His Holiness Pope Tawadros II Prays the Holy Liturgy of the Ascension Feast at the Church of the Victorious Virgin, Vienna, Austria
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, prayed on the morning of Thursday 25 May 2023 the Liturgy for the Feast of the Ascension in the Church of the Victorious Virgin in the Austrian capital, Vienna. His Grace Bishop Gabriel, the Bishop of Austria, participated in the Liturgy Prayers along with His Grace Bishop Abakir, Bishop of Scandinavia, His Grace Bishop Makar, Bishop of Sharkia and the Tenth of Ramadan and His Grace Bishop Anianos, Bishop of Bani Mazar, and a number of priests, monks and the Church’s congregation.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II delivered the sermon during which His Holiness indicated that the Church celebrates the Feast of the Ascension of Christ to heaven forty days after the Feast of Resurrection, and that the Lord Christ, during those forty days, kept talking to His disciples about matters in relation to the kingdom of heaven, and explaining to them what their life would be like after He ascended to heaven. Also, that we have received these things from the Holy Tradition since the days of the Apostle Fathers, as it was made clear that on the feast of the Ascension we raise our eyes and long for heaven, and we remember that:
1- Our Christianity is heavenly: because in human life, philosophies, morals, religions, and sects appeared to ascend from earth to heaven, but man lived in sin since the fall of Adam, so his life turned to dust and he could not reach heaven until God came incarnate and became human from our mother, the Virgin Mary, and gave man the power and possibility to ascend to heaven, so our Christianity began from heaven,
“For God so loved the world (Incarnation) that He gave His only begotten Son (Crucifixion) , that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
(John 3:16)
Heaven became open to man, so our Christianity has a heavenly origin and a heavenly purpose (goal).
2- Our worship is heavenly: as we pray “Our Father who art in the heavens…
“On earth as it is in heaven”
(Matthew 6:9-10)…
This news was originally published on the website of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Please click here to read the full text.
