Pontifical Letter of Authentication for the Relics of St. Katherine of Alexandria. The analogy between El-Nayrouz (Feast of Martyrs) and the feast of the Cross. The church also plans many activities for the youth and the adults to attend, such as an annual dinner cruise, a 3-day family retreat, an annual youth trip, and many monastery and service trips. We are based in Coptic. Fasting does not imply fatigue, restraint, or irritation, but rather it inspires joy and inward gladness with the Lord reigning within the heart This is the experience of the Coptic Church particularly during the Holy Week. Concerning those who forbid specific food such as the Manichaeans and the Donatists, who also have forbidden marriage as unclean and eating meat as defiling those were excommunicated. St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church | Los Angeles, CA - YouTube To answer to the concept of fasting privately in order to avoid boastfulness, we find the apostle revealing that he fasted. The Lord Himself experienced hunger (Matt. Therefore a delighful is procession or the redeemed believers, starts -Gods plan for Christs self-oblation. . The Coptic Orthodox Church in the U.S., shaken in recent weeks by accusations of sexual abuse, has vowed to . Youth & Kids Bible Summer Camp Coptunes+ ACTS Kids Servants Servant Certification Volunteer Program Application Coptic Sunday School App Module Resource Materials. c. Church Order is essential to communal life, as it is indicated in 2 John. As when St. Peter saw a great sheet cover with all kinds of food and abstained at first (Acts 10: 11 15). Our Church. Saint Marina The Holy Family escaped to the village Mirah (now Mir), whence they took to the Qousqam Mountain on which the famous Monastery of the Holy Virgin, known as Al-Muharraq stands. It is essentially an expression of our love to God who has given His Only-Begotten Son to die for us. On the following morning probably during the triumphal procession of Serapis he was again dragged around the city till death. 5. In the writings of St. Irenaeus in the second century mention is made of believers who fasted for a day, besides others who fasted for two days before Easter, as well as others who fasted for longer periods. The priest and the laity acknowledge the liturgy of Eucharist as a meeting at the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, and as an entrance to Golgotha, so that they all might sit under the Cross shadow (Cant. [email protected] (949) 951-5165 5 Wrigley, Irvine, CA 92618. Their first leader, Moses, the great prophet and his brother Aaron the first chief-priest appeared in Egypt to grant them freedom. In it we commemorate the establishment of the Sacrament of Eucharist by our Lord Jesus, when He offered His Body and Blood as the living and effective Sacrifice, capable of sanctifying our hearts, granting us the victorious and eternal life. Diocese Parish Directory | Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles 148)]. St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Los Angeles) - Wikipedia Only-begotten Son paid the price for her salvation, He ascended heaven to prepare a place for her. Believers undertake this in obedience to the Scripture: Is not this the fast that I have chosen? 2:19. After His return to the U.S. in 1974, a second Church was purchased, Holy Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Church, in Los Angeles. 14:40. The Holy Bible concentrates on Jerusalem which means, land of peace, or vision of peace as center of the promised land, where God declares His dwelling among people. 13:3. Axios! 4. It also presents our responsibility for the spiritual struggling, meditation on the heavenly glories accompanied by accepting sufferings joyfully, attaining the mysteries of the word of God together with preaching and witnessing, and attaining the communion with God and His son by His Holy Spirit through our communion altogether in Him. 3. 11:34; Tit 1:5; 2 John 12:14). St. Mark was a broad-minded Apostle. Donations are confidential and secure. In other words, the divine friendship (Christmas) can be realized through two integral actions: descent of the Word of God unto, us (His circumcision like us), and lifting us up to Him by His Holy Spirit (our spiritual circumcision or our baptism). Its aim is to confirm the divine love, when God sent His Only begotten Son incarnate. His mother, Mary, played an important part in the early days of the church in Jerusalem. Pope Tawadros II at the Papal Residence in Cairo. May their memory be eternal! The Coptic rite is not an aim in itself, that the Church practices it literally without understanding. Pope Tawadros II , who is the current Pope of Alexandria, enthroned Serapion as Bishop for the diocese, which includes St. Mary's Church as well as several other diocesan churches. He would not focus in his prayers upon his personal needs but ask for all if possible: for his beloved as well as his antagonists, for his acquaintances as well as for strangers, for believers as well as nonbelievers. There also, the Lord appeared to the disciples after His resurrection and His Holy Spirit came upon them. 4. When the Word of God was incarnate and became man, He submitted to the Law and attended and celebrated the feasts. His famous story with the lion, as related to us by Severus Ebn-El-Mokafa: Once a lion and a lioness appeared to John Mark and his father Arostalis while they were traveling in Jordan. St. Cyril the Great interpreted this prophecy saying: The glittering cloud which carried the child Jesus to Egypt was His mother, St. Mary, who suppressed the cloud in purity. He rather emphasized the necessity of order to grant His heavenly gifts. 4900 Cleland Ave, Los Angeles, CA Saint John Chrysostome Coptic 29582 Trabuco Creek Rd, San Juan Capistrano, CA Saint Mary & Saint John 4300 Mirador Dr, Pleasanton, CA St Abanoub and Antony 2345 5th St, Norco, CA . 4:2) to transfigurate in the midst of Moses and Elijah who also fasted for forty days (Exod. When a person succeeds in any work usually he asks for giving thanks to God by praying a special doxology through or after the Eucharistic liturgy. Thus the inanimate creatures are not evil, nor do they hinder worship, but are good tools, which the believer can use them to express the sanctity of all creatures. Moses Law arranged seven major feasts (lev. 3. Hawthorne Church Property:We are in escrow to purchase the property in Hawthorne, Weekly Update 05/02/2023 - Fr. It is said that the Holy Family passed by a watermelon farm where seeds had just been sown. He is mentioned in the Scriptures in a number of events related with the Lord: He was present at the wedding of Cana of Galilee, and was the man who had been carrying the jar when the two disciples went to prepare a place of the celebration of the Pasch (Mark 14:13-14 ; Luke 22:11). The preparation for Christmas (Nativity of Christ in Keyahk 29): The church fasts for 43 days before Christmas, and presents readings which concentrate on Gods friendship with man realized by the divine incarnation. Prayers and pious life: The Alexandrine students were men of prayer and asceticism. Send Fr. The Coptic book of Sinxarum (the day of 15 Bashance) records the preaching of Simon the Zealous in areas of south Egypt and Nubia. Every liturgy declares the word of God and the experience of the evangelic life. The whole church fasts, so that God may attract new children to Him, and prepare them for the blessings of His Fatherhood Thus fasting is a sign of our faith in Gods power manifested in our ministry and preaching. Upon their return home, they must have conveyed what they saw and heard about Christ and their relatives. He left Alexandria to Berce, then to Rome, where he met St. Peter and St. Paul and remained there until their martyrdom in 64 A.D. Holy Virgin Mary and St. Pishoy Coptic Orthodox Church We need to notice the following in the Canonical Hours prayers: a. The church relates and joins the feasts to the ascetic life. There, at that mountain it had been revealed to them by Spirit to return back to Jerusalem. This made the soldiers believe that the Holy Family had passed by this place several months before. For on Christmas, the Word of God took what is ours (our humanity) and in the circumcision He subjected Himself to the Law as He became one of us, but in the Epiphany He offered us what is His own. These readings are considered the center of all church readings, for through them the church follows all the events of salvation hour by hour, to declare the mystery of the redeeming divine love from the Old and New Testaments, so that believers might live in these events with all their hearts and senses and lastly enjoy the delight of Christs resurrection. Praises, glorification and beatification: some believers practice church hymns daily or on feasts as a private worship in their bedrooms. It is moreover connected with continuous spiritual growth, thereby achieving an offering of fasting that is holy in the eyes of God. St Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in South Pasadena, CA About Search Results Sort: Default 1. 24; 2 Tim. The Coptic liturgies are known to be not monopolized by clergymen. Their high scientific background: Modern science achieved unceasing progress, particularly in the last century. It is a sign of Church belief in unity of the human being as a whole without ignoring the role of the body in the spiritual life. Established 1991. The Holy bible is considered as an encounter with God and an interaction with Him in a spirit of worship and piety, so worship, common or private, is an expression of the flowing love from hearts which have encountered God and yearned to enter into new depth in order to stay with Him, in His bosom, forever enjoying His mysteries and glories. Which is called the arrow prayer, in which the believer cries out from moment to moment with a short prayer calling the name of our Lord Jesus Christ as an arrow to strike with, the snares of our enemy Satan. 3. The believer trains himself to practice kneeling for the salvation of others. It is divided according to the Coptic, 4. Everybody participates in worship and performs through organized church services without confusion. Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii 2. Antonious Henein, was ordained a priest to especially serve in Los Angeles. Actually, what occurred in the third century may be considered as complementary to what is mentioned by St. Irenaeus. St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church (Los Angeles), ' , over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the US, Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii, various church congregations throughout California, Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, "Coptic Church Urges Thorough Investigation in Murder of Jersey City Family", "A Brief History of Holy Virgin Mary Church", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=St._Mary_Coptic_Orthodox_Church_(Los_Angeles)&oldid=1153118526, This page was last edited on 4 May 2023, at 09:15. 2. It is not in vain that the Lord in the New Testament when He was about to feed the multitude, said to His disciples: Make them sit down in groups of fifty Luke 9:14. We can summarize the contents of the daily Jewish liturgy in the days of Jesus Christ in the following points: 1. Important Message 04/17/2023 - Fr. 1. They built a huge cathedral in St. Marks name, believing that St. mark was their patron Saint. Meina Albeir Youssef In the liturgies the church participates in the hymns of the heavenly creatures, its thoughts are attracted to acknowledge the hidden mysteries of heaven. In the fight of this concept we cannot draw a dividing line that separates between church life and private worshipping life, because the church is every believer holding firmly together with his brethren in the One Head. Afterward other readings were set as those of the feasts of martyrs and of Sundays. Therefore, Copts flee to the church as their own refuge in the important and trifle matters, in sadness and in their happiness, because of their trust in her and their love for her. Under his stewardship, the congregation of the church was able to build a beautiful church in the traditional Coptic . 2. Notes on Periods of Fasting observed by the Copts: 1- Fasting is not observed on Wednesdays and Fridays occurring in the Pentecostal Period, i.e., the fifty days starts from Easter to Pentecost. Peter and Paul. Encompasses the easternmost parishes of the diocese, which are in: Encompasses the westernmost parishes of the diocese, which are in: Encompasses the northernmost parishes of the diocese, which are in: Encompasses the southernmost parishes of the diocese, which are in: Metropolitan Serapion, Bishop of Los Angeles, and Metropolitan of Southern California and Hawaii. The rite has its body, i.e., the visible order, and has also its spirit, i.e., the innermost thought. His ministry was quite productive and covered large fields of activities. He announces with fasting, and he practiced it with those who were on the boat (Acts 27:21). Coptic liturgies are biblical. They crossed the River Nile to the Western bank to Sakha, and then they traveled westward along Wadi-el-Natroun (Natroun Valley), south of the Sheheet widerness. These readings are a dialogue of love between God and His people, therefore there is no church worship without biblical readings. The School of Alexandria paid attention to science and philosophy, and therefore did not show any hostility towards philosophers, on the contrary, for some of the churchmen were students in the philosophical School the Museum and they attracted many of its leadersthe philosophersto Christianity. Afterwards, St. Paul needed St. mark with him and they both preached in Colosy (4:11), Rome (Phil. LaCopts.org, The 38th Anniversary of the Ordination of His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion as a General Bishop, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II Received His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion. 1. The correlation between the feasts of Christmas, Circumcision and Epiphany (The Baptism of Jesus Christ): The readings of these feasts announce that our Friend became like us, submitted Himself to the Law and was circumcised. St. Virgin Marys Church at Zaytoun. Worship in the church represents a living part of the ecclesiastical life which reacts together with the enjoyment of the Holy Bible, doctrine faith, ascetic life and her sacred outlook to man and his entity. They worship collectively not individually, in spirituality and gentleness and not in the rigid deadly letter. 4: 10); there we find the 24 incorporeal priests with golden crowns on their heads and hold golden censers (Rev. 13:17). 8:17. Crowds were shouting The ox must be led to Baucalis, a precipitous place full of rocks where they fed the oxen that were used in the sacrifices to idols. In Upper-Egypt 15:37-41, and the 18 blessings (On Saturday there are only 7 blessings). c. The Escape of the Holy family to Egypt (Bashans 24, c. June 1): The Coptic Church is distinguished among all nations with this unique divine work, by the coming of our Lord to Egypt among the Gentiles. Since the apostolic age, the Church has been aware of the value of fasting and designated Wednesdays and Fridays as days for fasting. Fasting is not a situation which may be used as a pretext for anger. 5. The Coptic rites is characterized by harmony and oneness of spirit. The signs of real spiritual joy and consolation filling the heart are so clearly evident then. However, evidence indicates that Christianity was introduced into Egypt before St. Mark, though undoubtedly, it must have been on a very small scale. Los Angeles, CA 90035, Phone: 1 (323) 677-1776 Third: Church readings in the Eucharistic liturgy are not set by distributing the chapters of the two Testaments throughout the year, but the church chooses by the guidance of the Holy Spirit certain chapters to present an integral spiritual and theological curriculum. If it is practiced as a duty or routine work, performed literally without understanding, it becomes an obstacle to the evangelic spiritual life.