| Why should not we drink alcoholic beverages? What do B.C. and A.D. mean? A friend of mine is in love with someone who is using her, brainwashing her and disrespecting her family, but she won't listen to anyone and she will not leave him no matter what. What should I do? Why is it wrong to have a relationship with someone from another religion? Is it the influence? Please explain. What is the Church view about the theory in the popular book Da Vinci Code which says that our Lord Jesus was actually married to Mary Magdalene, had a child and the Church tried to hide it. How do we determine the date of the glorious Feast Of The Resurrection
Why should not we drink alcoholic beverages? The most serious drug problem in America is not marijuana, or some other drug. Alcohol has caused more physical, mental, and psychological damage to more people of all ages than all of the hallucinogenic drugs combined. So many people feel liquor is acceptable in some forms, but the church disagree. We should reject alcoholic beverages because: - It brings violence and misery (Prov. 23:29).
- It turns a man away from God (Is. 28:7).
- It destroys life (Prov. 23:32; Deut. 32:33; Hos. 7:5).
- Its use leads to condemnation (Isa. 5:22; 1 Cor. 8:10).
- It leads to eternal ruin (Isa. 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15; Rev. 14:19).
- God rejects drunkenness because it degrades human dignity "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit" (Eph. 5:18). St. Paul warns against wine because it intoxicates man and affects his walk, talk, outlook on life and most important contrasts with the filling of the Spirit.
- God warns, "Do not LOOK on the wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it swirls around smoothly; at the last it bites like a SERPENT, and stings like a VIPER" (Prov. 23:31-32).
- Because of its danger, God gives the warning, "Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle" (Hab. 2:15)
- The Bible warns against drunkenness when it commands "Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy" (Rom. 13:13). Drinking was common in Rome, and St. Paul wisely exhorts Christians to avoid it.
- Nor drunkards . . . will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:10)
- Alcohol destroys the body. God made our bodies and He dwells in us (1 Cor. 6:19). Therefore, we sin against God when we harm our bodies with alcohol.
- Drinking opens the door to other sins. Drinking is not only a sin for what it is, but for what it allows us to do.
On the social level: - Alcohol destroys the moral and integrity of the society. Anything that destroys our society's righteousness is a sin, and alcohol is an evil that has done much to erode our Christianity, especially in the western society. Drunkenness led to lawlessness and disrespect for many western nations.
- Consuming alcoholic beverages, even in small amounts, gives the green light to our young children to drink, which may lead them to become alcoholics.
- Alcohol releases a person's inhibitions and destroys his self-control.Hence, the drunken person, because his self-discipline is gone, will commit acts that he would never consider doing otherwise. That would embarrass him if he were sober.
Therefore, God's children should abstain from drinking alcoholic beverages.
What do B.C. and A.D. mean? The meaning of the abbreviation B.C. is "Before Christ".The abbreviation A.D. represents the period of time after the birth of Christ known as the beginning of the Christian Era A.D. is actually an abbreviation for the Latin word Anno Domini, which means "in the year of our Lord".
A friend of mine is in love with someone who is using her, brainwashing her and disrespecting her family, but she won't listen to anyone and she will not leave him no matter what. What should I do? Pray for her and ask the Lord to reveal to her the truth about this person. At the same time keep trying to talk to her and opening her eyes to the danger she is putting herself in. Also you may need to refer her case to Abouna since this case is beyond your scope.
Why it is wrong to have a relationship with someone from another religion? Is it the influence? Please explain. What kind of relationship do you want to have with this person? Is it just being colleagues, classmates or more like friends? In choosing our friends we need to find those who will help us get closer to God and obey His commandments. In anything we do we should have our Lord in mind. St. Paul says “do all to the glory of God†(1 Cor 10:31). Having a relationship with such person will entail making compromises. You might come to situations when you have to conform to this person and be influenced by different beliefs or behavior. Being a child of God keep yourself safe and choose your friends from among godly people who will help you grow spiritually in the Lord and not deviate from His path
What is the Church view about the theory in the popular book Da Vinci Code which says that our Lord Jesus was actually married to Mary Magdalene, had a child and the Church tried to hide it.
Unfortunately in the past two centuries many false beliefs have been started mostly by people who had their own interpretation of the Holy Bible which did not agree with the teachings of the early Church. Brown’s ideas about Mary Magdalene being married to Jesus was mentioned in a previous novel called "Holy Blood, Holy Grail", a best seller in the 1980's. I perceive these novels to be a way the devil confuses people and unfortunately Christians who read such books before even reading the Holy Bible. It amazed me how many youth read this book while they never read the whole Holy Bible not even once. The result is that they believe the ‘novel’ and start questioning the ‘TRUTH’ of the Holy Bible. Definitely, our Lord never married Mary Magdalene or anyone else and to insinuate such thing is plain blasphemy even if it written is a form of a novel.
How do we determine the date of the glorious Feast Of The Resurrection? Written by Fr. John Ramzy Since the beginning of Christianity, the Resurrection of the Lord of glory has been the center of the preaching of the apostles and fathers. They considered it to be the basis of Christian faith, "And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain and your faith is also vain" (1 Cor 15:14). Their proof of Christ's divinity was His Resurrection: "and was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." (Rom 1:4)
For this, the Christians since the start found it important to celebrate the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord. And, since the dates of these two events were linked to the Jewish Passover, the faithful preferred to keep the tradition of tying glorious feast of the Resurrection to the Passover, yet celebrating it afterwards, so that we may not partake in their feasts. The teachings of the apostles stated that whoever celebrates the Resurrection on a day other than the Sunday (that follows the Jewish Passover) is partaking with the Jews in their feasts, and has separated himself from the Christians.
The determination of the date of the Resurrection feast remained a matter of research and change, until Pope Demetrius, the 12th Patriarch of Alexandria, concerned himself with it, consulted the Scientists of his time, such as Ptolemeus Farmawy, and came up with the APAKTY (Remainder) calculation, on the basis of which the dates of the Great Fast, the Resurrection, Pentecost and the length of the apostles' fast are determined. Pope Demetrius sent his formula to the patriarchs of the other churches, who accepted it and celebrated according to it.
When the first Ecumenical Council convened at Nicea, in 325 AD, it endorsed and confirmed the Apakty calculation. The resolution of the council was that the Patriarch of Alexandria was to determine the date of the Resurrection feast according to this formula and to send to the whole world the dates of the start of Great Fast and of the feast of the Resurrection, together with a paschal letter to be read in the whole world on the Christian Pascha (Resurrection.)
Briefly, the Apakty formula is a means of calculating the full moon following the vernal equinox, and the date of the slaying of the Passover lamb. We celebrate the Resurrection on the Sunday following these dates.
And since the cycle of the Julian (Roman) or Coptic year (i.e. the period after which the day of the year falls on the same day of the week of the previous cycle) is 28 years (every 28 years are identical as far as the starts and ends of their months and weeks), and since the cycle of the Jewish year, the basis of calculation of the Jewish Passover, is 19 years (every 19 Jewish years are similar in the starts and ends of their months), so the date of the resurrection feast is the same every 19x28 years, i.e. every 532 years. Some have written tables, called vines, of 532 years, to determine the dates of Great Fast and feasts in every year of the cycle according to the Coptic calendar. The whole Christian world celebrated according to these vines and formula until the sixteenth century, when Pope Gregory of Rome changed the Roman calendar. He established a different calculation for the feast of the Resurrection, a clear infraction against the canon of Nicene council, which had confirmed the Apakty calculation and had given the Patriarch of Alexandria the right to set the feast's date.
Pope Gregory decided to set the date to be the Sunday following the full moon following the vernal equinox, not considering the Passover Lamb, nor the canon of the council of Nicea, nor the spirituality of the teachings of the holy apostles, which urge us not to celebrate at the same time as the Jews. The Western world now celebrates according to these innovations. The year (2002) for instance, the Jews had set their Passover, according to the renovated vernal equinox of Pope Gregory, to be 27 March. And the Western churches are celebrating Easter on 31 March, while according to our canonical calculation, established by the holy fathers, the slaying of the Passover lamb should be on 23 Barmuda (1 May), thus making our Resurrection feast on Sunday 27 Barmuda (5 May).
This year (2002) looks unusual. In most years however, when the Jews determine their feast, it falls just before our feast. But the feast of the Western churches falls before, during or after, or even far from the Jewish Passover in most years.
This caused them to press Rome, in some instances, to correct the Gregorian formula. The Church of Rome has even permitted her followers in the Eastern and Orthodox countries, such as Egypt, to celebrate the feast of Resurrection with us according to the canons of the fathers and of the councils.
May the blessing of the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be upon us all. Amen.
Apakty Formula
Determining the Orthodox Feast of Resurrection for 2002 AD
- Divide 2002 by 19 (lunar cycle) = 105 complete cycles. Remainder = 7 years.
- Difference between solar and lunar years = 11 days Total difference for this year = 7x11 = 77 days.
- Subtract the number of complete Coptic months: 77 - 60 = 17 days.
- Subtract from 40 (a constant) 40-17=23 (If higher than 30, reduce by 30).
- Lunar Apakty for this year = 23 [Lunar Apakty = Passover day in Barmuda (if from 1 to 24) or = Passover day in Baramhat (if from 25 to 30)]
- Slaying of Passover lamb this year = 23 Barmuda = May 1st, and is a Wednesday.
- Resurrection feast is the following Sunday, 27 Barmuda, i.e. May 5th.
Determining The Western Easter for 2002AD
- Divide 2002 by 19 = 105, Remainder 7 = A
- Divide 2002 by 4 = 500. Remainder 2 = B
- Divide 2002 by 7 = 286. Remainder 0 = C
- Y= (19 x A) + M (M is a Constant = 24, between 1900 & 2099 AD)
Y = (19 x 7) + 24 = 157
- Divide 157 by 30 = 5 Remainder 7 = D
- Z = 2B + 4C + 6D + N (N is a constant = 5, bet. 1900 & 2099 AD)
Z = 4 + 0 + 42 + 5 = 51
- Divide 51 by 7 = 7 Remainder 2 = E
- F = D + E = 9
- X (number of days between 22 March and Western Easter) is determined as follows:
X= F If f < 34 or f = 34 and d is not 28
X=F-7 if f = 34 and d = 28 or f = 35
- In 2002 AD, X = F = 9
- Easter (in the West) = 22 + 9 = 31 March.
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