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H.G. Bishop Metaous – Abbot of the monastery, together with the monastery’s monks would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.  On this joyous occasion we remember the wise men who came from afar, withstanding the long journey in order to see our Lord Jesus Christ.

They were full of love and they were longing to see the new born baby whom the star directed them to. They were very eager to see Him and they were indeed, the first of all nations to worship Him. We also recall, “…they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11) May the Lord grant us to offer Him even the least, and even the least would be very precious in His eyes, as long as we offer it with love.

May the Lord grant us to offer Him, no matter how small, and still it will cheer God’s humble heart. We will offer Him our resistance to sin, we will offer Him our repentance along with fruitful virtues. We will also offer the Lord all that we can in order to please Him. In return, the Lord will accept our gifts, just as He accepted those of the wise men. In conclusion, we can chant with all our hearts, “For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You.”   (1 chronicles 29:14)

As we celebrate these holy days, we ask the Lord to grant you and all your loved ones – health, happiness, and spiritual growth.

Holy Mass & Praises Time

Holy Mass & Praises Time

 

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Quiet Time Schedule

Essential conditions to spend a spiritual retreat in the monastery

To carry a legal proof of personality.

To be not less than 16 years of age.

To carry a letter from the recognition father directed to the Abbot or the father responsible for the retreat house.

To be punctual to the timings of the prayers, work and retreats in the retreat house.

The retreat period does not exceed three days.

Between a retreat and another, there should be a minimum period of 2 months.

Not to visit the Abbot or the monks fathers except with a permission from the father responsible for the retreat house.

To be calm in order to maintain and respect the sanctity of the place.

 

The Journey of the Holy Family

 

panorama

 

Newly Released

explain monastery

CDS – DVD about the Monastery of the Syrians with a simplified explanation of the history of the Monastery of the Virgin Mary (the Syrians). Beheira (AL Asakeet Desert) in the Wadi Natrun area of Egypt’s Western Desert.

I: Video and photos of the history of the Monastery of the Syrians, past and present.

II: Sections of the Monastery such as the entrance, the walls, the fort and the churches including the wall frescos from the archaeological museum and the rest of the Monastery.

III: Midnight Prayers on Sunday with the Holy Fathers of the Monastery.

IIII: Video of the Gregorian Mass for the Fathers in the Monastery.

We hope that watching and listening to these CDs will bring spiritual benefit and be a blessing to all.

We also hope that you will learn more about the liturgically and historical legacy of Coptic monasteries through the intercession of Saint Mary

 

The way to Egypt

A Documentary Film about

The flight of the Holy Family to Egypt

This film has been translated into twenty languages and is available for purchase at the monastery’s bookstore

Presented by

Bishop Mettaous

Abbot of the prosperous Syrian Monastery

Production by

St.Mary’s Monastery EL Sourian

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Tubah 13, 1742 - January 21, 2026, Wednesday, Feast of the Wedding of Cana of Galilee

Vespers

Psalms 4:7, 8

7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

8 For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. [NKJV] Alleluia

Matthew 19:1-12

19:1 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that He departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them there. 3 The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason? 4 And He answered and said to them, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning `made them male and female,' 5 and said, `For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. 7 They said to Him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away? 8 He said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. 10 His disciples said to Him, If such is the case of the man with his wife, it is better not to marry. 11 But He said to them, All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: 12 For there are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept it, let him accept it. [NKJV] Glory is due to our God to the age of all ages. Amen

Matins

Psalms 104:15, 24

15 And wine that makes glad the heart of man, Oil to make his face shine.

24 O Lord, how manifold are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all. [NKJV] Alleluia

John 4:43-54

43 Now after the two days He departed from there and went to Galilee. 44 For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country. 45 So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast. 46 So Jesus came again to Cana of Galilee where He had made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. 47 When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to Him and implored Him to come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death. 48 Then Jesus said to him, Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will by no means believe. 49 The nobleman said to Him, Sir, come down before my child dies! 50 Jesus said to him, Go your way; your son lives. So the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and he went his way. 51 And as he was now going down, his servants met him and told him, saying, Your son lives! 52 Then he inquired of them the hour when he got better. And they said to him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. 53 So the father knew that it was at the same hour in which Jesus said to him, Your son lives. And he himself believed, and his whole household. 54 This again is the second sign Jesus did when He had come out of Judea into Galilee. [NKJV] Glory is due to our God to the age of all ages. Amen

Liturgy

Romans 6:3-16

3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! 16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?. [NKJV] The Grace of God the Father be with you all. Amen

1 John 2:20-25

20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. 21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. 24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us--eternal life. [NKJV] Do not love the world, nor the things which are in the world. The world shall pass away and all its desires; but he who does the will of God shall abide forever. Amen

Acts 8:3-13

3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done. [NKJV] The word of the Lord shall grow, multiply, be mighty and be confirmed in the holy church of God. Amen

Psalms 77:14-15, 16

14 You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. 15 You have with Your arm redeemed Your people.

16 The waters saw You, they were afraid. [NKJV] Alleluia

John 2:1-11

2:1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. 3 And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, They have no wine. 4 Jesus said to her, Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come. 5 His mother said to the servants, Whatever He says to you, do it. 6 Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. 7 Jesus said to them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And He said to them, Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast. And they took it. 9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now! 11 This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. [NKJV] Glory is due to our God to the age of all ages. Amen