Fr. Abraam Sleman's Blog

  بالأمس 13 أكتوبر 2025، اجتمع قادة العالم للتوقيع على خطة السلام في غزة — وهي اتفاقية تهدف إلى إنهاء الحرب في غزة واستعادة الاستقرار في المنطقة التي عانت من الصراع والألم طويلا. وبصفتنا مؤمنين بالمسيح، يجب أن ننظر إلى مثل هذه الخطوات بعين الامتنان والصلاة، فكل جهدٍ صادقٍ لإنهاء سفك الدماء وشفاء جراح البشرية هو أمرٌ محمود، لأن ربنا يسوع نفسه قال : "طوبى لصانعي السلام لأنهم يُدعون أبناء الله." — متى 9:5 وبينما نتمدح هذه الجهود، نفرح كلما مالت قلوب القادة نحو السلام. ومع ذلك، فبينما قد تجلب الاتفاقات السياسية هدوءًا مؤقتًا، تذكّرنا الكتب المقدسة بأن السلام الحقيقي والدائم لا يُوجد إلا في يسوع المسيح، رئيس السلام، الذي يصالح البشرية مع الله ومع بعضها البعض . ١- المسيح سلامنا يكتب الرسول بولس قائلاً :  "لأنَّه هو سلامُنا، الذي جعل الاثنين واحدًا، ونقض حائط السياج المتوسط... لكي يصالح الاثنين في جسدٍ واحدٍ مع الله بالصليب." — أفسس 14:2–١٦ السلام الحقيقي ليس مجرد غياب الحرب، بل هو حضور المصالحة — المصالحة مع الله، ومن ثم مع بعضنا البعض . على الصليب، وفي ش...

Today, world leaders gathered to sign the Gaza Peace Plan —an agreement aimed at ending the war in Gaza and restoring stability in a region long marked by conflict and pain. As Christians, we must view such steps with gratitude and prayer. Any genuine effort to end bloodshed and to heal human suffering is commendable, for our Lord Himself declared: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” — Matthew 5:9 (LSB) As we commend such efforts, we rejoice whenever the hearts of leaders incline toward peace. Yet, while political accords may bring temporary calm, Scripture reminds us that lasting and eternal peace can only be found in Jesus Christ—the Prince of Peace—who reconciles humanity to God and to one another. 1. Christ Our Peace The Apostle Paul writes: “For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of hostility… that He might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross.” — Ephesians 2:14-16 ...

In Matthew 25:1–13, our Lord Jesus Christ speaks to us through the parable of the ten virgins—a parable both beautiful and deeply serious, revealing the mystery of the kingdom of heaven. When the Bridegroom came, Jesus said, “Those who were ready went in with Him to the wedding feast, and the door was shut.” (Matthew 25:10) These simple yet profound words— “those who were ready” —hold the key to our eternal destiny. The wedding feast symbolizes the heavenly joy, the eternal life prepared for those who love God. But to enter that joy, we must be ready. Readiness, however, is not achieved in a single moment. It is a lifelong journey—a way of life that begins with baptism and continues in faith, purity, humility, love, forgiveness, service, perseverance, and watchfulness . Let us reflect together on the qualifications for entering the heavenly joy , as revealed by our Lord in His teachings and affirmed by the saints of the Church. 1. Baptism — The Beginning of New Life Our read...

In recent years, the Church has witnessed the rise of various programs under the titles of Christian leadership training or Christian counseling , seeking to equip leaders for service. While many of these initiatives are well-intentioned, they often attempt to merge secular business strategies with spiritual principles, as though the Church could be strengthened by adopting the models of the corporate world. Such efforts, though appealing in appearance, risk undermining the very foundation upon which the Church stands — the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Church Is Not a Corporation The Church of God is not an institution to be managed; she is the living Body of Christ — born of the Spirit, governed by divine wisdom, and sustained by grace. Leadership in the Church cannot be reduced to managerial efficiency or strategic success. When the examples held up before us are those of “Starbucks Coffee” or “Elon Musk’s corporation,” we must pause and ask whether such models truly refle...

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...