the introduction :

The church, in its narrow sense, means the community of believers. When we talk about a group called a church, there must be a link that connects that group to melt it into one crucible so that it remains a group that cannot be separated.

That connection is faith. Faith in the church and its definition is that given by the Apostle Paul when he defined it by saying: Faith is confidence in what is hoped for and certainty in things not seen. But what emerges from this faith?

1. The first of these matters is the eternal existence of God according to what was stated in his words (I am the First and the Last, I am the Alpha and the Omega), and that God is absolutely existent and there is no discussion about that.
2. That Jesus Christ is the tangible image of the power of the invisible God, and that he is the only mediator between God and people in the fellowship of His body and blood that He presented on the cross, reconciling heaven to earth. That is, we absolutely believe in his crucifixion, death, and descent into hell to announce his salvation to the men of the Old Testament who believed in the inevitability of the salvation that he brought into the world to redeem those who believed in him from the curse of the law, becoming a curse for us to gain adoption, that is, to become children of God, and that he rose from the dead, conquering the pride of death and conquering. The path for us is easy towards the heavenly kingdom. He ascended to heaven carrying our human body, which he wore, glorified by resurrection and victorious over death, to sit it at the right hand of God, which is the natural position for it, considering that man is the master of all creatures, had it not been for Adam’s sin and his fall by disobeying God, qualifying his believers for this great privilege.
3. And the Holy Spirit is the divine spirit that knows the depths of God. It was issued after the ascension of the Son, emanating from the Father (John 15). He is active today in the church. He is the comforter, advocate, supporter, and defender of the church. His entitlements are given to believers through the holy secrets. He is the one who spoke and continues to speak on the tongues of the prophets, apostles, bishops, and all fathers. In the Church.
   These are the things that bring the group together to remain a cohesive group that works to please God, who desires that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
4. The group believes in the centrality of the interpretation of the Divine Book by the fathers and teachers of the Church, because if the room were opened for each person in the group to interpret as he wished, the group would split among themselves, because many verses of the Divine Book are subject to many interpretations, so the true interpretation must be chosen that actually fits with the spirit of the text. What was intended by divine revelation, and this is not consistent with everyone interpreting it as he pleases.

In this way, the church will be a true church with one faith, one tradition, and one path that leads its believers towards one goal, which is salvation and the heavenly kingdom in Christ our Lord, to whom should be all glory, honor, and prostration forever. Amen

Features of establishing the church:

We hear a lot about the names of churches, names from here and there, and this church came out of that, and everyone says I am the original and I am the true church, and even I am the church of Christ. The simple Christian believer falls into the vortex of abundance, where is the right thing, and what is Christ’s position on all of this? There must be a touchstone by which we can test whether this church is from God or what is its source. The true test is inevitably present in the New Testament. The Savior to whom glory is the same one who set this test, and without him, it is in no way possible to call that gathering a church. On the contrary, it is the house of Satan, through which the believer’s spiritual entity is destroyed as the Lord wanted it, and the result is judgment and destruction. .

What is this test, how do we find it, and what are its characteristics?

Let's go back to the beginning.

Jesus Christ came victorious over Satan after his baptism from John in the Jordan, to begin his joyful message to humanity living in complete darkness, the message of tolerance and pardon, the message of love and peace, the message of reconciliation between the exceedingly good God and sinful man, the message of victory over death and glorious resurrection.

The Savior had his own “philosophy” in spreading that message, by choosing twelve disciples who would accompany him on his journeys and listen to his words and instill in them that true love that he himself returned, meaning love of God and love of neighbor, and they would even do his works, that is, in short, he would implant in them the truth of faith as he wanted it, and then He gives them strength through the Holy Spirit to transmit that faith by discipling all nations and baptizing them in the name of the Holy Trinity.

This is what actually happened. The messengers set off and traveled around the world preaching, opening churches, and gathering believers under one faith and one heart.

Over time, the churches of one region joined together to form one church, and what helped and made this easy was the unity of faith and belief because its basis is clear, which is the apostolic foundation, meaning that the apostles were the ones who formed and built these churches with the faith that they derived directly from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Over time, the five world churches were formed that managed the affairs of the world's Christians with the apostolic authority granted to them by the Lord Jesus Christ, which are:

1. The Church of Rome was founded in Rome by the Apostles Peter and Paul, and they received the death of martyrdom there.
2. The Church of Constantinople was founded by the Apostle Andrew when he preached in that region that was called Byzantium before the emergence of the great city of Constantinople.
3. The Church of Alexandria was established by the Apostle Mark and martyred there.
4. The Church of Antioch was also founded by the Apostles Peter and Paul.
5. The Church of Jerusalem was founded under the leadership of Saint James, the brother of the Lord, who lived there. He presided over the first apostolic council in Jerusalem regarding the entry of nations into Christianity and the issue of circumcision, and he issued laws that determined that.

These are the churches that arose from ancient times and all the Christians of the world came under their administration, and their influence even extended to include all parts of the Christian world.

Therefore, this is the true evangelical test for judging the church: whether it is from Christ or made by humans. The church that was founded by one of Christ’s apostles who were sent to preach the Gospel to the entire creation based on their faith, which they derived from the Savior to whom glory is the true church, and anything other than it is false and no doctrine is accepted from it. We do not hear an explanation from him, nor do we accept any teaching from him at all. Whoever accepts anything from them or joins them has departed from his apostolic church, and whenever he feels himself close to his Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, he is in fact farther away from him because there is no apostolic basis for that group.

What confirms our words in this context is that the Church that is not built on this apostolic foundation and the multiplicity of interpretations of the Holy Bible is what has created so many divisions from each other that we see in Europe and America hundreds of churches, sects and factions, and the inevitable result is the division of the Church, that is, the rupture of the one body of Christ.

Is this what Christ wanted for the church, which is his body? And what is the result? The inevitable result is a person's loss and confusion in order to know the truth and not find it.

We in the Eastern Orthodox Church, for example, do not deny the existence of some differences. But they are administrative disputes, and politics plays a role in that, because the regions in which our churches are located differ and vary in their political outlook, but in no way can these differences amount to a religious dispute in faith and belief. Rather, they are disputes that occur within the same family without anyone splitting from the other. Because our foundation is Christian and apostolic, our church has exceeded two thousand years of age, and we will continue to maintain that faith, transmitting it with absolute fidelity from generation to generation without addition or decrease, according to the testimony of everyone around us and even the testimony of those who depart from our faith.

Why have some departed from our faith and thus from the Church?

The reasons are many and long to explain. But we will summarize the most important ones.

The Eastern Church in particular has gone through dark ages afflicted by calamities and disasters, as everyone attests to. The Church has provided thousands of martyrs from different groups, classes, genders, and ages, to the point that infants were slaughtered in front of their families to influence them to leave their faith. This is what is known as external persecution, that is, from those who appointed themselves. Enemies of the Church, which sponsored the new religion at that time. This persecution ended during the reign of the Blessed Constantine, the most pious King, who issued a general amnesty and considered Christianity one of the state religions.

But the church was not spared from internal persecution, that is, coming from within it, with the emergence of people with strange beliefs that distorted the apostolic faith of the church.

One of them denied the divinity of Christ and even dared to call him a created being, and another dared to deny the complete human nature in him. This denied the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church, and another said that it is not permissible to call the Most Holy Virgin the Mother of God, but rather she is the mother of the human Christ only, and other strange beliefs. The Church took up the defense of its faith by convening the Seven Ecumenical Councils, which included the Church from East and West, and deprived those who adhered to those atheistic doctrines from church communion. Rather, those holy councils defined and crystallized the correct doctrines, guided by the Holy Spirit, so that the Church suffered new Dark Ages as a natural result of that internal persecution. .

Disasters came one after another. The countries in which the Church resides, especially Palestine, fell under various types of colonialism, suffering from bitter experiences, poverty, even hunger, and the exile of upright-minded patriarchs and bishops far from their dioceses.

All these accumulations over the ages led to men who did not possess sufficient knowledge to teach, preach, and pastoral work being promoted to the ranks of the priesthood. However, we do not detract from the life of holiness that radiated from them in the various great works they performed, especially on the social and tribal levels. However, their pastoral work was limited to holding all church rituals and services with the exception of education.

The result was people's ignorance of matters of faith and even ritual matters, such that no one knew where he was within the church ritual.

Hence, we summarize the reasons for people’s defection from their churches as follows:

1. Weak religious education.
2. Purely financial reasons as a result of poverty and unemployment.
3. Ignorance of true faith.
4. Misunderstanding of ritual practice in the church.
5. The massive infusion of money from the funding sources of these groups towards local communities whose churches live in extreme poverty.
6. The self-preparedness of some educated people to be liberated from the authority of the church in order to live freely as they interpret and believe however they want.

We will list all of these reasons very briefly, and whoever wants more should search.

All of these reasons subsequently led to the departure of a significant number of our children from the church, and when we try to dialogue with them, many of them feel internally that this exit was wrong, but they begin to give justifications that are not based at all on religious or theological logic. They may say that the priest is so-and-so and the bishop so-and-so did such-and-such, and the church is traditional. It is fossilized and devoid of development, and it rants about ritual practices that are believed to constitute atheism into which the church has fallen, meaning that it repeats the accusations they make that are not based on a biblical basis.

We will try below to shed light on some of the matters that they talk to us about so that our children can learn about them, so that they may feel the gravity of their departure from the holiness of the Mother Church.

1. The Gospel:

They say: The Gospel is what we recognize and do not recognize anything else. It is the source of all legislation, and we apply what is stated in it. We do not recognize the Church Fathers, its laws, or its councils, and our practice is a reflection of that.

Before we answer that, we present the following questions:

• Who collected and arranged the Bible in its current form?
• Who proved the legality of the Holy Scriptures due to the presence of many apocryphal books (books whose legality has not been proven).
• Who has brought the Gospel to you in such amazing and wonderful order today?
• Who established the legal points to distinguish between the sacred book and the apocryphal book?
• Who contributed to spreading the same divine book to all parts of the earth so that Christians could circulate this book in the East and West?

Aren't they the holy fathers?

• Who today claims to be an Evangelical, was he present at the time when the Divine Book was compiled and published 2000 years ago or more?
• The most important question is: Do the holy fathers who suffered so much for the sake of writing down the Gospel and arranging it make church arrangements that contradict the Divine Book that has reached you today through them??
• Do the divine fathers who defended the doctrines and even established them against Arius, Nestorius, Macedonius, Eutyches and others allow arrangements against the true spirit of the Gospel and even established all of this in the law of faith, which includes the summary of the true Christian faith about the Holy Trinity?
• After all that, do we not recognize the fathers and their teachings and value their efforts in preserving the faith and formulating doctrines whose authenticity we have absolutely no doubt?

And above all this:

Why do they assign their students who study (theology according to their knowledge) in Cyprus to write research papers on the view of some of the Church Fathers on some very sensitive matters such as the view of Saint Athanasius the Apostle on the Incarnation, or the view of Saint John Chrysostom on the Atonement and the Cross, or the view of Saint Basil the Great on creation or The divine image in man according to Saint Gregory Palamas. Is it not because all their teachings and interpretations on these topics are incomplete that they cannot live up to the interpretations of these holy men?

Despite all this, we present the following written evidence that the Gospel does not contain all the matters related to the daily practices of the Church, which some see as outside the spirit of the Gospel and not from it.

Is the book the only reference?

• In the words of the Savior, addressing his disciples in a special way: Whoever hears you has heard from me, and whoever rejects you has rejected me, and whoever rejects me has rejected him who sent me. (Luke 10:16)
• And whoever does not hear the pledge of allegiance, let him be to you as a pagan or a tax collector (Matthew 18:17).

We notice in the last verse who did not hear, not who read.

We answer the following question: Does the book contain all the required teachings?

No, the evidence for that is:

• A number of books have been lost, such as the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, which was mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (I wrote to you in the letter, and now I write to you.).
• Likewise, the letter of the Apostle Paul to Latakia was lost and was mentioned in Colossians 4:16. He says: After reciting the letter to you, take care that it be recited in the church of the Latakia as well, and that you also recite the one from Latakia.
• And many other things that Jesus did in front of the disciples were not written in this book (John 20:30).
• And many other things that Jesus did. If they had been written down one by one, I would not have thought the world could contain written newspapers. (John 21:25).

Now we answer in writing: Is every believer capable of interpreting the Holy Scriptures correctly and accurately?

We answer: This is not possible, and we cite proof of this from the Second Epistle of Peter, when he publicly states:

• Knowing above all that every prophecy in the Book is not the interpretation of an individual person, because no prophecy was ever made by the will of man, but rather the holy men of God spoke under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:20-21).
• The Book is distorted by people who have no knowledge or foundation. (2 Peter 3:16)

Is the Bible easy for everyone to interpret?

The Apostle Peter answers: However, there are things in it that are difficult to understand and are distorted by those who have no knowledge or stability, as they do with all the writings to destroy their souls. (2 Peter 3:16).

We read in the Epistle to the Hebrews: We have many words about him (that is, Christ) that are difficult to interpret, because you have become dull of hearing. (5:11-12).

They say: The Holy Spirit explains to everyone what he reads.

We answer: Why did the Holy Spirit himself not explain those books to the Ethiopian eunuch? (Acts 8:30). Why did the Holy Spirit not inspire him at that moment? Rather, he needed Philip to guide him, explain to him, and thus baptize him.

Does God speak to man through the Bible?

On the contrary, we see Jesus not answering the questions of those who heard his voice, but rather sending them to the church entrusted with the good news. We see him saying to Cornelius, “Send to Joppa and call Simon, who is called Peter, for he is the one who will tell you what to do.” (Acts 10:4-6) The book is of course not sufficient for good news. Cornelius.

Likewise, Paul, when the Lord appeared to him and Paul answered him, “Lord, what shall I do?” the Lord did not tell him, “Read the book,” but rather sent it to Ananias of Damascus. (Acts 9:6).

It is as if the Lord is saying, first go to church to learn what the book is, then read the book.

But is the Church's interpretation of the Holy Scriptures correct and unambiguous?

Of course, that is because the Lord promised to be with her, when he says, “And, lo, I am with you all the days, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28 20).

They object to tradition and do not accept it.

We answer them, saying: Read 2 Thessalonians 2:14, as the Apostle says: Stand firm, then, brothers, and hold fast to the traditions which you have learned, either through our words or through our letters.

The Apostle in the previous verse is not talking about the Holy Bible, but rather about the apostolic orders that the Church received through words or letters.

Let us also hear the Messenger how he praises those who preserve the honorable tradition in:

1 Corinthians 11:2: I praise you, brothers, because you remember me in everything and keep the traditions as I handed them down to you.

After all this, is there a biblical or doctrinal justification that justifies abandoning the mother church, leaving ecclesiastical fellowship, and living under the shadow of someone who poisons people’s minds by exploiting emotions, the effects of which are often temporary?

Isn’t it better to search in the teachings of our Holy Church, its fathers, and its teachers, to draw from its inexhaustible source, or to be a weak tree blown by the wind? Wherever the wind blows, we tend with it.

We will discuss the Church's ritual practices in turn to see the extent to which they agree or differ with the Gospel.

Sacraments:

They say: There are no sacraments in the church, and the church is only prayer and interpretation of Scripture.

Naguib: The sacraments were practiced in the church during the era of the apostles. They used to baptize, lay hands, break bread, sanctify oil, perform marriage ceremonies, ordain people to the ranks of the sacrament of the priesthood, and accept the confessions of repentants.

The seven holy secrets are mentioned symbolically in the Book of Proverbs:

Wisdom built her house, carved her seven pillars, slaughtered her sacrifices, and mixed her wine in the cup. She also arranged her table. She sent her maids calling for the appearance of the upper parts of the city. He who is ignorant, let him turn in here. And he who lacks understanding said to him, “Come, eat of my food and drink of the wine that I have mixed.” Leave foolish things and live (Proverbs 9:1-6).

• Who is wisdom except the Divine Self, who is the source of wisdom and understanding?
• What is a house? Isn't it the Church of God that exists from one end of the world to the other?
• What are the seven pillars? Is there any explanation for them other than that they are the seven secrets that the Holy Spirit sanctifies to become the pillar of the church, and that there is no church at all without those seven pillars?
• The sacrifices are nothing but the sacrifice of the cross, which, even if it occurs once, continues to have effect for everyone who believes.
• What is her table? Isn’t the Gospel that you collected and arranged to provide a living food that nourishes the souls of believers, or is it the Eucharistic table in which the body and blood of the Lord are offered as nourishment to believers?
• Among the slave girls who call out are other than the holy men of God who shout at people to bring them back to the love of God and the church. Rather, they take advantage of every opportunity to remind people of the spiritual life in Christ and the splendor of the heavenly paradise that he promised to his loved ones and which Saint John depicts in the vision in the most beautiful and clearest image.

We see the secrets symbolically in Psalm 46:4, a river whose streams rejoice the city of God.

The river is the Holy Spirit, the troughs (the vessels in which we drink) are the sacraments, and the City of God is the Church.

But what is the secret:

The Sacrament: It is a sacred act through which the believer receives the invisible grace of the Holy Spirit under a visible sign.

The seven secrets are:

1. Baptism: A secret established by the Lord Jesus Christ when he commanded the disciples to disciple the nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19).

We baptize everyone without exception, adults, the elderly, and children, and we may be accused of infant baptism. We answer that by saying, why do we not baptize them? Jesus himself said: Let the children come to me and do not forbid them, because for such are the kingdom of heaven.

Then, since baptism replaced circumcision, did circumcision distinguish between an adult and a child?

Did they say that the child should grow up until he realizes what God’s covenant is and then circumcise him? Rather, they used to circumcise the child on the eighth day of his birth. We received this matter directly from the holy apostles who baptized entire families, such as the family of Cornelius the Centurion, as well as the entire family of the Philippian jailer, without distinction between small and large.

The Savior Himself affirmed that whoever was not born of water and the Spirit will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If the child died without receiving this secret, what would be his fate? Without baptism, he will not have entered the holy community.

There is another objection that they cite the verse in Mark 16 that says whoever believes and is baptized will be saved and whoever does not believe will be condemned.

We answer: The problem here is that they quote the verse truncated. They quote the verse without what came before it, which completes the meaning. The Savior said: Go into the whole world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, and whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Here the meaning becomes complete, as he sends them first to adults, and here is how an adult accepts baptism without first believing in the essence of baptism and first believing in her Lord Jesus Christ, who gave her strength by acquiring it with his precious blood. Therefore, logically, an adult must believe and be convinced of Christianity for the present and future life and then enter it through baptism.

As for children, we give them that grace, i.e. baptism, and then we leave them to grow up within the church and live its life, and the matter is the same.

2. The Sacrament of Holy Chrismation: It is a sacrament through which the baptized person receives the gifts of the Holy Spirit and is completed immediately after baptism.

This sacrament was given directly by the apostles by laying on of hands (Acts 8:17).

When the number of Christians increased, the successors of the apostles replaced that with the anointing of chrism, which is pure olive oil with an amount of grape wine added to it and a large number of spices and herbs that Moses used in the anointing oil. Then it is sanctified on Holy Thursday by the bishop, the successor of the apostles, and distributed to the churches, where the child’s limbs are anointed with it. After baptism, he receives the gifts of sanctification from the Holy Spirit who instills and sanctifies that sacrament.

We inferred the origin of the secret from the words of the Apostle John: But you have an anointing from the Holy One and you know all things. (1 John 2:20).

Since the laying on of hands was specific to apostles, the application of chrism was specific to bishops only.

The Church has permitted the priest to anoint the baptized person immediately after baptism, without which the baptism is considered incomplete. (Acts 8:14 and 16).

3. The sacrament of thanksgiving (the Eucharist), communion, or the Holy Eucharist:

Through it, the believer receives, under the forms of bread and wine, the very body and precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Master himself established this secret on the night he surrendered himself to death. Due to the great importance of this secret, it was mentioned by the four Gospel writers. It uses leavened bread made from pure wheat and pure red grape wine mixed with a little pure water in remembrance of the blood and water coming down from the side of the Savior pierced with a spear.

Through this secret, the believer is completely united with the noble body and blood, so he abides in Christ and Christ abides in him. Before Communion, physical preparation is required, such as fasting and fervent prayer the night before Communion, and spiritual preparation by contemplating the power of the sacrament, true remorse, and asking for forgiveness, so that a person can receive worthy of the fire of divinity and not be burned.

Those outside the church communion object that what we eat is not the true body and true blood, but rather that the bread and wine are a symbol of the body and blood. They do not believe in the actual transformation of the bread and wine into the holy body and blood.

We answer: The symbol actually existed, but in the Old Testament, when Melchizedek blessed Abraham, offering him bread and wine. The Bible explains this by saying that Melchizedek was a priest of the Most High God.

In the New Testament, there is no symbol, but rather the complete, unambiguous truth:

• Linguistically, the Lord said, “This is my body, this is my blood.” He did not say, “This is a symbol of my body or a symbol of my blood,” indicating something real. Likewise, in the language (this) is a noun referring to something real, so when I say this is Zaid, it is in fact Zaid and it is absolutely not possible that he is someone else.
• The words of the Savior himself acknowledge the truth that what we receive in the Church is in fact the Body and Blood of the Lord. He said: My body is true food and my blood is true drink. Likewise, whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him, and as the legal rule says: There is no ijtihad regarding the source of the text. The Savior never mentioned any reference to a symbol.
• The Apostle Paul confirmed this fact by referring to the severity of the one who accepts the body and blood of the Lord undeservedly in (1 Corinthians 11:23) to the point of accusing him of crime. Crime cannot be by symbol but by reality.

In the same previous location, the Apostle emphasizes the body and blood of the Lord without mentioning the symbol at all.

This secret can only be completed by bishops and priests inside the temple at the holy table dedicated to completing this secret.

4. The sacrament of repentance or confession:

It is a sacrament through which the repentant receives forgiveness of sins and the Holy Spirit descends upon him after he acknowledges his actions before the priest (spiritual father) and prays for his forgiveness.

It was established by the Lord Jesus Christ himself when he breathed on his disciples and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; whose sins you retain, they are retained.” (John 20:22 and 23). Also, whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven, and whatever you bind will be bound in heaven. (Matthew 18:18).

The apostles actually practiced the ministry of reconciliation by confession in the early church and handed this great gift to their successors, the bishops and priests. (Acts 19:18).

Confession has existed since the Old Testament, and the Lord directly commanded it when He declared:

If the soul has sinned, let it acknowledge the sin that it has committed. (Numbers 5:7) With the same meaning (Leviticus 5:5) and (Leviticus 26:40) and (Joshua 7:19) Likewise, between the two Testaments, there was a crowd of those who came to John the Baptist, being baptized by him, confessing their sins.

Therefore, the Christian must practice the sacrament of holy confession whenever his conscience is heavy, especially before receiving the body and blood of the Lord. Four conditions are required of the repentant:

1. Heart contrition over his previous sins.

2. Firm determination to reform one’s behavior and not return to sin.

3. Firm faith and hope in the Savior and His compassion.

4. A sincere oral confession of his sins before the spiritual father, to hear from him spiritual guidance and fatherly advice, and then to hear from him the words of resolving sins in the name of Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit.

The spiritual father imposes on the confessor some scraps as a medicine to reform his conduct, such as imposing a special fast or an individual prayer coupled with a number of rak’ahs, or preventing him from receiving the Holy Communion for a period of time when the sin is heavy. These scraps make the penitent feel the weight of the sin and encourage him not to return to it.

5. The secret of the priesthood:

It is a sacrament that is accomplished by the high priest placing his hand on the head of the man applying for the priesthood to consecrate him with the help of the Holy Spirit to complete the sacraments and teach, preach, and guide people.

It was established by the Lord Jesus Christ himself when he said to the disciples: As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Likewise, after the resurrection, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

The apostles practiced giving the sacrament of priesthood by laying on of hands in the Book of Acts of the Apostles, and the Apostle Paul practiced it on Timothy, Titus, and others.

This matter is very important. Every apostolic church has an apostolic sequence by laying on of the hand from the apostle to the next to him.... That we arrived today. This sequence is very important so that the ordination of bishops and priests is legal.

In our Jerusalem Orthodox Church, for example, this sequence exists in its entirety, from the Apostle James, the Brother of God, the first bishop of Jerusalem, up to our father and current Patriarch, Theophilus III, and everyone in between is known by name and history in our Jerusalem Patriarchate.

This is also the case in the other five patriarchates that exist in the world until today. Therefore, everyone who claims to be a church outside of this apostolic hierarchy is a false one who has no legality for him, his works, or his teachings, but rather leads people to destruction.

6. The secret of marriage:

It is a sacred sacrament in which the man and woman who offer this sacrament receive the blessing of the Holy Spirit with the blessing of the legal priest, and are joined together to become one body for natural reproduction and the survival of the human race. It is an optional sacrament because there are those who wish to preserve their virginity in order to dedicate their lives to the Lord.

The Lord ordained them from the beginning of creation as male and female. He created them and blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and take possession of it” (Genesis 1:28).

A man is married to one woman, and they are often separated only by death. At that time, it is permissible for the man or woman to marry a second or third time, but a fourth marriage is absolutely prohibited.

7. The secret of oil anointing:

It is a sacrament that the priest performs on the physically and spiritually sick, through which the sick person receives the grace of healing and forgiveness of sins.

The Lord commanded His holy apostles to do so, and they healed many sick people with that anointing (Mark 6:13)

St. James emphasized this in his letter when he said: Is there sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. For the prayer of faith will heal the sick person, and if he has sins they will be forgiven (James 5:14 and 15).

That is why only bishops and priests perform it and anoint the sick with it themselves. If it does not grant them physical healing, it certainly grants them forgiveness of sins.

These are the seven secrets on which the building of the Church is based. We have proven what supports them in the Divine Book and we have not cited the writings of the Church Fathers who spoke about them at wonderful length, guided by the Holy Spirit. Whoever does not have these secrets in the power that we talked about, then what he calls a church is a broken down, ruined building that does not stand on the foundation of the rock of Christ, and is destructive to the souls who seek refuge in Him. The result is eternal death, and whoever left the embrace of the mother church has left God’s mercy forever.

Honoring holy icons and decorating churches with them:

Since ancient times, we have been taught to decorate churches with sacred icons, namely the icons of the Lord, the Virgin Mary, and the saints, in addition to practical scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Throughout time, there has been no contradiction between faith and the actual practice of the sacraments and worship.

The second commandment says: You shall not make for yourself an image or likeness of anything that is in heaven above or that is on the earth below or that is in the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or worship them.

By decorating churches with holy icons, we are not violating the commandment, because our bowing and prostration before the icon of the Lord Christ, to whom be glory, is a worship of the owner of the icon and not of its material, and there is no problem with that because Moses and Aaron prostrated to the Lord before the cherubim covering the lid of the ark. If the prostration of Moses and Aaron before the cherubim was worship of the cherubim, the glory of the Lord would not have descended and the clouds would have filled the house, which is the tent of testimony. (Numbers 20:6)

In contrast, we see the Lord's anger being kindled against the people when they made the golden calf. They made him and worshiped him as a god instead of God. This is the one who violates the commandment completely and does not exist in our churches at all.

Because of the lack of worship, we see God allowing the walls of the temple to be decorated with images of flowers, palm trees, lions, and other animals (1 Kings 6:9). He also commanded to make two cherubim of wood and overlay them with pure gold (1 Kings 6:23).

Likewise, Moses made the bronze serpent to heal snake bites, not for worship (Numbers 21:7-8).

In the previous commandment, God prohibited drawings and statues for the purpose of worship, not for the purpose of decoration.

In the church, we prostrate ourselves in worship to the icon of the Savior, which represents the Savior. I worship the Savior, not the material of the icon.

As for images of saints, we do not prostrate before them out of worship, but in honor of their companions. This is a natural condition. When a person shakes hands with a person of status or value, he bows his head. Is this worship?

Some deny that miracles occur through the icon.

Naguib: How did the miracle of healing happen by looking at the snake? Didn't this happen by God's power? The Lord Jesus Christ touched on the making of Moses’ bronze serpent, making it a representation of himself (John 3:14)

As for prostrating before the icon of the Virgin Mary or prostrating before the icon of one of the saints, it is prostration in honor of a person like me, of flesh and blood, who was truly a temple of the Holy Spirit. Indeed, I bow before a life full of giving and a truly Christian journey toward the kingdom, hoping to follow his example and follow his example.

Some say, imitate Christ, and that's enough for you.

We answer: That is impossible. Because the Savior has resembled us in all human lives except sin, and Christ is also a God whom we cannot resemble or imitate. The Apostle Paul understood this when he said:

They took the prophets as role models in enduring hardship and long-suffering.

It is absolutely impossible for the Church, which established the law of belief in the One God, the Triune Persons, and explained in it, with amazing brevity, the hypostatic properties of the God whom we worship, to worship anyone with Him, whoever he may be, but it places their images and gives them honor, because God honors His saints, and Psalm 150 says: 1 Praise God in His saints, praise Him. In the orbit of his power.

Intercession of the saints:

Before we address the subject of the intercession of the saints, which our children who were separated from us took upon us due to their wrong understanding of the practices of the Holy Church, all sanctification, we must know what intercession is and how we ask for it from the saints. Then we address in writing its permissibility and how we take advantage of their memory by praying and glorifying God in them and in their lives. He said: The one who chants in the Psalms (God is wonderful in his saints) is glorifying God in the lives of his saints.

The intercession of the saints means their prayers for us, and this is common in the church, as one or some of them request the prayers of the church and the believers for something they ask of God.

Therefore, wherever the word intercession is used, it means praying to God for something.

It is clear from the context of the speech that the intercession of the saints does not conflict in any way with the mediation of Christ, who is the only mediator between God and people, that mediation that he presented on the cross by shedding his blood for the life of all humanity, reconciling heaven to earth, and it is a unique mediation, as it is the sacrifice of the cross that he presented, even if only once. One thing, except that it continues in effect until God inherits the earth and all that is on it. Without this atoning mediation through Christ, no prayer is valid and no redemption is complete. All the animal sacrifices that people made in the Old Testament were unable to uproot sin and destroy death and corruption. Rather, this was done on the cross, giving the believers in Christ life. And not death.

We will prove, truly and from the Divine Book, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the truth of our words, and that the intercession of all the saints could not be of benefit were it not for the sacrifice of the cross and God’s honor to His saints on the basis of that sacrifice.

Objection: Why did the intercession of the saints and the Lord himself say: Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28-30) For my yoke is soft and my burden is light.

The previous verse is truncated and must be continued from verse 10 to the end of the chapter. When he says, “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am good and gentle in heart.”

Here the meaning is complete with complete clarity. The Lord is not talking about the intercession (the prayer of the saints), but rather he is talking about the yoke of the Pharisees who burden people beyond their capacity, that He has true comfort (because my yoke is easy and my burden is light).

Christ is the only mediator, but He is not the only intercessor. Here is the proof from the book:

(The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with indescribable groans.) (Romans 8:26). Here the Apostle Paul speaks about the intercession of the Holy Spirit for us as well.

However, if the saint performs a miracle or asks for a blessing for anyone, he is poor to give it except by the power of the name of Jesus Christ. Here is the proof: Then Peter said: I have neither silver nor gold, but I give you what I have in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk. So he leapt up and began to walk and praise God. Acts 3:6-8

The story of Abraham’s intercession for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. Did Abraham intercede as Christ interceded?

of course not. The Lord was speaking to Abraham about the evil of Sodom and Gomorrah that rose before him and how He intended to destroy them. Here Abraham pleaded (to intercede) by asking whether the two cities would be destroyed along with their righteous people and their sins. We see the Lord responding, saying, “If I find fifty righteous people, I will not destroy.” Rather, through Abraham’s prayer, He condescends to forty and thirty, even if one righteous person is found. Unfortunately, there was not a single righteous person in the two cities. (Genesis 18:20-33).

In Exodus 32:11-15 we see Moses pleading (interceding) for the people to the Lord, saying: Why is your anger stirred up against your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a mighty hand? And the Egyptians did not say that he brought them out from here with a plot to kill them between the mountains and consume them from the face of the earth. Return from the intensity of your anger, and turn from insulting your people, and remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself and said to them, “I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and all the land that I spoke about I will give to your descendants to possess.” For eternity. So the Lord changed the punishment that He said He would inflict on the people.

Likewise, in Deuteronomy 9:26-27, 9:18-19, and 9:20 Moses intercedes for his brother Aaron (As for Aaron, the Lord was so angry with him that he was about to destroy him, so he pleaded for Aaron also at that time).

Psalm 106:23 says: He intended to destroy them, had not Moses, his chosen one, stood in the furrow before his face to turn away his wrath from destroying.

Numbers 16:47 (So Aaron took what Moses had said and hurried to the congregation, and behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he offered incense, made atonement for the people, and stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was stopped.)

The question now is: Does the Lord answer the prayers of the dead saints?

- Yes, and here is the proof. Then the Lord said to Solomon: Since you have this and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees that I commanded you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. However, I will not do this in your days for the sake of your father David. Rather, I will tear it away from the hand of your son, and I will not tear away the whole kingdom. I will give your son one tribe for the sake of my servant David. (1 Kings 11:11-13).

We continue with some evidence of intercession in the sense of prayer.

Samuel in 1 Samuel 7:5 and 9 (And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray for you to the Lord.” And Samuel cried out to the Lord on behalf of Israel, and the Lord answered.)

Job 42:8 (And go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for you, and my servant Job will pray for you; for I will look up to him, lest I deal with you according to your folly, because you have not spoken before me according to the truth, as my servant Job has done).

Job 5:1 (Call, perhaps someone will answer you, and to which saints will you turn?)

Jeremiah 42:2 (Pray to the Lord your God for us).

The Savior himself calls us to pray for one another (Pray for those who abuse you.) Matthew 15:4 Luke 6:28.

God’s response to the prayers of the living and dead saints for us is due to His extreme reverence for them and their lives, which they offered as a burnt offering on the heavenly altar of the Lord, especially the martyrs, whose position the Book of Revelation tells us is directly before the heavenly throne.

For those who have reached heavenly bliss in that glorified and victorious church, do we not need their prayers for us? The book in the Book of Revelation tells us that they pray.

Seeking help from the saints is not new (see above Job 5:1)

The question now is: Do prayers reach God directly without any means?

Our brothers who are far from us say yes, and there is no need for any means to convey prayer to God, for He hears it directly and responds.

Here, too, we differ from our brothers, and also from the book, there must be a way to raise prayer and present it to the throne of grace. In the Old Testament, and from the evidence that we have shown, there must be a trustworthy person to raise the prayer in order for it to be accepted, especially if the prayer is for an urgent and urgent request. We have touched upon the prayers of Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Jeremiah, Samuel, and the priests of the ancient temple.

Some may say that this was in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament, the era of grace, this matter ended and reconciliation took place between God and people, and there is no need for that intermediary.

We answer: You have gone astray because you did not know the Scriptures or the power of God.

Let us see together this magnificent scene that exists in the heavenly church and even in the heaven of heavens, where the throne of God is. Which was depicted by Saint John the Evangelist in the Book of Revelation 8:2-5):

(Another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer. He was given much incense to offer the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar that is before the throne. Then the smoke of the incense from the prayers of the saints ascended from the angel’s hand to God.)

If the saints who have already reached heavenly bliss must have an intermediary to convey their prayers to God, then what is the condition of the saints who pray in the Church struggling on earth?

Isn't there a way to raise their prayers to the throne of grace? Don't they need that mediation on earth as much as the mediation in heaven?

The Orthodox and Catholic Church alike see the Earthly Church as a true living image of the Heavenly Church with all that is in it.

In the Orthodox Church, of which I am one of the pastors, we find in the middle of the temple the Holy Table, which represents the throne of God, and above it sits the Son of God in the Holy Eucharist, which is the divine body and blood. On it is the Gospel, the Word of God, and the Holy Eucharist remains on it 24 hours a day throughout the entire year.

In front of it stands the serving priest offering prayer and supplication before the Son of God sitting on it. The priest offers his prayers and the prayers of the people in the presence of the censer from which incense rises after he sanctifies it with the following prayer with the blessing: We offer incense to you, O Christ, for the scent of sweet perfume, so accept it on your heavenly altar and send us in return the grace of your spirit. Holy.

Can our minds comprehend this wonderful image? And if it absorbs it, will we stay out of it?

This is the faith of our church on the subject of intercession, and this is its belief, and it is based on the Book without addition or subtraction.

Question: Why is there a veil in the Greek Orthodox churches that separates the sanctuary from the nave? In the Old Testament, this veil separated the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place (the place where the priests stood), and it was torn by the crucifixion of Christ and the Holy of Holies, which represents heaven, so that the Kingdom of God became clear before the people?

This interpretation is not correct or accurate.

In the temple there is an apse that is shaped like an arch to the east. This apse represents the Holy of Holies and is without a veil. In the Old Testament, it is the one in which the Ark of the Old Testament was placed, which represented the presence of God in the midst of the congregation, hidden by a curtain.

As for the New Testament, the Covenant of Grace, that place is placed in a large cross with the Crucified One on it, visible to the people, who is the sacrifice of the New Testament, uncovered and without a veil.

As for the separator between the nave and the temple, which is called the iconostasis (icon holder), it has another meaning.

The temple represents heaven and heavenly things, and the nave represents the earth and earthly things. The building of the temple is slightly higher than the nave of the church to indicate the elevation of heavenly things.

off the floor. The barrier shows that those who care about earthly things will not enjoy heavenly things, but rather those who stay in the house of the Lord are the only ones who see heavenly things through the doors of the temple that are often open during divine services.

Question: What is the story of the priestly vestments and why do you imitate the Jewish priests in wearing them?

We answer: The Lord commanded Moses to make clothes dedicated to service in the temple, and he called them clothes of splendor and glory. He even prohibited wearing them outside priestly services, and they were consecrated with the oil of anointing and the blood of the sacrifice.

As for the New Testament, the service inside the temple is more sacred than the Old Testament service. Therefore, the pontifical garments in the New Testament indicate that the one who wore them was separated from the world to perform an honorable service. Indeed, it is the most honorable service of all, as the body and blood of the Lord is offered as food to the believers. Therefore, his clothing must have a certain characteristic that differs from the world.

Therefore, the priest who wore those clothes has departed from the world to perform heavenly works while he is on earth. Therefore, the priest who wears the clothes of service is a different person than the one we know outside the service. He is the angel who raises the prayers of the believers with incense. He is the one who offers the believers the body of the Lord. He is the one who gives Blessing in the name of the Lord. He is the one who gives birth to the believers with water and the Spirit. He is the one who comforts the believers by making them certain of the forgiveness of their sins through the words of absolution and grace coming from his mouth. He is the one who has the authority to absolve and bind from God on earth. His prayer is the one that summons the Holy Spirit upon those applying for the sacrament of marriage to unite them physically. One.

All of these matters require a special dress, and we received this from the Holy Fathers, and all churches, despite their differences, take this into account, including the Orthodox, Catholic, Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, Anglican, and Slavic churches. It is never possible to accuse all of them of having deviated from the truth.

Even priests in churches that claim renewal and liberation have today begun to imitate the fathers of Catholic churches by wearing a white collar over their clothes.

Praying for the deceased and asking forgiveness for them:

How do you pray for the deceased and ask for forgiveness and mercy for them when the hope of forgiveness after death has ceased?

Najib :

Who is the one who fell asleep? Was he not baptized in the church and a full member of the body of Christ, that is, the church? Another says: Was his path pleasing to God and his commitment to the church in prayer, worship, and fasting? We answer that the Holy Church was not established by God as a judge with a sword hanging over people’s necks in His hand. Hence, the one who holds people accountable for their faith and deeds, whether good or otherwise, is God alone, and this is an established approach in the Bible in many places. God is the one who judges people's secrets according to the faith of the heart and conscience.

But we believe in the Church that someone who is not committed to the Church and has spent his life away from it is at least her son. From the perspective of the body, the son who is disobedient to his father is in the end a son, and the parents’ breast remains tender towards him at any moment when he returns to the warmth of parental tenderness. Therefore, the Church, as a mother in spirit to the children of the Father in heaven, prays for all of her children, the disobedient and the disobedient, and what remains is present in the calculations of God alone, who knows the weakness of human nature and its constant tendency towards evil since modernity, and He knows best about it because He is its Creator.

We return to the topic of praying for the deceased and asking for mercy for them. Is it permissible?

We say yes, it is permissible. Here is the proof:

In Matthew 12:32, the Lord says, “And whoever says a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven; but whoever says a word against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come.”

The process does not require great precision in the simple interpretation of the previous verse. This world means the world in which we live, but what is coming and in the Catholic translations is the coming age. The coming must be the Day of Judgment. In the end, we arrive at a truth in which there is no ambiguity, which is that there is forgiveness in the present age and there is forgiveness in the age to come.

But it is certain that that forgiveness in the coming age will not be for everyone, meaning that not everyone deserves that forgiveness, but rather for certain people. I do not know who they are, only God knows.

From here we in the church know that there are differences between those who have fallen asleep or that they can be classified into three categories:

1. A group immediately after falling asleep moves to heavenly chambers. An example of this is Eliezer, who was mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The angels immediately transported him to Abraham’s bosom, where there is great comfort. Likewise the thief who was crucified to the right of the Savior. The Lord said to him: Today you will be with me in Paradise. Here we have a comment. O Lord, you are addressing a thief and even a murderer and a bandit. How can he enter Paradise? Where is your just judgment? Is paradise that easy? Why didn't you promise him easy judgment and temporary punishment, then enter Paradise? It is as if the Savior answers: I do not want the death of the sinner until he comes back and lives, and says what I know, you do not know. And what I, the infinite, know, you, the limited, do not know. No one knows human nature except me, because I created it and know it more than you do. And here, in front of my wisdom, your mind stands. Indeed, here I am personally unable to comprehend God’s mercy and long-suffering.
2. A group that moves directly after sleep to a place of eternal torment. An example of this is the rich man mentioned with Eliezer in the Gospel of Luke (and he raised his eyes in torment). This is the second death that the Bible talks about a lot in the sense of being away from God’s mercy forever, as his hope in God’s mercy was cut off, and there is no power in this world that can change his fate and nothing will benefit him.
3. A group to which most people belong, a group that cannot be judged easily. You see so-and-so people say that he believes in the divine incarnation and believes in the sacrifice of the cross, and he has deeds that are the fruit of that faith - prayer, fasting, works of mercy - and he admits that he is a sinner and has his own lapses, and we do not know how to be judged. These people you believe. The Church hopes that perhaps forgiveness will happen to him in the coming age, so she prays for him.

But is it permissible to ask for mercy for someone who has fallen asleep?

Our brothers who claim to be modern say that it is not permissible for us to say (God have mercy on him), but we refute that by reading the Second Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to Timothy 1:15 and 16 (May the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, because he often comforted me and was not ashamed of my chain. Rather, when he was in Rome, he sought me with the greatest diligence. He found me so that the Lord would grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day. Paul speaks in the past tense and prays for mercy for the house of Onesiphorus, meaning that he has fallen asleep and hopes for mercy for him on that day, that is, the Day of Resurrection.

Since the church cannot distinguish between its children who is in the first, second, or third category, it prays for everyone, so funeral prayer benefits some of them, in accordance with what we mentioned in the context of the speech.

Therefore, we received from the same holy fathers who arranged the Gospel for us, preserved it, and conveyed it to us with honesty and good zeal, that we pray for the departed, perform the Divine Mass for their souls, offer prayers for their souls, and even burn incense and oil on their graves, for they were touched by the spirit that this was acceptable to God.

Therefore, we hold the third funeral to indicate that the deceased brother obtained his composition from the beginning from the Holy Trinity.

As for the funeral of the ninth, it indicates that the deceased brother will join the nine immaterial angelic groups because he himself has become immaterial.

As for forty, at forty the body dissolves and the heart dissolves at the end, even though we know that upon formation in the womb the heart first begins to beat.

In general, they are prayers through which the Church seeks to ask the Lord for comfort for the soul of the one who has fallen asleep and who remains with God.

And here we conclude our talk about the deceased and praying for them.

Fasting: Is it mentioned in the Bible that fasting is obligatory for believers?

Fasting is good for refining the soul and controlling the will, and it is even better if it is combined with prayer and charity.

The Lord says: Repent to me with all your heart, with fasting, weeping, and lamentation. (Joel 2:12).

Did Christ abolish fasting? Christ did not cancel fasting, but postponed it until after his ascension.

On the contrary, in the New Testament he was the first to fast. Matthew 4, Luke 4.

When you fast, wash your face and anoint your head, so that you do not appear to people as fasting, and your Father who is in secret will reward you openly. (Matthew 6:17).

The Church practiced fasting.

While they were serving the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them: Separate out for me Barnabas and Saul for the work for which I have called them. So they fasted and prayed and laid hands on them and sent them away (Acts 13:2-20).

Paul and Barnabas also practiced fasting: And when they ordained priests for themselves in every church and prayed with fasting, they entrusted them to the Lord in whom they believed. (14:23)

We have learned from tradition and from the history of the Church that we fast before Easter and before Christmas, as well as the fast of the Virgin Mary and the fast of the holy apostles, as well as fasting on Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year.

Question: But how was Orthodox fasting arranged in this way? Why exhale and animal fats? Is there animosity between these materials and the church? Are these foods impure so that we should abstain from them during fasting?

The truth is that the concept of impurity does not apply here. Saint John says in his first letter:

(And the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from every sin.) True impurity is the practice of sin, and the member that practices sin has defiled the entire body. Therefore, there is no unclean food because everything that is eaten is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

Just as there is no hostility, God forbid, between the Church and the rich materials, the topic is important and accurate and deserves to be researched in a more in-depth way.

There is no reference in the Bible in general and the Bible in particular to fasting from fats and animal products, but upon careful research we found the following:

When God created Adam and Eve, He placed them in Paradise, and the Lord said to Adam: From every tree of the garden you may eat, but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you must not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.

Adam and Eve in Paradise before the disobedience were pure and innocent to the point that they were naked and did not know that they were so.

And here we stand. God created man as the last of His creation, meaning that all the animals were with Adam in Paradise, yet they did not know that those animals could be slaughtered to be eaten because they were living on the fruits of the trees of Paradise.

The Bible tells us that God authorized the slaughter and eating of animals after the flood.

So what do we see here?

The holy fathers, clothed with God and under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, arranged for us to prepare for the two greatest occasions of salvation, upon which Christianity is based, and without which there is no Christianity, that is, the mystery of the divine incarnation (birth) and the Passion and its crown, Resurrection, by living what came before them, the pure life of Adam, before disobedience and expulsion from God’s mercy in both form and essence.

Before disobedience, Adam was in complete communion with God because God created him as master of nature, its capabilities, and its creatures. How could he not be since he is the only creature created in the image and likeness of God? He was a vegetarian.

Therefore, as we prepare for birth and resurrection, we prepare to live the life of Adam before disobedience in both form and essence. In form, we live on plant foods, which is the food of Paradise and full of blessing, and in essence, we deepen the relationship and fellowship with God even more. In the season of fasting, prayers and reverence for them increase in abundance, especially coupled with psalms of repentance. There are many sacred readings in the Holy Bible and accompanying books, along with reading the lives of the saints.

Fasting from food is the last stage of fasting. It is preceded by good intentions, fasting of the tongue, fasting of the senses, and reconciliation with one’s neighbor. Then fast the body.

As for the number 40, which is the number of days of fasting, it has a special meaning in the Holy Bible. Moses, by fasting for forty days on the mountain, took the two tablets of commandments, and Elijah, by fasting for forty days, held back the rain from the earth for three years and six months. In the New Testament, we see the Savior preceding his joyful good news to the world by sanctifying the good news by fasting for forty days. .

Fasting without prayer, supplication, kneeling, prostration, and partaking of the body and blood of the Lord is useless. Therefore, we emphasize these holy deeds during fasting and increase them day by day during the period of fasting.

From here, the importance of fasting becomes clear, and we see many believers eager for the seasons of fasting, especially Great and Holy Lent. They are not satisfied with group prayers in the church, but rather devote special prayers and individual readings of their own. They hope to God that their fasting will be holy and even a fragrant offering in which the Lord will smell the scent of contentment and joy.

Denial of the work of the Church:

They say: We have nothing to do with the church arrangements, its laws, and its fathers, and we do not accept the Gospel.

Najib: We have explained in the context of our talk about the relationship between the Gospel, the Church, and the Holy Fathers, appreciating the role of the Church in collecting the Holy Scriptures, confirming them, arranging them, clarifying their legality, and distinguishing between the sacred ones and the forbidden ones, and that these fathers and their successors after them are the ones who confirmed the truths of faith and refuted heresies.

These fighters for the truth are what we call the Church, which is the group of believers that includes church men, including bishops, priests, deacons, and believers. They are what we call the Church, and they are united by the unity of faith, purpose, and destiny.

What does the Gospel itself say about that same church?

+ It is written that if your brother does not listen to the church, let him be to you as a pagan and a tax collector.

Matthew 18:17.

+ The Church is the pillar and pillar of truth. 1 Timothy 3:15.

+ The gates of hell will not prevail against it. (i.e. the church). Matthew 16:18.

+ The church submits to Christ in everything. Ephesians 5:24.

+ In Ephesians it is also written that Christ is the head of the church and it is holy and without blemish.

Was all this divine talk spoken about existing peoples from whom we have received doctrines and faith, or is it talking about a church that did not exist and will come in the distant future?

I leave that to your intelligence, dear reader, to answer for yourself.

Church commandments:

Are the commandments of the Church binding on the believer?

They say we only abide by God's commandments, but the church's commandments and laws are not what forces me to abide by them.

We answer from the book:

+ Whoever hears from you has heard from me, and whoever rejects you has rejected me, and whoever rejects me has rejected the One who sent me. Luke 10:16.

+ And if he does not listen to the pledge of allegiance (the church), let him be to you as a pagan or a tax collector. Matthew 18:17

+ Paul chose Silas and set off after the brothers entrusted him to the grace of God. He traveled around Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches and delivering to them the commandments of the apostles, priests, and elders.

Acts 15: 35-41

Sacrifice of the Mass:

Where did you get the term mass sacrifice? Do you repeat the sacrifice of the cross and crucify Christ in every Mass?

We brought the term from the Old and New Testaments.

Old Testament: Promised to abolish Jewish sacrifices. I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, nor do I accept your advances. (Malachi 1:10).

A prophecy and a description of the new sacrifice that He wants.

For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name is great among the nations, and in every place you burn and offer a pure offering to my name, because my name is great among the nations. Malachi 1:11.

The Lord has sworn and will not regret that you are the priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek. Psalm 109:4. Melchizedek offered bread and wine. (And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine, for he was a priest of the Most High God) Genesis 14:18.

The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews confirms the similarity of Christ to Melchizedek:

+ (And what makes the matter clearer is that it is based on the similarity of Melchizedek, another priest, who does not focus on the law of a carnal commandment, but rather according to the power of life that does not fade away.) Hebrews 7 15-17.

new era :

+ And he took bread, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, This is my body which is given for you, and likewise the cup after supper, saying, This is the cup of the new covenant of my blood, which is shed for you.

Luke 22:19-20.

Here the Master ordered the renewal of the sacrifice of the Mass.

+ Do this (that is, what I have done now) in remembrance of Me. Luke 22: 19. Here the Savior appointed the apostles as priests to bring back the sacrifice of the Mass.

+ We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle (i.e. the priests of the Old Testament) do not have the right to eat. (Hebrews 13:10).

The sacrifice of the cross was completed by the Lord Jesus once, and we do not repeat it in the Mass. The sacrifice took place once, but its effect continues across generations until the end of the world.

This is common in the Bible.

The Lord said to Adam and Eve, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and take control of it.”

This saying was said by the Lord only once, but it continues across generations to this day and forever.

If there had not been repetitions of the sacrifice of the cross that was performed once, the prophecy of Malachi would not have been fulfilled, that the pure offering would be presented to God among the nations from the rising of the sun to its setting, that is, in all countries and at all hours.

Therefore, we firmly believe that the bread that we eat in the Holy Eucharist is the same as that holy and noble body that was broken and pierced on the cross.

We also believe that the wine mixed in the sacrificial cup is the true, pure blood that was shed on the cross and bleeding from the side pierced by the spear.

And that this bread is the living bread that came down from heaven, and that one eats from it in a worthy manner that does not die, that is, it will not be separated from God’s mercy, and that it is the same about which the Savior said, “My flesh is a true food and my blood is a true drink.”

He is the same about whom the Savior said: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him. And I will raise it up on the last day, and it is the pure offering, the body and blood of the Lord. If anyone eats from it unworthily, he will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

Words from a father’s heart to the hearts of his children in spirit:

O sons of the Holy Universal Apostolic Church:

I present to you a summary of the effort I have made to confirm faith in you, and to remove from your hearts everything that makes your hearts doubt the ritual, pastoral, and paternal practices of the Church.

Our church, no matter how weak it suffers, its helplessness, its poor condition, and the attacks of visible and invisible enemies, will continue to repeat the words of the Apostle Paul, because my strength lies in weakness.

I address within you the mind, the heart, and the conscience. I am the Father in spirit to all of you, who watches over your souls through prayer, fasting, and supplications of blessing. You must contemplate the practices of your church and adhere to them. Do not try to remain silent about anything that you do not understand by asking questions and from all available sources. Do not think, just by thinking, of running after a mirage that cannot be told. Thirst, in fact, it is a poisonous mirage that contains death for your souls and souls.

The voice of the Savior rings in the ears of its believers at the moment when our church feels weak, saying, “Behold, I am with you all the days, until the end of time.” The Apostle Paul whispers:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The chronological age of our Church has exceeded two thousand years. It has not deviated from its apostolic and patristic faith, right or left. It has handed down its holy and apostolic faith to its generations, generation after generation, without increase or decrease. A warm, sincere, pure faith, without a blemish or a wrinkle. Warm with the fervor of the faith of fathers and grandfathers, who, despite their ignorance of the sciences of the Divine Book, their faith journey in life was light and the scent of their faith contained the fragrant scent of Christ.

If you come across a spiritual issue that worries you, or a doctrine that you misunderstand, or thoughts that cross your mind here and there, we are there to love you out of our love for God and to serve Him through our service to you. And if you see a stumbling block or a sin on our part, remember that we are weak human beings first and foremost, instead of you leaving the church. We need For your prayers.

Although we hold the high, sacred rank of the priesthood, we are not perfect, even if we strive for perfection according to the Savior’s request.

I present to you my lines, which I wrote with my despicable earthy hand, out of my fervent hope that they will be a means of the Holy Spirit, the stabilizer, comforter, and defender of the Church, and that the words of these lines will touch your hearts and thoughts, to confirm your faith in God, His Son, Jesus Christ, His Holy Spirit, and the Holy Fathers of the Church, and to oblige yourselves to attend divine services, and remember Me, who is completely ignorant and weak. In your prayers, they are my consolation and my strength in the holy service that my holy Patriarchate of Jerusalem has entrusted to me, and this service is the salvation of souls. Amen

And other words from the depth of my heart to the members of my church who have turned away from its tenderness that stems from the tenderness of the Heavenly Father, I say:

As a father and shepherd, I say, no matter how far you are, there is between me and you the baptismal tincture that you received as children in my church. Therefore, despite everything, I will continue to mention you in my simple prayers, placing you before God every now and then, hoping that one day, or even at a certain moment, you will discover the mistake of staying away from the church, even if It was overshadowed by weakness on a day in which you should have persevered, so that you, with the power of God, could deal with this weakness and not move away in this horrific manner.

And I say the word of truth, neither ashamed nor afraid of it. There is no salvation outside our apostolic church, and Jesus Christ does not hear prayer outside our churches, and everything we think we know more than the Redeeming Savior is complete ignorance. Our presence in the so-called (renewal) churches that have been torn apart into thousands of warring groups is self-suicide and a great downfall for itself.

Children:

The voice of the church calls out from the tongue of the wise, calling, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine that I have mixed.” Who are the true body and blood of the Lord in the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, do not waste the opportunity to return quickly, as time may not allow for prolonged estrangement and distance.

We in the church are ready for any service related to the salvation of your souls or the hunger of your souls, so take advantage of the opportunity, asking in the end from the Lord of Glory that the words of these pages touch your hearts and thoughts and lead you back to safety, and the Lord is with you. Amen

Prepared by Father Constantine (Fadi) Halsa

the reviewer:

1. Bible.
2. The book of Al-Qandaq.
3. The Christian Doctrine, written by Kosti Bandali
4. The Faithful Anchor for the Souls of Believers, prepared by Father Constantine Garmash.
5. The answer is from the book prepared by Father Yacoub Saadeh with the participation of Father Peter Madros.
6. Orthodox Christian Catechism book. Publisher: Orthodox Culture and Education Association.