Welcome back the homepage for Ti Agia Maria and St. Demiana Coptic Orthodox Church!

The Peace of the Lord be with you,

As you can see, the website has been completely redesigned in the hopes that you will find it a valuable and blessed resource that you can visit everyday. This is only the start, as we will be continuously adding more features and resources.

Here is a list of our current features:

Dedicated sections for the Youths Corner, Family Meeting, Bible Study Group, Kids Corner
Verse of the day, updated everyday through www.biblegateway.com
8 Photo Albums.
60 Spiritual books in English, for topics ranging from Bible Study to Theology, written by our Blessed fathers, such as Fr. Malaty and H.H. Pope Shenouda III
7 previously published newsletters in Arabic and English.
Audio sermons by H.G. Bishop Angaelo
Calendar Section to be updated regularly.

In the future, we hope to provide the following:

Arabic Functionality.
Daily readings from the Katamerous.
Additional books in Arabic and English.
Subscription form to join the Church mailing list.

As always, the website will be continuously updated and improved, however, we need your suggestions. Please feel free to make any suggestions or comments here.

We ask always for your prayers to make our Church and this website successful vessels of our Lord.

Youth Group

Monasticism

Written by Karim | 19 March 2008

The direct transcript of a lecture presented at a special retreat on 'Coptic Spirituality and Monasticism' conducted by Christians Aware at the Rowantree Conference Centre, Builth Wells, Wales, in February 1998. Presented here in direct transcript form.

Monasticism started in Egypt in the third century and flourished there in the fourth; it was a completely new concept.
Whereas people had always been trying to establish themselves and look after their own lives and their own human and material needs, monasticism meant leaving everything to be with God; and at this stage, it is fundamental to understand that the goal of monasticism is not merely to leave everything, or to escape, but rather, to leave everything to be with God.

It is a matter of prioritizing, and the priority of monasticism is no longer physical or worldly needs, but is that which is heavenly and eternal. For these people, it meant being so completely content with their lives that they looked for something much higher.
It is not by any means a case of someone who is unhappy with his own life, so seeks to escape it.

Youth Group

Monasticism

Blue Mountain 2006

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