Today, in the Coptic Orthodox Church, we commemorate St. Athanasius, the 20th Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. A few of his notable contributions to the Christian faith are:

• Main author of the Nicene Creed
• Wrote On the Incarnation, a treatise affirming and explaining that Jesus Christ is both God and Man.
• First person to list the same 27 books of the New Testament, that list was later ratified by a series of synods and now is the universally recognized New Testament in use today.

Further Reading:

• Background information and writings
• St Athanasius the Great the Archbishop of Alexandria (OCA)
• Athanasius & Cyril, Patriarchs of Alexandria (GOARCH)
• Saint Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria (Prologue of Ohrid)
• The Departure of St. Athanasius the Apostolic the 20th. Pope of Alexandria (Coptic)
• St. Athanasius the Great Icon and Story
• The Significance of St. Athanasius for the Coptic Orthodox Church (Anba Gregorius)
• Athanasius of Alexandria (OrthodoxWiki)
• Athanasius of Alexandria (Wikipedia)
• Contending for Our All (John Piper)

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The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America has launched a new design of their web site using Drupal. As I was browsing through the site, I found some wonderful resources on Orthodox Christianity:

• Orthodox Christianity – A series of articles on some of the basic doctrines of the Orthodox Christian Faith brought to you by Conciliar Media Ministries.
• Articles & Orthodox Christian Resources
• Articles from the Word – The official print publication of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
• Orthodox Liturgical Music

Just got word from Conciliar Press that the complete Orthodox Study Bible, including both the Old (Septuagint) & New Testament will be available February 2008. I have long been a fan of the New Testament version and I am looking forward to what I am sure will be a valuable resource.

The Coptic Orthodox Church annually celebrates the Fast of the Virgin Mary starting from August 7th and concludes with a feast commemorating the assumption of her body on August 22nd. I get a lot of questions about the Orthodox View of the Holy Theotokos (Mother of God), here are a few great resources:

• Facing Up To Mary, a booklet by Fr. Peter Gillquist – Why is it important to honor Mary and call her “blessed”? This booklet will lay to rest much of the contemporary confusion concerning Mary, and will provide help for those seeking to understand her role in our lives.
• Five Virtues of Saint Mary, a sermon by His Grace Bishop Moussa.
  
• Mary, Ever-Virgin, a booklet by Fr. John Hainsworth – Every sincere Christian acknowledges that Christ was born of a Virgin. But from earliest times, the Church has also held that Mary remained a virgin even after giving to the Holy Child. How is this so? The author examines this long-held Christian doctrine, looks at the key biblical passages and addresses some of the major areas of concern for modern Christians.
• Mary the Mother of God, by Saint Gregory Palamas – A collection of some of the greatest homilies ever written on the Theotokos, including Gregory’s celebrated sermon “On the Entry of the Mother of God into the Holy of Holies.” 78 pages.
  
• On Saint Mary, a sermon by His Grace Bishop Moussa.
• Saint Mary in the Orthodox Concept, Part I.
• The Assumption of the Theotokos, a sermon by Deacon Raouf Ibrahim.
• The Blessing of Sacrifice, a sermon by Fr. Anthony Messeh.
• The Holy Theotokos: A Model For All Mankind, an article by Inas Michael.
• The Holy Virgin St. Mary, a pamplet by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III. (Also availble as a PDF).
• The Life of Prayer According to the Theotokos, a sermon by Fr. Bishoy Andrawes.
• The Mother of God, a blog post by Fr. Stephen Freeman.
• The Mystery of Saint Mary, a homily by Jacob of Serug (5th/6th Century)
• Theotokos on OrthodoxWiki
• The Truth About the Virgin Mary, a sermon by Fr. Anthony Messeh.
• The Virgin’s Fast, a blog post By Fr. Augustinos Hanna.
• Treasures of the Fathers: On the Holy Theotokos, A Discourse on the Annunciation of the Most Holy Theotokos, by Saint Basil of Seleucia, translated by Fr. George Dion Dragas, Protopresbyter.

This morning’s quiet time was Daniel 1:11-21, where Daniel and his friends, while captive in Babylon, choose to obey God’s law rather than indulge in the king’s delicacies. After being tested, Daniel and his friends were found in better shape than the rest who ate the king’s delicacies. It made me think about how often we are tempted with seemingly small sins, the white lie, the lustful glance, the judging thought…we must purpose in our hearts, as Daniel did (vs. 8), not to defile ourselves. I leave you with one of my favorite hymns from the midnight psalmody.

O Sing unto Him – MP3 (Produced by St. Antony Monastery)

O sing unto Him who was crucified, buried, and resurrected for us, and trampled and abolished death, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Take off the old man, and put on the new and superior one, come closer to greatness of mercy, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
All you Christian people, the priests and the deacons, glorify the Lord for he is worthy, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Come to us o three children, whom Christ our God has lifted, and from the devil has delivered, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
For the sake of your God the Messiah, the giver of all good things, come unto us O Hananiah, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
O Azariah the zealot, evening, and morning and at noon glorify the power of the trinity, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Behold Emmanuel our, is now in our midst O Mishael, proclaim with the voice of joy, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Gather now and persevere, and proclaim with the priests, bless the Lord all his works, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
The heavens declare the glory, of God until this day, O you angels whom he has made, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Now all you powers of the Lord bless his honored name, O sun and moon and all the stars, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
And those O you rain and dew, sing praises unto our Savoir, for he is God of our fathers, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Glorify the Lord O clouds and winds, together with the souls and the spirits, O you cold and fire and heat, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
You also nights and days, light and darkness and lightning, glorify the Lover of Mankind, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
You trees and all that springs on the earth, and all that moves in the waters, mountains and the forests, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Praise without ceasing, the Lord the King of the Kings, O you rivers and seas, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
And we also seeing them, let us say with all these things, Bless the Lord all you birds, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
O snow and ice, cattle and wild beasts, bless the Lord of Lords, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Bless the Lord as befits Him, and not like the disobedient, all you sons of men, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
O Israel offered, before him honor and glory in a joyful voice in the voice of joy, all you priests of Emmanuel, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
You servants of the true God, the souls of the righteous, and the humble and the charitable, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
God my God is the one, who saved you from danger, O Sedrach Misach and Abdenago, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Hurry with great haste, O you righteous of the Lord, and all the creatures he has made, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
Coolness and repose without ceasing, grant unto all of us, that we may joyfully proclaim, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.
And also Your poor servant Sarkis, make him without condemnation, that we may join all those and say, Praise Him and exalt Him above all.

Additional Reading:
The missing chapters of the book of Daniel – Part of the deuterocanonical books.

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St. John Coptic Orthodox Church: “The Abundant Life”

“When we empty our lives of the things that make us so comfortable, we open the door for God to be our sole provider and comforter. And this, I learned, is the abundant life.”

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Today, we conclude the Apostles Fast and celebrate the Apostles’ Feast, where we commemorate the martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul.

From Saint Clement of Rome:

“Let us set before our eyes the illustrious apostles. [Saint] Peter, through unrighteous envy, endured not one or two, but numerous labors; and when had at length suffered martyrdom, departed to the place of glory due to him.

“…[Saint] Paul also obtained the reward of patient endurance, after being seven times thrown into captivity, compelled to flee, and stoned. After preaching both in the east and west, he gained the illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus he was removed from the world and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience.”

More on Saints Peter and Paul:
OrthodoxWiki: Apostle Peter and Apostle Paul
SUSCopts: St Peter: A Portrait
OrthodoxSermons.org: The Restoration of St. Peter, St. Paul’s Inner Life, and The Life of St. Paul

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Here are a few of my favorite sites for resources on Orthodox Christianity:

• Ancient Faith Radio – A pan-Orthodox internet based radio station on the air 24 hours a day.
• CopticChurch.Net – Daily lectionary, articles, hymns, and sermons.
• OrthodoxWiki – A free-content encyclopedia and information center for Orthodox Christianity.
• OrthodoxBookstore.org – Offers a vast selection of Coptic and general Orthodox books.
• OrthodoxSearch – Indexes hundreds of well-known and obscure websites from around the world relevant to Orthodox Christianity.
• OrthodoxSermons.org – Compiling the largest collections of Orthodox Sermons on the web.
• SUSCopts.org – Contains a resources section plus Q&A with the Bishop.

Please fell free to comment with your favorite resources.

Disclaimer: I provide technical support for both OrthodoxBookstore.org and OrthodoxSermons.org.