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  Martyrdom of the Great Saint Anba Moses the Black On this day, St. Moses the Black, whose life story is remarkable, was martyred. This saint took the Kingdom of Heaven by force, exactly as our Lord Jesus Christ said: The Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. (Matthew 11:12). In his early life, St. Moses was a slave to people who worshiped the sun. He was a mighty man who loved to eat and drink excessively. He killed, robbed and committed all evil. No one could stand up before him, or challenge him. On many occasions, he lifted up his eyes to look to the sun and to talk to it saying, O Sun!! if you are God, let me know it. Then he said, And you O God whom I do not know, let me know you. One day, he heard someone saying to him, The monks of Wadi El-Natroun know the real God. Go to them and they will tell you. Instantly, he rose up, girded his sword and went to the wilderness of Shiheat. He met St. Esidorous (Isidore) the priest, who wa...

  The Departure of St. Abanoub the Confessor. On this day, the holy and pure father Abanoub the confessor, departed. This Saint was a devoted monk in one of the monasteries of Upper Egypt. That was during the time of Diocletian, who tortured the martyrs severely and shed their blood. One day, someone mentioned the name of the saint Abanoub before Arianus, governor of Ansena. Arianus brought him and asked him to worship the idols. The Saint replied, "How can I abandon my Lord Jesus Christ and worship the idols that are made of stones?" Arianus tortured Abanoub much then exiled him to the five western cities (Pentapolis). Abanoub stayed in prison there for seven years, until God had perished Diocletian. When the righteous Emperor Constantine reigned, he ordered the release of all those who were in prison for the Name of Christ. Constantine also asked that they be brought to him, so that he might be blessed by them, especially the honored ones as Zacharia El-Ahnasy, Maximus El-F...

  The Consecration of the Church of Sts. Cosmas, Damian, Their Mother, and Brothers. On this day, the church celebrates the consecration of the church of St. Cosmas (Kozman), Damian, their brothers, Anthimus, Londius, and Abrabius and their mother Theodata. They were from one of the Arab countries. Their mother feared God and was compassionate and merciful towards strangers and the needy. She became a widow, while her children were young. She raised them and taught them the fear of God. Cosmas and Damian studied medicine, and they treated the sick freely. As for their brothers, they went to the desert and became monks. When Diocletian renegaded the faith and ordered the worship of idols, he was told that Cosmas and Damian were preaching in the Name of the Lord Christ in every city and urging others not to worship the idols. He commanded them brought and delivered to the governor of the city, who tortured them with different kinds of tortures. Then he asked them the...

  1. The Commemoration of the First Church for The Virgin Mary in the city of Philippi. On this day, the church celebrates the commemoration of the first church to be built in the name of the Virgin Lady, the All pure St. Mary, the Theotokos (Mother of God), through whom the salvation of Adam and his posterity was fulfilled. When the two apostles Paul and Silas preached among the gentiles, many believed of them in the city of Philippi. They built a church there in the name of the Virgin, the Mother of God, and its consecration was on that day. It is meet for us to celebrate for her a spiritual festival, for she has borne the Savior of the world. May her intercession be with us. Amen.       2. The Martyrdom of St. Timothy of Memphis (El-Masry). On this day also, St. Timothy of Memphis (El-Masry) was martyred. He was one of the soldiers of Arianus, governor of the city of Ansena. When he read the Edict of the Emperor Diocletian, which commanded the wors...

  The Departure of Elisha, the Prophet. On this day, of the year 3195 of the world, the holy prophet Elisha, departed. This prophet was born in one of the villages of Israel called Alamut. His father's name was Shaphat. Elisha was a servant to the holy prophet Elijah. When the Lord would take up Elijah the prophet into heaven, he went with him to the river Jordan. Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask what I shall do for you, before I be taken away from you." Elisha asked, "I pray you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me," and it was as he asked. (2 Kings 2:1-18) Elisha divided the river and passed through it. Then he went to Jericho and went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up the road, some youths came from the city and mocked him, and said to him, "Go up, you baldhead! Go up, you baldhead!" So he turned around and looked at them, and pronounced a curse on them in the name of the LORD. And two female bears came out of the w...

   1. The First Pontifical Liturgy in the New St. Mark Cathedral in the Monastery of Anba Rowais. On this day, of the year 1684 (Wednesday, June 26th, 1968), the church celebrated the first Pontifical Liturgy in the new St. Mark Cathedral in the monastery of Anba Rowais, which was known as Dair El-Khandaq, where the relics of St. Mark were placed after his return from Venice and Rome. On the morning of Wednesday the 19th of Baounah (June 26th) at about six o'clock, Pope Kyrillos took the box of the relics of St. Mark, that he had placed on the altar of the old St. Mark Cathedral in El-Azbakiah upon its arrival. He brought it in his private car to the new St. Mark Cathedral. The Pontifical Divine Liturgy that was celebrated on this occasion was headed by H.H. Pope Kyrillos the Sixth, and participating with him were the patriarch Mari Ignatius Yacoub the Third, the Antiochian Patriarch for the Syrian Orthodox, and a number of Syrian, Indian and Armenian Orthodox bishops. This ce...

    1. The Return of the Relics of the Great St. Mark to the New St. Mark Cathedral. On this day, of the year 1684 A.M., that coincided with Monday the 24th of June, 1968 A.D., and in the tenth year of the papacy of Pope Kyrillos the Sixth, 116th Pope of Alexandria, the relics of the great saint, the beholder of God, St. Mark the Apostle, the Evangelist of the Egyptian land and the first Patriarch of Alexandria, were returned to Egypt. Pope Kyrillos had delegated an official delegation to travel to Rome to receive the relics of St. Mark the Apostle from Pope Paul VI. The papal delegation consisted of ten metropolitans and bishops, seven of them were Coptic and three Ethiopians, and three of the prominent Coptic lay leaders. The Alexandrian delegation received the relics of St. Mark the Apostle on Saturday the 22nd of June, 1968 A.D. from Pope Paul VI. The moment of handing over the holy relics, after eleven centuries, during which the body of St. Mark was kept in the city of V...