The Coptic Pilgrims of the Wirral

The Coptic Pilgrims of the Wirral

In the museum at Norton Priory, just outside Runcorn, there is an important and visible reminder of the ancient connections between Britain and Egypt. The monastery houses a collection of pilgrim tokens, and among them is a pilgrim flask from the monastery and shrine of St Mena in Egypt. It can easily be recognised by […]

What do we mean by Orthodox?

What do we mean by Orthodox?

We must ask what we mean by the word Orthodox. Of course we now that it is made up of the Greek words ortho – having a sense of right, and doxa – having the sense of both glory and worship. But as a word in Greek it has the sense of being a correct […]

The Confession of St Jacob Baradeus

The Confession of St Jacob Baradeus

Introduction by Prof. George Schodde The confession, of which we here give a translation, has been preserved by his spiritual children in Ethiopia. The original and a German transla­tion were published in the “Zeitschrift der Deutsch-morgenlandischen Gesellschaft,” 1876, pp. 417-466, by Dr. Comill, and from the former this first English version has been made. The […]

Holy Places for Coptic Christians – St Chad

Holy Places for Coptic Christians – St Chad

St Chad is one of the great saints of the British Isles, and responsible for bringing Christianity to much of the Midlands, after the invasions of the pagan Anglo-Saxons. The Mercian kingdom occupied much of the area occupied by the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and there are many places associated with this holy […]

British Saints for Coptic Christians – St Bertram

British Saints for Coptic Christians – St Bertram

In the small village of Ilam, in the beautiful valley of the River Manifold, and at the foot of Dovedale, we find the ancient Church of the Holy Cross, and within it, the tomb of St Bertram, in Old English, St Beorhthelm. This is one of those few, and most precious, shrines of an early […]

British Saints for Coptic Christians – St Alkelda

British Saints for Coptic Christians – St Alkelda

I have spent a week in the little village of Giggleswick in the Yorkshire Dales, close to Settle, and about 60 miles by road from the Coptic Orthodox Church of St Mary and St Mina in Stockport.The Church is named for St Alkelda, almost entirely unknown outside these mountain valleys. She was from a noble […]

Homily for Tute 1

Homily for Tute 1

For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. Luke 7:28 Some of the disciples of John the Baptist had come to ask if he was indeed the one that […]

St Mary Magdalene

St Mary Magdalene

On this day, August 4th, we commemorate and celebrate the life and witness of St Mary Magdalene. It was she from whom the Lord Jesus cast out seven demons according to the Gospels, which each speak of her. In Luke 8, we read… Now it came to pass, afterward, that He went through every city […]

Choosing the best in life

Choosing the best in life

We can think of the Christian Faith in a negative way, as if it was about things which are forbidden to us, and things which will limit our freedom. We can imagine that all our effort must be given without any clear idea that it will ever be rewarded. It can seem that everyone else […]

Homily for the Feast of Pentecost

Homily for the Feast of Pentecost

Today is the joyful feast of Pentecost. It is the day in the year when we especially commemorate with thanksgiving the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Christ who had remained faithful, and continued to gather together both through the despair of the cross, the joy of the resurrection […]