment of part-time students increased 10 times its original number. Under his presidency, women were admitted to the College and several were appointed lecturers. His Grace's efforts were recognized in 1969 when he was elected President of the Association of Middle East Theological Colleges.

4 - Enthronement as Pope of Alexandria

On March 9, 1971, His Holiness Pope Kyrillos (Cyril) VI departed in peace. The Holy Synod met on March 22 to plan for the election of the new Patriarch. Among the final three candidates was Bishop Shenouda. On October 31, 1971, the altar ballot was conducted during the Pix/Dividers/divine Liturgy on the Feast of Saint Reweis. At the end of the Liturgy, His Eminence Metropolitan Antonyos, laid his hands on a young boy who was then blindfolded and told to choose one of the three pieces of paper from the box. The ballot box had been taken from the altar and placed on an elevated table. As the congregation prayed the Lord's Prayer and the words "Lord Have Mercy," the boy chose one of the pieces of paper and gave it to Metropolitan Antonyos, who then joyfully declared God's chosen shepherd for His church as His Grace Bishop Shenouda, Bishop of Education.

On November 14, 1971, in Saint Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III was enthroned as 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark. His Holiness became the first patriarch of Alexandria since the fifth century to have been Dean of the Theological Seminary. He continues to lecture at the branches of the Seminary in Cairo, Alexandria, and abroad and at the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies. To meet the expanding ministry of Christian education, His Holiness established other branches of the seminary in Egypt, as well as three graduate institues: Biblical Studies, Hymnology, and Coptic Language. On November 29, 1993, he officially opened the Institute of Pastoral Care. For his erudition in theology and scripture, His Holiness has been awarded four honorary Doctoral Degrees in Theology, three from American Universities and one from a German University.

His Holiness' edifying and spiritually uplifting sermons have won international acclaim; in 1978 the Browning Institute awarded him the prize for the best Christian preacher in the world. His Holiness is also the author of more than eighty books on a variety of subjects, and over the past 20 years, he has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Church's official magazine, EL-KERAZA.

5- Pastoral Activities

His Holiness ordained more than seventy bishops, established general bishoprics, including the first Bishopric of Youth, more than four hundred priests, and countless deacons for Cairo, Alexandra and the Churches abroad. This extended the pastoral care to every city, village and family all over the See of St. Mark. His Holiness continually holds meetings and seminars with the clergy to discuss any pastoral problems or needs.

His Holiness also gives special attention to the service of women in the Coptic Orthodox Church. "We felt a great need of the work of women and we wanted women to have a certain order and service in the Church, not only to have girls as Sunday School teachers who give a part of their time whenever they can, but we want girls and women to give their whole life to God and serve the church." His Holiness says.

Despite his many responsibilities, His Holiness usually manages to spend three days a week in the monastery. His love of monasticism has led to a monastic revival in the Coptic Church. He has ordained hundreds of monks and nuns and renovated and reestablished many monasteries and convents. He is the first Pope to establish Coptic monasteries outside of Egypt, which presently number eight.

As a Bishop for Christian Education, His Grace has overseen the education of Sunday School Curriculum, and during his papacy, has continued to hold meetings for Sunday School teachers to establish a Sunday School curriculum for the churches abroad.

6- The Exile and Efforts of National Unity

During the early years of his enthronement, His Holiness Pope Shenouda had an amicable relationship with the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat. However, during his presidency, violent Islamic fundamentalist groups increased all over Egypt, especially in the Universities. They started to attack the Copts, vandalize their businesses, and burn their churches, which led Pope Shenouda to protest to the government against this repeated violence. Sadat reacted by issuing a presidential decree to exile His Holiness to the Monastery of St. Bishoy, imprison eight bishops, twenty-four priest, leading Coptic lay figures, and ban “El-Keraza” magazine and “Watany” newspaper.

Despite having to spend forty months away from his flock, His Holiness continued to care for his church. He saw the exile as an opportunity for spiritual retreat and wrote sixteen books during that time.

A month after his decree, Sadat was assassinated by the same fundamentalist groups. After much effort from His Holiness’ children inside and outside the Coptic Orthodox Church, and after three and a half years, the succeeding Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, released Pope Shenouda from exile. Accompanied by many bishops, His Holiness returned to St. Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo, where more than ten thousand people filled the Cathedral to receive the Pope.

His Holiness, after praying the Prayer of thanksgiving, greeted the flock with these words: “I have no residence except in your hearts, which are full of love. I have never been away from your hearts, not even for a twinkle of an eye.” He went on to say “I would like to do my best to deepen love, peace and reconciliation between the Church and the State, between the Church and our Muslim citizens. We are like organs in the one body, which is Egypt.”

His Holiness works tirelessly to improve relations between the Christians and Muslims in Egypt, in order to establish a peaceful social environment and to dispel sectarian Pix/Dividers/divisions. The Pope and the president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, are in good relations, as well as with the moderate Muslims in Egypt.

7- Ecumenical Relations

St-Takla.org H. H. Pope Shenouda III the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Egypt قداسه البابا شنوده الثالث بابا الأسكندرية وبطريرك الكرازة المرقصية وسائر بلاد المهجر

His Holiness Pope Shenouda is well known for his deep commitment to Christian unity. In an address he gave at an ecumenical forum during the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity held at Saint Mark's cathedral in Cairo in 1974, His Holiness declared that: "The whole Christian world is anxious to see the Church unite. Christian people, being fed up with Pix/Dividers/divisions and dispersion, are pushing their Church leaders to do something about Church unity and I am sure that the Holy Spirit is inspiring us." He has emphasized that Christian unity must be founded upon a unity of Faith and not upon a unity of jurisdiction.

Before his enthronement, Bishop Shenouda attended the first unofficial ecumenical consultation between theologians of the Oriental Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, in Vienna in September 1971. The agreed statement included the words: "We believe that our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is God the Son incarnate; perfect in His Pix/Dividers/divinity and perfect in His humanity. His Pix/Dividers/divinity was not separated from His humanity for a single moment, not for the twinkling of an eye. His humanity is one with His Pix/Dividers/divinity without commixture, without confusion, without Pix/Dividers/division, without separation. We in our common faith in the one Lord Jesus Christ regard His mystery inexhaustible and ineffable and for the human mind never fully comprehensible or expressible." (From the Communique of the first nonofficial ecumenical consultation between theologians of the Oriental Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches, in 1971).

In May 1973, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III paid a cordial visit to His Holiness, the late Pope Paul VI in Rome. This was the first meeting between an Alexandrine and Roman Pontiff since the time of the great schism of 451 AD. Both Popes signed a common Declaration, containing, amongst other things, a confession of common Faith in the mystery of the Word Incarnate. In welcoming His Holiness to Rome, the late Pope Paul VI said, "You are indeed the head of a church whose origin goes back to the Evangelist Mark and which had in Saint Athanasius...the invincible defender of our common Nicene faith, that is, faith in the Pix/Dividers/divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ."

In response, His Holiness Pope Shenouda said, "We have to declare that between us there are many points of agreement in the principles of faith. As for points of difference, there is no doubt that after fifteen centuries of study, examination, and controversy, we are at much nearer grounds of agreement than our ancestors of the fifth and sixth centuries. We are all more ready and more intense in our desire to reach solutions for differences and attain simpler expressions of our common faith."

Following this historic encounter, a joint Commission was established to explore the road to full intercommunion between the two Apostolic Churches.

In June 1989, His Holiness opened the conference of the International Commission for Inter-Orthodox theological Dialogue. A part of the agreed statement said: "When we speak of the one composite (synthetos) hypostasis of our Lord Jesus Christ, we do not say that in Him a Pix/Dividers/divine hypostasis and a human hypostasis came together. It is that the one eternal hypostasis of the Second Person of the Trinity has assumed our created human nature in that act of uniting it with His own uncreated Pix/Dividers/divine nature, to form an inseparably and unconfusedly united real Pix/Dividers/divine-human being, the natures being distinguished from each other contemplation (theoria) only....We agree in condemning the Nestorian and the Eutychian heresies. We neither separate nor Pix/Dividers/divide the human nature in Christ from His Pix/Dividers/divine nature, nor do we think that the former was absorbed in the latter and thus ceased to exist" (First Agreed Statement with the Byzantine Family of Orthodoxy in 1989).

Until now, His Holiness initiates and closely monitors theological dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Swedish Lutheran, and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. His Holiness is presently one of the Presidents of the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches.

8- The Coptic Church All Over the World

When His Holiness Pope Shenouda III was enthroned, there were only seven Coptic churches outside of Egypt: two each in Canada, the United States of America, Australia, and one in England. Due mainly to the efforts and encouragement of His Holiness, today there are more than 150 churches outside of Egypt, of which 63 are in the United States. There are two theological seminaries in the U.S., and a monastery in California. In addition, His Holiness was the first Pope to ordain Bishops for the Dioceses of North America. Bishop Karas was ordained for the Monastery of St. Antony's in California, Bishop Serapion for the Diocese in Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii, and Bishop Youssef for the Southern United States. There are 14 churches in Canada, and the city of Toronto houses a large Coptic Cultural Center. In Australia there are 24 churches, a theological college, two secondary schools, a primary school, two monasteries and a nursing home. There are six churches in Great Britain, including a large Coptic Center in Birmingham. There are churches in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. There are nine churches in Germany and a monastery in Frankfurt. There are six churches in France, four in Austria, four churches and a monastery in Italy, two in Holland, two in Switzerland, and one church each in Belgium, Denmark, Greece, and Sweden. In November 1991, the first Coptic Churches were established in South America, with a church in Brazil and in Argentina. Priests have also been ordained for churches in the Caribbean, including Bermuda, the Virgin Islands, and the West Indies.

As head of the oldest Church in Africa, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III has been very keen to extend the Apostolic mission of St. Mark across all of Africa. There are now 33 Coptic Churches among 12 African tribes in Kenya, Zaire, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and South Africa. Nairobi is also the center of the new Diocese in Kenya.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) has strong historical ties with the Coptic Orthodox Church. The two churches have been linked by very intimate relations since the early centuries of Christianity, as both are children of St. Mark the Apostle. In 1994, upon request of the EOTC, they gained Autocephaly (independence)from the Coptic Church. Both Churches still belong to the See of St. Mark and both confess one Orthodox Doctrine.

Eritrea, upon gaining independence from Ethiopia, received pastoral care from His Holiness Pope Shenouda by his ordination of Eritrean Bishops to form the Holy Synod for the Eritrian Orthodox Church.

9- The Papal Visits

His Holiness has made 27 pastoral visits outside of Egypt. The most extensive tour took place from August to December 1989, when he made an historic 112 day visit to all the Coptic Churches in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia. During his trip, His Holiness laid foundation stones of new Churches, consecrated most of the altars in the churches, baptized hundreds of children, ordained hundreds of deacons, delivered many lectures at theological seminaries and universities, opened a theological seminary in New Jersey and in Los Angeles, and conducted numerous spiritual meetings.

In the United States, the mayor of Jersey City hoisted the Coptic Church flag side by side with the American flag at City Hall during the Papal visit. The US House of Representatives invited His Holiness to open a congressional session with prayer. His Holiness also met with former US President George Bush and requested that "he give a big push" to peace in the Middle East. In a previous visit, His Holiness met with former US President Jimmy Carter. Afterwards His Holiness and Carter became good friends.

We will be blessed by His Holiness' twenty-eighth visit beginning in November to the United States and other countries abroad in celebration of the silver anniversary of his enthronement.

He passed away on March 17, 2012 (Baramhat 8, 1728), may His prayers be with us all.. Amen.
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