Pentecost is the great festival that marks the birth of the
Christian church by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Pentecost means "fiftieth day" and is
celebrated fifty days after Easter.
‘Through the Holy Spirit we are restored to
paradise, led back to the Kingdom of heaven, and adopted as children,
given confidence to call God "Father" and to share in Christ's grace,
called children of light and given a share in eternal glory.’
- St. Basil
We pray that God
keeps the world in
peace, for it is He who said: "My peace I leave with you, it is My own peace
that I give you,Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid."
(H. H. Pope Shenouda III)
Wondrous is
God in His saints; the
God of Israel. He will give power and strength to His people. Let the righteous
be glad; let them rejoice in the presence of God; let them delight in gladness.
Alleluia.
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are writing on behalf of the
congregation of St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Church in Portland, OR. The
church is registered in the State of Oregon under No. 547476-89, and
recognized by the IRS as a church under sec. 501 (c)(3).
In 1994 H. H. Pope Shenouda III asked
Fr. Takla Azmy, today’s priest of St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Seattle
(WA), to serve the Copts in Oregon. With 8 to 10 families, we started to
rent an Antiochian Orthodox Church once a month on Saturdays.
Fr. Mekhail S.
Hanna was ordained into the priesthood by the hands of H.H. Pope Shenouda III on
the Pentecost Sunday of June 7, 1987 in “El Malak & El Romani Coptic Orthodox
Church” (Cairo, Egypt). Before priesthood, Abouna was responsible for the Church
Youth group and its services; whereas after his ordination he became in charge
of the Servants Preparation Classes.
During his service
back in Egypt, God blessed the Church a lot. The church has been renewed and
rebuilt in 2000, despite of the great persecution to Christians in that area.
Moreover, two major services have been established:
We also
noticed that
St. Antonious Coptic Orthodox Churchjust across the
street from the park was hosting their "First Annual Coptic Orthodox
Festival Celebrating Egyptian Culture." We were still full from the
Coffee Lovers meal, but it looked so good that we came back later
for an early supper and had a wonderful meal with
some fun and friendly folks who were very willing to show us around
the church as well as feed us and provide us with our names written
in Arabic (for me) and hieroglyphics (for LeRoy). Delightful, warm
folks who were terrific ambassadors for their church.
All in
all, a lovely day. I'm so glad we live in such a great neighborhood.
LeRoy Goertz: "Great
jewelry to be had!"
" I was so
pleased to be there. My niece says she would like to join me again
next year. I ate my meal as soon as I got home and it was
delicious. Thank your family and friends for having us."
" C'était
mon plaisir! It was really neat and we loved the food! I
have my picture at school by my desk"
Pola's High School
Teachers
" أمنع عينيك عن النظر للشر فتصبح هذه ذبيحة، و أمنع لسانك عن الكلام الباطل
فتحسب هذه تقدمة، ولا تدع يدك تفعل إثماً فتعد هذه محرقة.فلنقدم إذن من أيدينا
و من أرجلنا و من أفواهنا و من كل أعضائنا باكورات الله"
“Let the eye look on no evil thing, and it has become a
sacrifice; let your tongue speak nothing filthy, and it has
become an offering; let your hand do no lawless deed, and it has become a
whole burnt offering … Let us then from our hands and feet and mouth and all
other members, yield a first-fruit to God.”
"I
have received this great fiery spirit: receive him now yourselves. If you
wish to receive him that he may dwell in you, first offer hard labours of
the flesh and humility of the heart. Raise your thoughts up to heaven night
and day. Ask in uprightness of heart for this fiery spirit and he will then
be given to you.... Persist in prayer diligently, with all your heart, and
he will be given you, for this spirit dwells in upright hearts. He will
reveal to you higher mysteries and other things which I cannot express in
ink and paper.... Celestial joy will then be your portion day and night".
Last modified:
August 30, 2008
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