Original category: Coptic Orthodox

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God, Amen.

Happy New Year and A Glorious Feast of Nativity.

I am pleased to share this Nativity message with you for the new year 2026. First, I would like to congratulate you all on the glorious Feast of Nativity. I congratulate you and all our Coptic churches throughout the world. I congratulate all the Coptic dioceses in every continent: in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. I congratulate all the families, the youth, and all the deacons, As well as all the fathers; the priests, the metropolitans and the bishops.

Each year, on the glorious feast of Nativity, we reflect on its meaning. Among the well-known human experiences in life is the giving of gifts Indeed, the events of the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Incarnation in Bethlehem present us with a new understanding of the concept of a gift. A gift is a human and social act, recognized by all. Gifts vary between material gifts, moral gifts, tangible gifts, and verbal gifts such as poetry and praise, and so on. In the Nativity story, we encounter three types of gifts: the gift of joy, the gift of covering, and the gift of love. We view these three gifts in the various events of the Nativity.

Regarding the gift of joy, we first see the star, which some fathers said was not an ordinary astronomical star, but rather “an angel” according to Saint John Chrysostom. The star was a sign in the sky. (Matthew 2: 2) This sign was a gift not to individuals, but to nations. The nations from which the Magi came, who were wise men and interested in astronomy, astronomical calculations, and the calculation of days. The star was a guiding and leading star, moving with the Magi until it settled above the manger in Bethlehem. It was a gift from heaven, a gift of joy.

I want you to imagine with me how the Magi were traveling, contemplating on the star. Of course, in those days, the roads were very limited. There was no GPS, paved roads, airplanes, or cars. The star was the hero of the show. It was a gift from heaven to these Magi, not only for them but for all their people.

Among the gifts of joy that heaven offered in the Nativity story were the angels. In their joy, the angels rejoiced and sang a timeless hymn that we still pray in the liturgy and still remember. Every time we celebrate the Nativity, we remember this hymn: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” (Luke 2:14) This is a gift. It is not just a verse or a hymn, but in modern language, we call it a roadmap. Human beings should give glory to God, spread peace on earth, and be a source of joy for all those around them. This is a gift. A gift of joy through the angels who sang with great joy.

Another gift of joy was the angel who illuminated the darkness of the night and enlightened the shepherds. He began to tell them about the Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, in those days, there were no radios, televisions, or social media, nothing of that sort. But the angel was a joyful messenger, delivering a message of joy: “Today in Bethlehem a Savior has been born to you” (Luke 2:11). It was a message of joy for people who were awake all night in the wilderness. These are all gifts of joy that heaven gave us.

The second type of gifts are those of covering. The word “covering” is a powerful human word and a virtue. When we pray, every time we say, “Thank you, Lord, for You have covered us,” referring to divine protection. Covering is a very great virtue in a person’s life. Blessed is the person who covers their brother or sister, who covers others in their home, in their community, in their service, in their church, and in their country. Covering is a grace and a gift that heaven has given us. Where do we see it? The first place we see it is in the manger. Imagine Saint Joseph the carpenter, advanced in age, an old man, with the young Virgin Mary, who is pregnant and in the final days of her pregnancy They couldn’t find a place for her to give birth to the Child. They went to many places in Bethlehem, and they passed by all the houses, but there was no room. But there was the owner of the manger, and

Original category: Uncategorised

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Original category: Retreats

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Where: Tuscarora Inn & Conference Center - PA.

When: The evening of Fri Sep 9th --> Sun Sep 11th.

Cost: Per person in a double room --> $280.

Theme: "The Good Shepherd".

Deadline date: The last day for admission is June 23rd.

Original category: Articles

[Image: lent]

"However, this kind does not come out except by prayer and fasting" (Matthew 17:21). 

Great Lent is understood to be the holiest fast as our Lord Jesus Christ Himself fasted it for us. Therefore, during Great Lent we must strive to follow the example set by our Lord Jesus Christ, who had fasted on our behalf for forty days and forty nights, which we read in Matthew  chapter 4. During Great Lent, the Church in her wisdom teaches us how to receive Him by using the great means of repentance along with prayer and fasting. But many are fooled by what the true meaning of fasting is; fasting does not mean to just abstain from certain foods and drinks. Fasting without prayer is essentially nothing less than a bodily act. Fasting provides us with an opportunity for prayer because when a person fasts, their soul is occupied with internal work with God and so when the body is humbled by hunger, the soul also is humbled. We must train ourselves while fasting to not let a change of food be the only thing different we do in this fast, but rather let the fast be striving for change toward a better spiritual life. We must struggle to remove defects and weaknesses that we may feel exist not only within ourselves, but with our relationship with God, and our brothers and sisters through Christ. However, as we fast we must not try to make our fast visible to anyone except our Father in Heaven who sees everything in secret. And as we journey through this most sacred time of the year we must examine ourselves, our salvation, our repentance, and our spiritual life. Sit down not only with yourself but your spiritual father, seek the guidance that us all sinners are in desperate need of as we grow daily in the knowledge of God. 

+ May God help us all to see the importance of prayer and to lift up our hearts and thoughts to Him alone and may He grant us to have a blessed and holy fast as we seek for repentance +

“I will praise you, O Lord, for your mercies are forever. From generation to generation, my mouth shall declare Your truth.”
- First Doxology of the Sunday Readings during the Great and Holy Lent

Original category: Coptic Orthodox

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Original category: Videos

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Original category: Coptic Saints

[Image: St. Marina the Monk, St. Matrona of Moscow, and Matushka Olga of Alaska | Axia Women]

An Example of Humility and Asceticism

On the 15th of Mesra (21 August), the church celebrates the commemoration of the departure of the nun St. Marina, known as St. Marina the Monk, who was the daughter of a very rich Christian man called Euganius. Her name was Mariam, and her mother Sarah died when she was a little girl. Her father raised her and brought her up well in the Christian faith. When he wanted to give her in marriage and to go himself and become a monk in one of the monasteries, she told him, "O my Father, why would you save your own soul, and destroy mine?" He answered saying, "What shall I do with you? You are a woman." She told him, "I will take off my woman's dress and will put on the garb of a man." She rose up straightway, shaved off the hair on her head and put on the garb of a

Original category: Uncategorised

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Click here to download the convention schedule

Original category: Uncategorised

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Original category: Our Church

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Original category: Uncategorised

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Original category: Articles

[Image: remember]
We are at the end of a year and the beginning of a new year that we love to remember ...

+ Remember your weakness, then you will be more cautious and you will not submit to the thoughts of pride and false glory which may at-tack you.

+ Remember the loving kindness of the Lord be-stowed on you and you will always lead a life of thanksgiving. Faith will grow in your heart as well as trust in God’s love and work. Your past experi-ences with God would encourage you in the life of faith.

+ Remember people’s love and their past good experiences with you. Should you doubt their sin-cerity or find out they have wronged you, their old love will intercede and your anger will fade away.

+ Remember death, so all worldly temptations will disappear and you feel that, “All is vanity and grasping for the wind.” (Eccl. 1:14.)

+ Remember that you are standing before God and He is looking at

Original category: Articles

[Image: st-mina-revival]St. Mina the wonderworker and the life of thanksgiving!

During the month of November of every year, the church celebrates the martyrdom of St. Mina the wonderworker and Thanksgiving. As we reflect back on St. Mina, all the saints and martyrs’ lives, we notice how their lives were filled with thanksgiving. The person who is living a life of thanksgiving is noble as he did

Original category: Media

Sermon by: H.H. Pope Tawadros II

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Original category: Uncategorised

Sermon by: H.H. Pope Tawadros II

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Original category: Announcements

Joint Statement of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese in New Jersey and the Diocese of New York and New England on Sexual Misconduct

July 22, 2020

With allegations of sexual misconduct recently coming to light, we recall the words of St. Paul saying, “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26). We condemn the cruelty of any and all sexual misconduct. The betrayal of trust and abuse of authority by any member of the clergy or servant within our churches is, without exception, unacceptable and abhorrent to the teachings of our Christian faith. We bitterly regret any harm inflicted on our daughters, sons, or their families.

The Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese in New Jersey and the Diocese of New York and New England (“Archdiocese and Diocese”) will not tolerate sexual misconduct of any kind, including sexual abuse of minors by any of our clergy, employees or servants. If anyone is aware of any suspected incident of sexual abuse of a minor by any such person, we urge you to immediately report to law enforcement and also to your Regional Vicar, whose contact information may be accessed through your parish priest.

We pledge our best efforts to prevent any such conduct, to immediately report allegations of such conduct to law enforcement, to promptly investigate such allegations, and to take appropriate action. 

To honor this pledge, the Archdiocese and Diocese will continue to act in accordance with our Sexual Misconduct Policies. We urge all our clergy, employees and servants to review and comply with those Policies. We also urge them to thoughtfully apply our Guidelines on Interactions with Children and Young People. These Guidelines offer direction on how best to interact with children. We are bound by the words of Christ Himself who said, “Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 18:10).

Our Policies and Guidelines have been distributed to our clergy and will be made available online to our employees and our servants who interact regularly with minors. 

To those who have suffered, we hear you. We stand by you. We pray for you in the words of Psalms 147:3, for the Lord “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” May the Helper, the Holy Spirit through the Church, the Bride of Christ, provide comfort to those afflicted and provide healing and restoration to us all.

Original category: Announcements

Original category: Announcements

Special Joint Statement on Celebration of the Holy Week of Pascha and the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection for the Year 2020

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed"  Isaiah 53:5

Dear beloved congregations of the churches of the Archdiocese of North America in New Jersey and the Diocese of New York & New England,

Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ to each and every one of you. We continue to pray for your safety and well-being and for the steadfastness of your faith during this difficult time.

In our continuing efforts to assess the unfolding circumstances of these unprecedented times, and after more than 30 collective hours, including joint clergy deliberations and consultations with medical and legal professionals, His Grace Bishop David, in unison with all the Fathers of the Archdiocese and Diocese of New York and New England, hereby states the following.

Being mindful that:

− The number of those infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) is increasing day by day according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other official sources;

− The next few weeks are the most critical, as the number of those contracting infections is expected to reach peak levels according to medical experts;

− The virus is mostly transmitted by person to person contact, especially when in crowded areas and in close proximity to each other. As your spiritual fathers, our spiritual and moral responsibilities dictate that we must exercise caution for your well-being, and to avoid the further transmission of this virus;

− Federal guidelines, as well as many state and local laws, mandate the cancelation of any and all.....

Click here to download the special Joint Statement in (En & Ar)

Original category: Announcements

Original category: Announcements

Dear beloved congregations of the churches of the Archdiocese of North America in New Jersey and the Diocese of New York & New England.

Grace and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ to each and every one of you. We continue to pray for your safety and well-being and for the steadfastness of your faith during this difficult time.

We are facing an unprecedented situation in the recent history of our Church. In response to the global outbreak of COVID-19, communities throughout the world have taken extreme measures to attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus, including government-mandated lockdowns of entire regions. As you know, despite these efforts, cases in the United States have continued to rise and pose a significant health risk to individuals of all ages. Unfortunately, our community has likewise been impacted, as several parishioners and members of the clergy have tested positive for COVID-19.

In view of our spiritual and moral obligations and civic responsibility to cooperate with our leaders and make every effort to protect the wellbeing of our brothers and sisters throughout the world, the Church is cooperating fully with government efforts to implement social distancing.

Out of our love and care for our congregations and our neighbors, we are suspending all liturgical services in all of our churches effective immediately and until further notice. Each church will continue to reach out and serve her beloved children through our various technological capabilities, and we will remain united throughout this difficult period in prayer and fasting. Please do not hesitate to reach out to your priest(s) or servants in the event of any need.

Although the church building may be temporary closed, the mystical spiritual church within each of us, with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our bodies as the Temple of God (1Cor 3:16;1Cor 6:19), is still open for prayer and offering an acceptable sacrifice to our Heavenly Father. In addition, during this period, the priests shall continue to pray liturgies in their homes upon the holy consecrated tablets which are used as portable alters and intercede for their congregation before the omnipresent God. We will remain united throughout this difficult period in prayer and fasting. We are all at your service if you ever need anything. Please do not hesitate for a moment to reach out to us.

May our Lord protect His Church and His children throughout the world, shorten these days and bring healing and tranquility to our land.

Click here to download the Third Joint Statement (English)

Click here to download the Third Joint Statement (Arabic)

Click here to download the Second Joint Statement (English)

Click here to download the Second Joint Statement (Arabic)

Click here to download the First Joint Statement in (En & Ar)