POPE SHENOUDA III OF ALEXANDRIA

Violence is absolutely not our method.

Debating religious beliefs are a red line, a deep red line.

We're not opposed to Catholics having pride in their church, but that doesn't mean that every church that doesn't join them isn't a church.

Civil disobedience is not accepted by religion and the state does not accept it and there are many verses in the Holy Book that talk of following the ruler.

Calm can solve all issues.

The Coptic Church respects the law but it does not accept rulings that go against the Bible and our freedom of religion.

As temples of the Holy Spirit. we should have communion with the Holy Spirit. The work of any believer is not only the work of a human individual, but is actually the work of the Holy Spirit.

Homosexuality is against nature. Sexual expression is permitted only within marriage, between man and woman, male and female. Anything else is an abnormality and is against nature.

You don't extinguish fire by adding more fire, you need water.

The world sees in our conduct, in our behaviour, the proof that we are the real children of God.

What rights are there for homosexuals? The only right is to be led to repentance. To live in such defilement of the body, in such dishonour, in such abomination, while all the time asking for liberties the church cannot grant, is unbelievable.

Egypt is not a country we live in but a country that lives within us.

If everyone got a divorce and looked for a second wife, the Coptic family would lose its moral compass.

Jehovah's Witnesses are a dangerous organization. They are dangerous from a political point of view. They view all governments as products of Satan. They do not acknowledge armies, regarding them also as a product of Satan; they refuse to carry out any military service

In our present day, our Lord God has given us a grand warning in the form of AIDS. A warning to those who subject their bodies to such defilement. Unfortunately people are no longer fearful, even of such a dreadful disease.

Among the lying schemes of the devil is deluding the person who commits suicide into thinking that death will relieve him from his troubles.

But the devil wants to turn religion into arguments and discussions. He wants reasoning to replace spirit and argument to replace practices, thus the religious life becomes mere reasoning as if Christianity were a philosophy which is studied and analyzed

The wrong is wrong and the fall of the majority in such wrong does not justify it. It is known that the right way is difficult and not all the people can follow it, but only the few distinguished for their principles.

Our duty as Clergymen is to guide people through the commandments of God. We have no power, nor any authority, to give or declare laws against the laws of God

Women can perform many duties which are useful in the church, but they were not called for priesthood. We are not to be blamed for this because this is not our teaching, it is the, Biblical teaching. If you can find one single example in the Bible, whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, we are ready to accept it. We are not against the words of God. We accept the words of God. But we cannot add new teachings.

A Church without Youth is a Church without a future. Moreover, Youth without a Church is Youth without a future.

Fasting is not bodily hunger but bodily elevation and purity. It is not a body that hungers and longs for food, but a body that rids itself of the desire to eat. Fasting is a time when the soul flourishes and lifts the body up with it. It rids the body of its loads and burdens and lifts it up so that God may work with it without impediment to the happiness of the spiritual entity.

Fasting, as some people speculate, is not a bodily torture, martyrdom, or a cross, but it is a way to elevate the body to reach the level of cooperation with the soul. When we fast, our intention is not to torture the body but to shun its behaviour. Thus, one who fasts becomes a spiritual and not a physical person. Fasting is an ascetic soul which takes the body with it as its partner in asceticism.

In the Lord's discourse on spiritual nourishment, we hear Him says: "Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life." (John 6:27). He then continued by talking about the true bread from Heaven the bread of God, and the bread of life. (John 6:32-35). Here He appeals to the soul for its nourishment and our thoughts to the spiritual way so as not to occupy our minds with the body and its needs.

Yes, fasting is not merely a commandment from God but a godly gift, a grace and a blessing. God the creator of our body and soul knows of our need to fast for its benefit for our spiritual life, development and our eternity. He granted us the knowledge and manner of fasting. As a kind Father and a wise Teacher, He has recommended fasting for us.