THIS 74 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: The Orthodox Eastern Church, by Adrian Fortescue. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1417910607.

THIS 74 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: The Orthodox Eastern Church, by Adrian Fortescue. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1417910607.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homilies on the prophet Elisha deals with some of the more difficult stories in the Old Testament, how to understand the story of the bears who ravage the children who made fun of the prophet and why the sacrifice by the King of Moab of his son to his pagan god was seemingly successful. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

In this book, Febe Armanios explores Coptic religious life in Ottoman Egypt (1517-1798), focusing closely on manuscripts housed in Coptic archives. Ottoman Copts frequently turned to religious discourses, practices, and rituals as they dealt with various transformations in the first centuries of Ottoman rule. These included the establishment of a new political regime, changes within communal leadership structures (favoring lay leaders over clergy), the economic ascent of the archons (lay elites), and developments in the Copts' relationship with other religious communities, particularly with Catholics.
Coptic Christianity in Ottoman Egypt highlights how Copts, as a minority living in a dominant Islamic culture, identified and distinguished themselves from other groups by turning to an impressive array of religious traditions, such as the visitation of saints' shrines, the relocation of major festivals to remote destinations, the development of new pilgrimage practices, as well as the writing of sermons that articulated a Coptic religious ethos in reaction to Catholic missionary discourses. Within this discussion of religious life, the Copts' relationship to local political rulers, military elites, the Muslim religious establishment, and to other non-Muslim communities are also elucidated. In all, the book aims to document the Coptic experience within the Ottoman Egyptian context while focusing on new documentary sources and on an historical era that has been long neglected.

BORN AGAIN IN BAPTISM, we receive the Holy Spirit which dwells in us, and works in us so that we may reach spiritual perfection, although the Bible tells us what we need to do to reach such perfection and earn Eternal life, it does not tell us how.The Egyptian Desert became a university of this quest for perfection. The Desert Fathers made a science out of this quest, that we now call spirituality. In this university, research was done and experiments were published by many who came to seek the wisdom of those Desert Fathers.Fr Athanasius Iskander borrowed methods and techniques from these Holy Fathers and provided wise instructions on how to practically apply them to the struggles faced by young Orthodox people living in the Twenty First century.

This translation of the Scriptures comes from a small Apostolic Church, the Ancient Church of the East, a Church that nearly disappeared from the map during the Middle Ages. Yet, because of that it retained the original Scriptures intact. There is almost nobody left that can read this language, a language that is no longer spoken; however, it is a language that has given birth to thousands of languages, because it is the original language that the Lord spoke from the beginning of recorded history. It is the language in which the doctrines of the Scriptures were nurtured. It is called in this translation the Ancient Aramaic language; but it is not Aramaic in the modern vernacular, nor is it Hebrew or any other designation that might imply it is open to personal or nationalistic interpretation. This is the language that the Lord chose, it is the language in which He taught, it is the language He read from, it is the language the Apostles spoke, and it is the language in which the Scriptures were compiled. This is not pride in language. The language is politically dead. It ceased to be used as a literary language in the 13th Century. It exists only as a liturgical language, and now as the language of this translation. It is no longer a language of a single race of people, nor is it the native language of any nation. It is a language free of national boundaries. This translation is in English, because it is the language in which the world has chosen to communicate. The language of the Scriptures must never become subservient to English or any other language. The English language must never be allowed to be the sole vehicle for the Scriptures, because this is how false pride, prejudice and racism begin. As the language of this translation, English is a window to the Scriptures. The Scriptures can be viewed through this window; but the window must not be broken, made into a door, or a gateway into a new interpretation, hierarchy or religious order.

Laced with lively illustrations, biblical references and words, The Amazing Life of Jesus focuses on the three years of Jesus ministry, the miracles he made, and his life story. It explains to readers, in detail, how Jesus coming was predicted and how he impacted people who knew him. Readers will also find compelling art works reflecting events and people from the Bible, from the Nativity, to the wedding at Cana, Christ s exploits with the twelve disciples, and so much more. It also highlights several religious lessons about entering the Kingdom of Heaven and achieving spiritual purity. With its compelling narrative and presentation, this release promises to make it easy for readers, especially children, to understand and learn the Word of God deeply. A collection of the Holy Scriptures accompanied with vivid iconographic watercolor illustrations tell the story of Jesus and show that the Prophesy of the Old Testament is fulfilled. Furthermore, this book emphasizes how relevant and essential the Messiah s teachings remain to this day. This release is a must-have for devout Christians and people seeking direction in their lives.

This is a group of spiritual short stories. Some of them are true, others are true in part, the rest are fiction. Each story contains a certain idea to deliver a spiritual lesson. In these short stories we tried to convey some of the fathers' philosophy in asceticism, dying to the world and how they rejected the pleasures of life, to be filled from Christ and ultimately unite with Him This is an opportunity for the reader who could not visit the monasteries to learn about the monastic life, the struggle of the fathers and the wars of the devil.

Romanos the Melodist established the kontakion or chanted sermon as the poetic voice of the Byzantine Church in the sixth century. These selected kontakia retell and explore the key events in the life of Jesus Christ.

This volume collects Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) sermons on the nativity. Always one of the highlights of the liturgical year, Jacob welcomes the Christmas season with gorgeous poetry that touches on all parts of God's plan and the miracle of his Son being born among us. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

The Chrysostom Bible Commentary Series is not so much in honor of John Chrysostom as it is to continue and promote his legacy as an interpreter of the biblical texts for preaching and teaching God's congregation. In the first book of this series, the author, Paul Nadim Tarazi, presents a discussion of the Book of Genesis, which, he argues, sets the tone, defines the vocabulary, and introduces the plot of the biblical story. "In a sense," Tarazi writes, " Genesis is] the institutional or constitutional scriptural book...first and foremost a literary story that has a beginning and an end beyond which one may not venture backward nor creatively push forward." The V. Rev. Dr. Paul Nadim Tarazi is Professor of Biblical Studies and Languages at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of a three-volume Introduction to the Old Testament, a four volume Introduction to the New Testament, Galatians: A Commentary, and I Thessalonians: A Commentary. His Audio Bible Commentaries on the books of the New Testament are available online through the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS).

In the Orthodox Christian faith the elements of liturgy, scripture, hymnody, and iconography are the instruments or -voices- of a melody of faith. Here Vigen Guroian presents the fundamental beliefs of Orthodox Christianity through the metaphor of music. Often drawing on his personal religious experience, Guroian weaves together the themes of creation and new creation, beginning and end, sin and holiness, Incarnation and deification, sacrifice and salvation. Guroian explores the dogmatic foundation of this rich faith in six chapters, or -movements.- Through discussing Syrian, Armenian, Byzantine, and Russian iconography and Gospel illuminations -- illustrated by icons and Armenian miniatures -- he further reveals how Orthodox Christianity expresses theology as much in art as through language. As a whole, Guroian's Melody of Faithbeautifully captures the spirit of Orthodox Christianity and takes readers to the theological heart of the Orthodox faith.

The Chrysostom Bible Commentary Series is not so much in honor of John Chrysostom as it is to continue and promote his legacy as an interpreter of the biblical texts for preaching and teaching God's congregation. In this volume, the author, Paul Nadim Tarazi, presents a reading of Philippians that uses the text "according to its own literary fabric," challenging the reader "to join the community of the Apostle's Philippians while listening to his letter...not to 'fathom' God's kingdom, but to inherit it." The V. Rev. Dr. Paul Nadim Tarazi is Professor of Biblical Studies and Languages at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of a three volume Introduction to the Old Testament, a four volume Introduction to the New Testament, Galatians: A Commentary, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, Land and Covenant, and the Chrysostom Bible, Genesis: A Commentary. His Audio Bible Commentaries on the books of the New Testament are available online through the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS).

The main goal of this study is to present data from Syriac and Christian Arabic writers, and some other sources, dealing with missionary activity and the expansion of Christianity into east Asia.

The Hermit Fathers is an account of the virtuous asceticism and admirable ways of life of the holy and blessed wilderness fathers. They are meant to inspire and instruct those who want to imitate their heavenly lives, so that they may make progress on the way that leads to the kingdom of heaven. The holy fathers who were the initiators and masters of the blessed monastic way of life, being entirely on fire with divine and heavenly love and counting as nothing at all that men hold to be beautiful and estimable, trained themselves on earth to do nothing whatsoever out of vainglory. They hid themselves away, and by their supreme humility in keeping most of their good works hidden, they made progress on the way that leads to God. Moreover, no one has been able to describe their virtuous lives for us in detail, for those who have taken the greatest pains in this matter have only committed to writing a few fragments of their more admirable deeds and words. In this book you will find twenty eight examples of the lives of those Holy men and women which are sweeter than honey and honeycomb.

This edition of Mar Jacob of Sarug's (d. 521) homily on Jephthah's daughter invisages this single, virginal female as a prefiguration of Christ. Jacob also discusses the history of blood sacrifice and on the qualities that render Jephthah's action priestly. The volume constitutes a fascicle of The Metrical Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, which, when complete, will contain the original Syriac text of Jacob's surviving sermons, fully vocalized, alongside an annotated English translation.

This important volume remains a valuable aid to scholars seeking a basic knowledge of Eastern Orthodox rites. A selection of offices, especially those under theological controversy in their time, is presented in the original Greek with an English translation.

Orthodoxy is a book by G. K. Chesterton that has become a classic of Christian apologetics. Chesterton considered this book a companion to his other work, Heretics. In the book's preface Chesterton states the purpose is to "attempt an explanation, not of whether the Christian faith can be believed, but of how he personally has come to believe it." In it, Chesterton presents an original view of Christian religion. He sees it as the answer to natural human needs, the "answer to a riddle" in his own words, and not simply as an arbitrary truth received from somewhere outside the boundaries of human experience (wikipedia.org).

The Chrysostom Bible Commentary Series is not so much in honor of John Chrysostom as it is to continue and promote his legacy as an interpreter of the biblical texts for preaching and teaching God's congregation. In this volume, the author, Paul Nadim Tarazi, explains that Romans, "the one gospel meant for all the nations living in the Roman empire East and West," was addressed to the capital city and positioned at the beginning of the Pauline corpus to emphasize the universality of St. Paul's teaching. Not only Romans, he argues, but all of Paul's epistles were meant to be read at church gatherings everywhere, "together with the Old Testament." The V. Rev. Dr. Paul Nadim Tarazi is Professor of Biblical Studies and Languages at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary. He is the author of a three volume Introduction to the Old Testament, a four volume Introduction to the New Testament, Galatians: A Commentary, I Thessalonians: A Commentary, Land and Covenant, and the Chrysostom Bible, Genesis: A Commentary and Philippians: A Commentary. His Audio Bible Commentaries on the books of the New Testament are available online through the Orthodox Center for the Advancement of Biblical Studies (OCABS). >

Of all the stories of the resurrection of the Orthodox Church in formerly communist lands, Albania's may be the most dramatic. Having been almost exterminated by the atheist government, the Church of Albania has arisen, under the leadership of Archbishop Anastasios, to become a vibrant and growing member of the world Orthodox community. Fr. Luke Veronis and his family served as missionaries to Albania during some of the most crucial years of this resurrection. In these pages, Fr. Luke shares stories of those years-stories of desperate poverty and of heroism, of setbacks and triumphs, of heartbreak and miracles-and calls us all to answer the Lord's Great Commission: Go Forth!