Sayings of the Fathers – Part 3

• Ancient sources: His Holiness Pope Shenouda III mentions the Eastern Patrologia collections and the books of the Apostolic Canons composed of groups of 71 and 56 canons (a total of 127 canons), and refers to the relation of these canons to the works of Hippolytus and Apollodorus.
• The Didascalia and the Didache: He explains that the Didascalia (the teaching of the apostles) includes detailed explanations about church order, baptism, the Eucharist, episcopal roles, and ecclesiastical authority, while the Didache offers spiritual and moral instruction derived from the Gospel of Matthew.
• Archives, copying, and translation: He recounts the experience of copying rare manuscripts in monasteries such as the Monastery of Abu Maqar, and the importance of translating these texts into Arabic for use in priestly and spiritual education.
• The Apostolic Fathers and their stories: His Holiness mentions examples of the Apostolic Fathers such as Ignatius, Polycarp, and Hermas (the Shepherd), and their role in forming the early church life and martyrdom witness.

🕯 Spiritual and educational dimension (from a Coptic Orthodox perspective):

• These texts are references for the Church’s teaching in rites, canons, and spiritual conduct, calling for adherence to true doctrine and confronting heresies with theological precision.
• A spiritual reading of these books enriches the believer’s life and trains them to distinguish between accepted tradition and individual opinions that may not reflect the official stance of the Church.

🔖 Brief Summary: The lecture encourages reviving the patristic heritage, copying it, and translating it, and highlights that the Apostolic Canons and the Didascalia form an organizational and spiritual foundation for church life, with a call for scrutiny and discernment when reading ancient writings.

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