Fr. Abraam Sleman's Blog

When the risen Lord Jesus Christ was about to ascend into heaven, He gave His disciples this commission: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). These words reveal the identity of every Christian: to be a witness of Christ in life and in death. The New Testament word for witness, μάρτυς martys , means to testify — often at the cost of one’s life. From Stephen, the first martyr, who prayed with mercy for his killers (Acts 7:60), to countless believers throughout history, the witness of Christ has always meant both confession with our lips and testimony through our lives. The writer of Hebrews spoke of Abel, saying: “By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks” (Hebrews 11:4). The same is true of...

يذكرنا الرسول بولس في رومية ١٢: ٢: "تغيروا بتجديد أذهانكم، لتختبروا ما هي مشيئة الله". ولا غنى عن هذا التجديد في طريقة خدمتنا في القداس الإلهي، الذي هو جوهر عبادة الكنيسة ونبع حياتها. فالقداس ليس واجبًا علينا أن نتعجل فيه أو نؤديه كواجب؛ بل هو هبة من الله، حيث تلتقي السماء بالأرض، حيث يرفعنا الروح القدس إلى شركة مع الآب من خلال الابن . الصلاة بالروح وبالذهن يكتب بولس في كورنثوس الأولى ١٤: ١٥: "أصلي بالروح، وأصلي بالذهن أيضًا. أرنم بالروح، وأرنم بالذهن أيضًا". في هذه الآية، يصف جوهر الصلاة الليتورجية. الصلاة بالروح هي أن نسمح للروح القدس أن يُلهم قلوبنا بالمحبة والرهبة والعبادة. أما الصلاة بالذهن (بالعقل) فهي أن نكون واعين، مُتأنين، ومنتبهين، مُدركين معنى ما نُعلنه. في القداس الإلهي، يجب أن يتحد الروح والعقل حتى تُصبح صلاتنا مُتقدة وعميقة، ذبيحة تسبيح حقيقية . حذر القديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم رعيته قائلاً: "عندما تصلون، لا تدعوا عقولكم تتشتت هنا وهناك؛ بل اجمعوها، وارجعوها، واحصروها في الكلمات التي تنطقونها. لأنكم تقفون في حضرة رب الكل، وتُخاطبون الله نفسه...

The apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 12:2 : “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is.” This renewal is nowhere more necessary than in the way we approach the Divine Liturgy , the heart of the Church’s worship and the fountain of her life. For the liturgy is not ours to rush through or complete as a duty; it is God’s gift, the place where heaven and earth meet, where the Spirit lifts us into communion with the Father through the Son. Praying with Spirit and Mind Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 14:15 : “I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the mind also; I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the mind also.” In this verse, he describes the essence of liturgical prayer. To pray with the spirit is to allow the Holy Spirit to stir our hearts with love, awe, and adoration. To pray with the mind is to be conscious, deliberate, and attentive, understanding the meaning of what we proclaim. In the Divine Liturgy, spirit...

أيها الأحباء في المسيح، إذا كنتم تقرأون هذه الرسالة بقلبٍ مثقل أو جريح - ربما مثقل أو جريح بالألم أو البعد أو الصمت في زواجكم - فاعلموا أنكم لستم وحدكم، ولستم بلا رجاء . يكتب القديس بولس : " وَلَكِنَّ الْكُلَّ مِنَ اللهِ، الَّذِي صَالَحَنَا لِنَفْسِهِ بِيَسُوعَ الْمَسِيحِ، وَأَعْطَانَا خِدْمَةَ الْمُصَالَحَةِ، أَيْ إِنَّ اللهَ كَانَ فِي الْمَسِيحِ مُصَالِحاً الْعَالَمَ لِنَفْسِهِ، غَيْرَ حَاسِبٍ لَهُمْ خَطَايَاهُمْ، وَوَاضِعاً فِينَا كَلِمَةَ الْمُصَالَحَةِ" (2 كورنثوس ٥: ١٨-١٩). قلب الله هو المصالحة. أرسل ابنه ليصالحنا ويعيدنا إليه. وبنفس النعمة، يدعوكم للسير معًا نحو المصالحة والشفاء والتجديد في زواجكم . زواجكم سرٌّ مقدس في الكنيسة، الزواج ليس مجرد اتفاق شخصي أو عقد قانوني. إنه سرٌّ مقدس، سرٌّ يُوحِّد اللهُ الرجلَ والمرأةَ من خلاله، ويُتوَّجان بالمسيح. في الزواج الكنسي، لا يُقدِّم الزوجان مجرد وعودًا شفهية لبعضهما البعض. بل يتلقَّيان المشورة الروحية من الكنيسة، ويُقادان إلى الاتحاد من خلال الصلوات المقدسة والبركات وطقس التتويج . يُختم هذا الاتحاد المقدس بنعمة...

Beloved in Christ, Today, I would like to present to you a message of encouragement and self-examination—one that I pray the Holy Spirit will use to confirm and awaken hearts to the beauty of the Christian life. Our Lord Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” This verse reminds us that the Christian life is not merely about external appearances, but about inward transformation—a life shaped by the presence of God and the work of His Spirit. The signs we are about to reflect on are not in place of the holy sacraments, but rather the fruit that should flow from them. Through baptism, we are united with Christ in His death and resurrection; through the anointing with the holy oil (chrismation), we receive the seal of the Holy Spirit; and through the Holy Eucharist, we partake continually of the life of Christ, abiding in Him and being nourished by ...

Dear beloved in Christ, If you are reading this with a heavy heart—perhaps burdened by pain, distance, or silence in your marriage—please know that you are not alone, and you are not without hope. St. Paul writes: “Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their transgressions against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.” — 2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (LSB) God’s heart is reconciliation. He sent His Son to restore us to Himself, and through that same grace, He calls you to walk together toward healing and renewal in your marriage. Your Marriage Is a Holy Sacrament In the Orthodox Church, marriage is not merely a personal agreement or a legal contract. It is a holy sacrament—a sacrament through which a man and a woman are united by God and crowned in Christ. Unlike some traditions where the couple exchang...

In recent weeks, as tensions flared between Israel and Iran, a wave of speculation swept through some corners of the Christian world. A number of Bible commentators rushed to interpret the conflict as a definitive sign of the end times. With headlines ablaze and fear stirred, voices proclaimed that the Second Coming of Christ and the rapture were imminent, based on a historical-literal application of biblical prophecy—particularly the book of Revelation. But now, as a ceasefire has taken hold, those sweeping proclamations once again fall silent. This pattern of interpreting current events as a direct fulfillment of apocalyptic prophecy is not new. History has seen many such interpretations come and go—wars, earthquakes, political shifts—all used to support elaborate end-times timelines that ultimately fail the test of time. Such approaches, while often sincere, miss the deeper message of the book of Revelation. The last book of the Bible was not given to us to fuel sensational predic...

In recent years—and as recently as just days ago in Syria—we have witnessed devastating attacks on churches during sacred moments of worship. From Saint Elias Church in Damascus to the sanctuaries of Nigeria, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the Philippines , the blood of the faithful has mingled with the altar of sacrifice. They died as they came to meet Christ in the Eucharist. They died not as Protestants, Catholics, or Orthodox—but as Christians, as Christ’s beloved. And I wonder: Why does God allow such horrific things to happen in His house, during His liturgy, at the hour of offering? Is it possible that God weeps not only for the lives lost but also for the disunity of His Church ? Have we, the Body of Christ, grown accustomed to division, to the excommunications and estrangements we justify in His name? The Lord Jesus did not offer up His prayer in John 17 for institutional pride or theological rivalry, but for oneness : “That they may all be one; even ...

With deep joy and reverence, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election as the 267th Bishop of Rome and Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Catholic Church. May the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd and Eternal High Priest, fill Your Holiness with divine wisdom, strength, and peace as you begin your sacred ministry of shepherding the Church in this pivotal time of history. At this moment of grace and renewal, I raise a humble and heartfelt appeal — that Your Holiness may stand united with all the Churches that confess the real presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist — His true Body and His true Blood — to work together toward the restoration of Eucharistic unity. This unity is not a mere symbol of agreement, but a faithful response to the prayer of Christ Himself: “That they may all be one, even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me” (John 17:21). The Euchari...

The prayer of the Lord Jesus in John 17:21 remains an urgent call to the Church today: “That they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” The division among Christians stands in stark contrast to Christ’s desire for unity, and nowhere is this division more visible than at the Eucharistic table, where the Body and Blood of Christ should bring believers together as one.  The Eucharist: The Heart of the Christian Unity  The Eucharist has always been at the heart of Christian life and unity, serving as both a sign and source of communion with Christ and with one another. The earliest Christians gathered around the Eucharist, recognizing it as the fulfillment of God’s covenant and as a means of participating in the very life of Christ. The Church Fathers spoke of the Eucharist as the binding force of Christian unity, teaching that those who share in the one Bread and one Cup becom...

En este día de conmemoración, honramos la vida y el legado de Su Santidad el Papa Francisco, un pastor según el corazón de Dios, cuya humildad, amor y compromiso inquebrantable con la unidad han inspirado al mundo. En cada una de sus palabras y gestos, fuimos testigos del corazón de Cristo latiendo por los pobres, los marginados, los quebrantados y los perdidos. Su Santidad caminó por la senda de la compasión y la sencillez, llamando a la Iglesia a volver al núcleo del Evangelio: la misericordia, la reconciliación y el amor. Como figura de unidad entre pueblos e iglesias, nos recordó que el Cuerpo de Cristo es uno y que, en Cristo, somos hermanos y hermanas, llamados a construir puentes y derribar muros. Que podamos llevar adelante su visión de una Iglesia que sana, una fe que sirve y un amor que une. Que su memoria sea eterna, y que el Espíritu de Cristo Resucitado continúe guiando a la Iglesia por el camino de la paz. Hegumen Abraam Sleman frsleman@CopticChurch.net #PapaFranci...

On this day of remembrance, we honor the life and legacy of His Holiness Pope Francis—a shepherd after God’s own heart, whose humility, love, and unwavering commitment to unity have inspired the world. In his every word and gesture, we witnessed the heart of Christ beating for the poor, the outcast, the broken, and the lost. His Holiness walked the path of compassion and simplicity, calling the Church to return to the Gospel's core: mercy, reconciliation, and love. As a unifying figure among peoples and churches, he reminded us that the Body of Christ is one and that in Christ, we are brothers and sisters, called to build bridges and tear down walls. May we carry forward his vision of a Church that heals, a faith that serves, and a love that unites. May his memory be eternal, and may the Spirit of the Risen Christ continue to guide the Church in the way of peace. Hegumen Abraam Sleman frsleman@CopticChurch.net #PopeFrancis #HeartOfChrist #ChurchUnity #LegacyOfLove #ServantOfChr...

Amados hermanos y hermanas en Cristo, ¡Cristo ha resucitado! ¡En verdad, ha resucitado! Hoy proclamamos no solo un acontecimiento pasado, sino una verdad viva y eterna: la resurrección del Señor Jesucristo, la piedra angular de nuestra fe, la esperanza de nuestra salvación y la victoria de Dios Padre sobre el pecado, la muerte y Satanás. La resurrección no es solo un momento milagroso en la historia. Es el acto poderoso del Padre, mediante el cual glorificó a su Hijo e inició la nueva creación. La tumba vacía no es una conclusión, sino un anuncio divino. Declara al mundo entero que el Padre es fiel, soberano y lleno de amor, y que, a través de su Hijo Resucitado, nos llama a una vida nueva. Abramos ahora nuestro corazón y las Escrituras y reflexionemos sobre lo que la resurrección nos revela acerca del corazón del Padre y su propósito eterno en Cristo. 1. La Resurrección Revela la Victoria del Padre sobre la Muerte en Cristo Comenzamos con esta verdad fundamental: la re...