His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the concept of truth in its multiple dimensions: truth as complete honesty, truth as human rights, truth as what is real and not false, and truth as justice. He emphasizes that walking in truth is walking in God’s way, for God is truth.

1. Truth as complete honesty

The Pope explains that truth is only truth when it is complete, and that half-truths are not truths.
Honesty must be spoken with faithfulness without omitting parts that change the meaning, because omission distorts truth.

2. Truth as a person’s rights

He explains that “truth” can also mean what belongs to a person as his rightful due.
Injustice is the opposite of this truth, and justice means “to give each one his right.”

3. Truth as what is genuine and not false

He clarifies the difference between what is real and what is merely a name or appearance.
A person may hold a spiritual title like “believer,” “repentant,” or “child of God” without truly living its inward meaning.

4. Hypocrisy and flattery oppose truth

He explains that hypocrisy is lying and showing what is not real, and it contradicts true worship.
False praise and flattering others at the expense of truth also distance a person from God’s way.

5. Truth as justice and uprightness

The Pope warns against acquitting the guilty or accusing the innocent, for both are detestable before God.
He stresses the need to verify matters before judging and to avoid rumors.

6. God is the Truth

He affirms that Christ said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Whoever departs from truth departs from God, and whoever clings to truth clings to God.
Divine truth is the foundation of justice, redemption, and forgiveness.

The spiritual message of the lecture

His Holiness calls every believer to live in truth in all its forms: honesty, justice, purity, and consistency between outward appearance and inner life.
A life of truth is a life with God, and it is the path to righteousness, uprightness, and holiness.

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