The wind and the big tree

The wind envies the big tree on the top of the mountain.



He says to her: Do you know you are not as strong as you think. You will be disappeared if I pass wildly from this area.


The tree humbly answers: I will try to keep my leaves and branches.
 The wind passes and thinks: Now I will go back to see what I have done with the poor tree.

When he returns back, he finds out the tree is still there, but with some leaves flew away.


He says in anger voice: You are still here! Ok, I will try to pass one more time, and see what will happen to you.

After a while, he passes and blows even harder than the first time.


He runs back to see again, and finds out the tree is there still, but with more leaves and branches damaged.


He gets very angry, and decides to blow as stiff as he can again.

He uses all his engery to blow, and even the sky becomes vague.

This time when he returns back, he finds out that all the leaves and branches were gone, but the trunk of the tree is still standing firmly on the ground.

The wind is surprised, and he asks the tree: How do you remain constantly like this?

The tree answers: Because you just see what I have from my appearance, but you don’t see my roots are stable and stretch down deeply under the ground. Even if my body was destroyed, my roots will still be there and grow again.

My dear friend, no matter how strong our bodies are, we still need to have roots inside our hearts to be strong like this great tree to fight against the winds (problems) around us.


The good and strong roots are from our faith.


And our faith will gain the strength from our Lord Jesus Christ.


Can you pray with me this little prayer, and say to our Lord:


God, I need your help to resist the storm which come from the world against me.


I can’t face this power without you.


Please be with me to have strong roots.


Amen.

Saint Mark and the Church of Alexandria

The Greatness of Alexandria


Alexandria was the cultural capital of the world when St. Mark arrived there. Its famous School was the centre of science and philosophy with a library filled with hundreds of thousands of books. The population of Alexandria was estimated to be from half to three quarters of a million,(1) who were Egyptians, Greeks, Jews, Romans, Ethiopians, Nubians and other races.

Its Religious Status
The people St. Mark faced were a complex of different religions. There was the old Pharaohnic religion, that had many gods like Isis, Oziris, Hirus, Amun, Abis, Hathur etc., under the great god Ra. The Greeks had many gods under their supreme god Zius. At this period there was a movement calling to combine both the Egyptian and the Greek gods, as ‘syncretism’ to be under the god ‘Sirabis’, the great idol. The Romans too had many gods under Jupiter.
There were also the Jews, with their prophets, laws and the scriptures and the heresies that the Pharisees introduced. Their number in the city was huge, that they occupied one out of the five districts of the city. At the same time some of the Jews who arrived recently from Jerusalem were already converted to Christianity before coming to Egypt.

The name of Christ had already arrived to many individuals, through Apollo of Alexandria. Apollo was mentioned in the Book of Acts, "An eloquent man and mighty in scriptures… He was fervent in the spirit … For he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." [Acts 18:24 -28]. It might be possible that some of the Jews of Alexandria had received the Word of God through St. Simon of Cana or through "dear Theophilus" who was close to St. Luke. But all of these cases were limited to some individuals only. Beside all these religions, there were many wise men from India, Persia and Egyptian priests who were leaders in a pagan environment.
Accordingly, the city was a mixture of idol religions with an atmosphere of philosophical arguments and discussions, particularly at the school of Alexandria and its museum. St. Mark stood alone to face all these religions and philosophies, but he was capable in defeating them with the power of God. He entered Alexandria with a torn sandal from walking the long way.
When Did Saint Mark Arrive in Alexandria?

It is difficult to determine the exact dates for the journeys of the apostles. Usually calculated in relation to the events, and the time of the arrival of St. Mark was no exception.
Josephus, the famous historian, mentioned that St. Mark came to Alexandria in 43 AD, while Mrs. Butler estimated it to be in 45 AD. Patriarch Maximos Mazloom suggested that it was in 49 AD. Selim Soliman, Francis Al Etre, Deacon Menassa Youhanna gave the date as 55 AD. For Ibn Akbar it was 58 AD and for Fr. Chineau it was 60 AD, when St. Mark was 50 years old. Abu Shaker Ibn Al Raheb, Anba Isedoros, Habib Guirgis, Kamel Saleh Nakhla and Iris Al Masri, said that his arrival was in 61 AD. With such variations in dates, most of the ancient historians preferred not to guess and rather to stress on the events themselves. That was what the Book of Acts almost did. We don’t accept the earlier dates, as St. Mark was still a youth, in the company of other apostles. Certainly he didn’t come before the Council of Jerusalem which was about 50 AD, as agreed by all the historians.

After the Council of Jerusalem, he accompanied St. Barnabas to Cyprus where both preached together. Later, St. Paul, appreciating the importance of St. Mark in preaching, he called him to work with him.

When St. Mark was alone on his own, he went to the Five Western Cities and stayed there for few years. He may have arrived there between 55-58 AD. It is most probable that he arrived in Alexandria about the year 60 or 61 AD and this was accepted by most of the Coptic historians who estimated his stay in Alexandria to be seven years or seven years and eight months.(2)

On the Way to Alexandria
On his way to Alexandria, the words of Isaiah might have been on his thought,
+ "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rode upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt and the idols of Egypt shall be removed at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it."
+ "And that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof to the Lord…And it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of hosts in the land of Egypt…And the Lord shall be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do sacrifice and oblation, yes, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and perform it…"

+ "Blessed be Egypt my people." [Isiah 19 : 1 , 19 -21 , 25]
Also he might have been thinking about the journey of Christ with the Virgin St. Mary and the blessing they left to Egypt. It was said that he entered Alexandria, coming from the Five Western Cities, passing through the oasis to Upper Egypt and from there to Alexandria where he entered it east to the port where there was an oblisk.(3)

Preaching to the Cobbler
He was praying before entering Alexandria to God, to provide him with the spiritual needs for the success of his mission. By the time he arrived, his sandal was already torn, so he went to Anianus, a cobbler, to repair it. While Anianus was holding the needle, it went through his finger and he screamed from pain and said, "O’ the One God". St. Mark was delighted when he heard this phrase, which was an appropriate chance to begin talking to him about that One God. It was also appropriate to ease him from his pain first, so he took some mud and spat on it and put it on his wound, saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, heal this hand." (4) It was healed on the spot as if nothing happened to it. Anianus was surprised at the miracle which was done in the name of Jesus Christ and opened his heart to the Word of God.
St. Mark asked him about the One God he called, but Anianus replied that he heard about Him, but didn’t know Him. Then St. Mark began to talk to him spiritually. When his sandal was repaired he was invited to go to Anianus’ home to talk more about that God. As St. Mark entered the house he made the sign of the cross and asked God’s Blessing to fill it. (5) He stayed with this family talking about Lord Christ. When Anianus asked to see The True God, St. Mark assured him that he will. He talked with him about the scriptures, the prophets, the incarnation, the miracles, the crucifixion and the great sacrifice He provided to the world. Anianus and his family became believers and St. Mark baptized them. This home was the first fruit in St. Mark’s preaching in Egypt.

Spread of the Faith in Egypt
St. Mark who is considered the, First Bishop of Alexandria, found that his first responsibility was to continue preaching from one place to another, challenging all the difficulties that he met. With great enthusiasm he was able to convert many to the faith in God, in spite of the different numerous religions of the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians and the arguments of the Jews.
The Catholic Jesuit, Fr. Frermaj reported in his book "Moraweg Al Akhyar" referring to St. Mark, that " God blessed him for his unique enthusiasm. The land which was full of darkness of the filth among the unbelievers, was changed by St. Mark the Evangelist to a heavenly paradise, with justice shinning over it." (6) Maximos Mazloom, the Patriarch of the Greek Catholic Melchites, wrote about St. Mark, " He pulled the inhabitants to the faith in Christ, in grooves, with God’s blessing and the marvelous miracles he did,.that Alexandria became a second Jerusalem, similar to what happened when the Holy Spirit descended in the Chamber of Zion . (7)

The Word of God flourished forcefully and very fast despite the encountered difficulties, which were overcome. We understand what St. Paul meant when he said about St. Mark, "For he is profitable to me in the ministry." [2 Titus 4:11]

Alexandria after Saint Mark
St. Mark had great impact on Alexandria. His success to convert large numbers to believe was due to his deep spirituality, and his strong relation with God. Eusebius the famous historian, referred to this as such, "There were multitudes of believers, men and women, who gathered from the beginning and lived the extraordinary simple life, that Philo noted to be worthy to describe. Their efforts, gatherings, and their comfort in all the ways of their lives were tremendous. (8) Eusebius in a complete chapter in his book about the philosopher Phillo admired the monastic life in Egypt.

Fr. Chineau in his book " The Saints of Egypt," wrote, "Life became marvelous in Egypt after accepting the faith and Philo, the famous Jew, confirmed that Alexandria brought back the memory of the early days of the Church in Jerusalem. (9) Let us find what the philosopher Philo said about the believers in Egypt as stated by Eusebius, "They left their properties, under the influence of their faith and followed the path of the prophets;" "There was a holy place in every house, to practice their religion in, in complete isolation. They didn’t permit into it any food, drink or anything for the need of the body;" "All day long from the morning to the night they were praying, reading the Holy Books".; "They created songs and praises for God with different tunes and rhythms" ; "They ate only after sunset" ; "They enjoyed the wisdom, without limit, tremendously." He also referred to their purity and described their prayers, silence and services.

Other Works of Saint Mark
St. Mark established a Theological School to stand against the school for the pagans and to combat their ideas. He designated St. Justus to manage the school who later became the sixth bishop of Alexandria. He wrote the Holy Liturgy for St. Anianus and the priests to use in praying.

Anianus Ordained a Bishop
With the tremendous success and achievement for the faith in Egypt, the unbelievers were very angry and they decided to kill St. Mark. The believers advised St. Mark to leave Egypt for a while for the safety of the church. St. Mark, who preached other cities in Egypt, agreed to leave, to return back to the Five Western Cities. He then ordained St. Anianus to be the Bishop of Alexandria in 62 AD. He also ordained three priests, Milius, Sabinus, Sardenus, and seven deacons.(10) It is noticed that Anianus was ordained a bishop while St. Mark was still living, which indicates St. Mark’s apostolic universal authority to ordain bishops wherever he went, as he did in the Five Western Cities.

St. Jerome, mistakenly in his book, wrote that St. Mark was killed in 62 AD the year Anianus was ordained, assuming that his predecessor must have died before such an event could be possible.(11)

The Return of Saint Mark to Alexandria

St. Mark stayed for a few years among the church in the Five Western Cities and with St. Paul preaching in Rome. Then the two great apostles St. Paul and St. Peter were killed and St. Mark returned to Alexandria. On his return, he found that the church he planted, grew and became prosperous and the number of the believers increased tremendously. and a church was built in the eastern part of Alexandria, known as Pokalia. (12)
St. Mark kept watching his people grow and visited and preached other cities in Egypt. This annoyed the pagans to the extent that they named him as, " The exterminator of the idols".

What is the Coptic Church?

Coptic Church is:
.An Ancient Christian Church. It is one of the most ancient Churches in the world, having been founded by Saint Mark the Apostle, the writer of the second gospel, in the first Century. The word ‘Coptic’ comes from the ancient Egyptian word ‘hekaptah’ meaning ‘Egypt’, and thus ‘Coptic’ merely means ‘Egyptian.’ As a conservative Church, the Coptic Church has carefully preserved the Orthodox Christian Faith in its earliest and purest form, handing it down from generation to generation, unaltered and true to the Apostolic doctrines and patterns of worship.


Trinitarian—believing in the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (being one God); and believing that our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, became incarnate, was born of the Virgin Saint Mary, died for us on the Cross that He may grant us Salvation, rose on the third day that He may grant us everlasting life with Him, and ascended to heaven after forty days, sending the Holy Spirit to His disciples as He promised them, on the day of Pentecost.

Apostolic-as it was founded by the apostle Saint Mark.
Scriptural (Biblical)—having as its main point of reference the Holy Bible, as depicted in current traditional translations such as, King James, New King James, and the Revised Standard Version.

Traditional--using the teachings of the early Church Fathers as well as the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as its statement of Faith.

Sacramental--having seven sacraments, namely: Baptism, Chrismation (Confirmation), Confession, the Eucharist (Communion), Marriage, Priesthood, and Unction of the Sick.

Conservative—in that it does not change basic matters of Faith, Dogma or Tradition to suit current trends (this does not mean however that matters such as language and day-to day practices are not changed to suit conditions of ministry and the needs of the congregation). Holding on to such matters of Faith and practice has not been an easy task, as the Coptic Church has always lived persecution of one form or another since its establishment in the first century.

Coptic Orthodox Church