Sunday, July 16, 2006
Newsletter No. 29
In this Issue:
God blessed us with this history
Sayings of the Fathers
A poem I liked
Meditations
An Article I liked
Congratulations
Happy Birthday wishes
Copts throughout the ages (1)
Among the students of Athenagoras were Pantaenus and Clement, both of whom succeeded him as Deans of the School, but outshone him as leaders of thought. Athenagorus was succeeded by Justus who had been appointed by St. Mark himself and who, in due season, became the sixth successor to the Evangelist. On his accession to the Chair of Alexandria, Justus appointed Eumanius Dean, and he, too, became an Alexandrian Pope in turn. The tradition was repeated in the case of Marianus who took his office as fourth dean of the School of Alexandria, then had the honour of becoming the eighth head of the Church.
Towards the end of the second century, when Christianity in Egypt had already had a long and substantial history behind it, Pantaenus was selected Dean of the school of Alexandria. Later he was singled out for a missionary journey to India by the Pope at the time; Abba Demetrius (12th Pope of Alexandria). He responded to this honour by readily accepting it, and entrusted the School to his illustrious pupil Clement.
"Do not be surprised that you fall every day; do not give up, but stand your ground courageously. And assuredly, the angel who guards you will honour your patience."
+ St. John of the Ladder +
It's not to hurt people or tell them their worth.
Everyone was put here with an equal chance,
Take a look around you, take a good long glance.
Some were meant to heal, and some to teach,
Some are used to build, and some to reach.
You may not know your purpose just yet,
God will tell you, when he knows you are set.
Don't rush your fate, it has already been planned.
And God will always be there to lend a helping hand.
You will go through times that are really rough,
But you will always have someone, when the going gets tough.
Don't judge others, for when you do,
There is always someone else, judging you.
Think about things before they are said,
Say your prayers before going off to bed.
Take time just to sit, and observe all things,
A flower and it's petals, or a bird and it's wings.
For when you just look at what is around,
Contents
On our spiritual journey there are different paths we come across day after day. God says quite frankly follow me today as you are going to carry your cross.
Then we come to choose the path, when it comes to the spiritual path we carelessly try to avoid watching it. And of course Satan is present using full force to push us away from this precious path. Sometimes, we stand on the sinners’ road looking and telling ourselves, this is the wrong way. We are caught in the midst of the sinful way. Many times we just freeze, standing there. But, we should not, we have to steer back and go to the right way; God’s way. We should watch out as to which path we must take.
Contents
Sunday, is the Lord’s Day (suscoptc.org)
“This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps 118:24)
Since the early years of Christianity, the believers consecrated the first day of the week (Sunday) for worship, rejoicing, and celebrating the glorious resurrection of our Saviour.
· “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.” (Acts 20:7)
· “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” (1 Cor 16:2)
The Spiritual Concept of the Lord’s Day:
St. Paul said, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it.” (Rom 14:5,6) – Thus, the Lord should be the focus and the goal of keeping a certain day or not. Moreover, St. Paul warned against Jewish customs, “Let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come” (Col 2:16,17). – He also rebuked the Galatians who followed the Judaizers saying, “How is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have laboured for you in vain” (Gal 4:10,11).
The Day of Divine Rest:
It is written in the Holy Book of Genesis, “God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.” (Gen 2:3) – Thus, the sanctification of the seventh day was because in it God had rested. However, we know that creating the universe was not tiring for God; He simply uttered His word and creation came into being. When the Son of God took flesh and became man, He became subject to exhaustion and weariness, “Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well” (Jn 4:6). The peak of our Savior’s physical and psychological exhaustion was on the cross yet after completing our salvation and redemption He rose from the dead on the third day and it became the real day of Divine rest for “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). – Therefore, the eighth day (Sunday) is the true day of rest and thus is sanctified by all Christians.
Some Sayings of the Church Fathers:
· “Those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death.” (St. Ignatius Bishop of Antioch – 107 AD)
· “Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead.” (St Justin the Martyr – 155 AD).
H.G. Bishop Youssef
Bishop, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States
Congratulations
