"Fifthly: The members of the Holy Synod decided to resume theological dialogue with the Catholic Church following the assurances regarding the non-blessing of same-sex couples, which were expressed during the telephone conversation between His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on Friday, May 15 of this year."
I love the Coptic (and other Oriental Orthdodox) liturgies. I worshipped at a Coptic Church this year for Christmas. It was a wonderful experience. I grew up in the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese (part of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch), and am baptized and chrismated. Could someone in my situation receive Communion in the Oriental Orthodox churches?
There's a very beautiful Greek Orthodox hymn called Agni Parthene (pure virgin), and it's been translated into several languages, including Russian, English, and even Latin. I was wondering if you know of translations in any Oriental Orthodox language. I bet it would sound great in Coptic or Armenian.
Im a non religious raised catholic person and I just got a tattoo which I didn’t realize had cultural relevance to Egyptians, I just thought it was something cool my artist found off Pinterest.
Is it offensive to have it performative as a non religious or Egyptian person? Should I look to get it covered up? Let me know! Thank you!
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Even this cry rose from the cross. The Holy Bible
Beloved soul, you look upon the earth and see wounds everywhere: nations sharpening swords, the poor forgotten, hearts becoming cold, forests burned, seas poisoned, brother against brother. And you ask the ancient question that many prophets asked before you: “Lord, where are You?”
Listen carefully.
When God created the world, He looked upon it and said, “It is very good.” The rivers, the trees, the beasts of the field, and humanity itself were born from love, not from violence. But love without freedom is not love at all. So mankind was given freedom: the freedom to bless… and the freedom to wound.
A father may plant a vineyard with care, but if the workers become greedy, shall the father destroy the vineyard at once? No. He sends messengers. He calls them back. He waits. He warns. He weeps.
So too does God.
You ask why He allows evil. Yet every war begins first in a human heart. Every corruption begins when silver is loved more than truth. Every act of racism begins when a person forgets that the stranger also bears the image of God.
The poison spreading through the world is not proof that God is absent. It is proof that humanity keeps trying to live without Him.
But do not think Heaven is indifferent.
Christ entered this suffering world not as a distant king wrapped in comfort, but as a poor man, betrayed, mocked, tortured, and killed by political power, religious hypocrisy, and a violent crowd. He stood inside the very darkness you describe. And from the cross He said: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
This is the mystery: God does not answer evil merely with force. He answers it first with mercy, truth, and a call to repentance.
Yet judgment also exists. The Gospel says that whatever is hidden will one day be revealed. The mighty who crush others and believe themselves untouchable are like houses built upon sand. Storms come. Kingdoms fall. Empires become dust.
And still, amidst the darkness, light shines.
For every corrupt ruler, there is a hidden saint feeding the hungry.
For every voice preaching hatred, there is someone risking their life to protect another.
For every forest destroyed, there is a hand planting seeds whose shade it may never enjoy.
Do not let the noise of evil convince you that goodness is weak. A single candle can be seen from far away in the night.
You ask God why He allows this suffering. But perhaps Heaven also asks humanity:
“Why do you wound what I entrusted to you? Why do you hate your brother? Why do you destroy the garden I placed in your care?”
The answer to the world’s darkness is not despair. Despair is another chain. The answer is to become light.
As it is written: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.”
So feed the hungry. Defend the weak. Speak truth without hatred. Care for the earth as a sacred gift. Refuse the temptation to become cynical. Even in a wounded world, love remains a rebellion against darkness.
And remember this: the resurrection came after the crucifixion.
I'm an inquirer in EO right now, and recently found out about Ephesus. I get if someone's born OO and affirms the historical claims of their church, no problem.
But for an inquirer like myself with no ethnic ties that would lean me one way or another, I don't see how I logically can side with OO.
Let me say here that I am from a prior protestant background. You would argue that I should become OO due to christology, right? But there's this massive issue over whether this council was ecumenical or not, and given the disputed claims and the massive amount of bishops it would be difficult to accept OO on this reason alone.
So now I'm supposed to look at the christology. But the logical problem is that if I decide from my own reasoning which Christology was correct, that would be private interpretation. And naturally if private interpretation is required because the ecumenical councils aren't enough of a guide, then the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura seems more viable. I think if I were somehow convicted 100% of the OO christology, I would stay Protestant and perhaps hold to a very narrow view of infallibility only for scripture itself.
On the other hand, with the EO claim, I can look to the 7 ecumenical councils and justify that the essentials were written out, while the Great Schism was free from any council dispute thankfully. Their Ecclesiology just seems so much cleaner, considering they were in communion with Rome for a millennia to set the stage for Christians everywhere.
But I'm also hopeful, because it seems like none of this actually matters? The ecumenical dialogues of today seem to affirm that the christology differences were always immaterial. Maybe then the only question at hand is ecclesiology?
Trying to work through this decision logically. I plan to make my formal decision on EO as soon as I finish The Orthodox Way by Kallistos Ware (halfway through now).
EO here, I am very open to understand more about the oriental position on Christology.
As far as I understand, having a composite nature of Christ (divine-human nature), undermines the consubstanstiality with the divine nature which, according to the Cappadocian fathers, is shared by all three persons of the Holy Trinity. One divine nature in three persons.
How is a composite divine-human nature compatible with the cappadocian Triadology?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I write to you today with tears in my eyes, but this time they are tears of joy and gratitude. Yesterday, I stood before you with a broken heart asking for a miracle, and today I return to say: 'Great is our Lord!'
My beloved wife Marlene was fading away before my eyes. Her anemia had reached a life-threatening level due to dialysis, and she desperately needed two filtered blood units just to survive. As a simple laborer, the cost was an impossible mountain for me to climb. In a moment of total weakness, I cried out, 'Lord, where are You?', feeling that every door was locked forever.
But through your prayers, the Lord proved He is truly in our midst. In less than 24 hours, the Lord moved the hearts of strangers—people who are not even Christian—who showed incredible kindness and helped us provide the blood Marlene needed. Our Lord is so merciful that He even provided the travel expenses for me to go and get the blood, when I didn't even have a single coin in my pocket!
I stand before you all today to say: 'Forgive me, my Lord.' I am a sinner, and I am ashamed that I doubted Your presence while You were carrying me and opening doors I didn't even notice. Our Lord promised that where two or three are gathered in His name, He is there in the midst of them, and He truly was with us and heard your prayers. He also said that whatever we ask in prayer, believing, we shall receive—and today I have witnessed this truth.
Please, I beg you to keep praying. The miracle is not yet complete. We still have the long journey of the kidney transplant and heavy burdens ahead. Your prayers are what move mountains and open the gates of heaven. Thank you to every kind heart who prayed or helped. May God bless you al
Blessings to everyone
I am wanting to join EOTC in the future, as you have the full Bible, I don’t know why I just believed western Christianity that it was somehow good for them to cut out a bunch of books.
I know a lot of the EOTC books are not even translated into English at this time. My question is: for someone who’s in the west, and not near an EOTC bookstore or church, which bible version is the best to read? I’m assuming King James might not be.
Thank you.
This was probably asked before, but I'll ask anyways.
I was wondering why does Armenian Apostolic Church use unleavened bread while the rest of the Oriental Orthodox communion uses leavened bread? Are both part of the Holy Apostolic Tradition? If not, which is truly Apostolic, leavened or unleavened? I'm genuinely confused.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, I am writing to you standing before closed doors, but I have full faith and confidence that the Lord of Glory, Jesus Christ, can open them again. I am Reda from Egypt, and I come to you with a prayer request unlike any other—I am asking for a miracle.
My beloved wife Marlene, the partner of my life and my struggles, is battling kidney failure. I watch her wither away before my eyes, and the pain devours her body and my heart. I have collapsed many times and done everything in my power as a simple laborer, but now I lift my eyes to heaven and knock on your hearts.
I was away from God, but the great love He placed in my heart for Marlene is what brought me back to throw myself at His feet and ask Him to stretch out His hand. Our Lord said: 'Whatever you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.' I am confident that your prayers as one community are what will move mountains and open the gates of heaven for Marlene.
Please, remember Marlene in your prayers and your Liturgies. I need a miracle, and I believe that God’s hand still performs the impossible."
Hi, I'm a 19 year old Christian catechumen from Turkey. I started to catechesis in Coptic Church. Nevertheless, I need your advices(If possible) and prayers. I'm suffering from major depressive disorder. I had two suicide attempts, I harmed myself and I was hospitalized three times. Sometimes world takes too much of heavy toll on me. I'm sorry mods if this breaks the rules. Please pray for me and if you have, give me your advices. I'd like to talk to people.
hej, jag är lutheran. men väldigt intresserad av theologi och skulle gärna vilja lära mig om de böcker som inte fins svenska folkbibeln eller ens i apokryferna i bibeln 2000
kan jag någonstans hitta bra svenska eller engelska översättningar av böckerna som fins i den etiopiska ortodoxa bibeln, hur många är de egentligen för jag hör hela tiden olka?
som ni märker är jag inte så påläst så om här fins någon som har kunnskap de vill dela med sig av så är jag väldigt intresserad
Same as above. I would love to know any differences in practice/doctrine and community. How open is the Syrian orthodox church to inquirers and how large of a population are they in Canada?