Sunday, July 26, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Fr Abraam Sleman Biography
Background:
Fr. Abraam Sleman’s life has always centered in Christ. Even since his youth, he served as a Sunday School teacher. Following his college graduation, he gave sermons at many churches in Cairo and focused on writing several spiritual books. It was not long before Fr. Abraam dedicated his life to serving God and was ordained a priest on June 18th, 1989 by H.H. Pope Shenouda III during the Feast of Pentecost to the church of St. Mary in Cairo, Egypt, and there he served his flock diligently for several years. As the Coptic Church in the United States grew, the need for dedicated, reputable priests did as well, and Fr. Abraam was chosen to serve in the flourishing community. On September 3rd, 1993, he began his service in the Coptic Church of Saint Mark in Englewood, Colorado.
On January 5, 1995, he has been appointed by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church, to serve at the Coptic Church of Saint Mark in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA, to serve there following the departure of the founding priest of the parish. During the period before Fr. Abraam’s arrival, the church had many issues. The congregation was divided to the point that several clergy were sent to the church only to stay for several weeks before leaving due to the many issues in church. Through his immense love for every congregant and his ability to reach each on according to their needs, Fr. Abraam was able unite a church, which over the years had been divided and had number of intermittent priests. He is an altruistic individual who constantly seeks to meet the needs of the struggling members of his congregation.
Fr. Abraam was elevated to the rank of Hegumen by H.H. Pope Shenouda III, on September 1st, 2003. He currently serves at Saint Mark's as the senior priest and the president of the board. Father Abraam has been the senior priest at Saint Mark's for the last fifteen years, seeing the Church through remarkable growth, both in its congregation number and in ministry activities, indicative of a strong commitment to the Church, Christ, and his flock.
When it comes to God’s holy word and church teachings, Fr. Abraam is known of both knowledge and insight. His passion is reading and researching in the Bible. He is eager and diligent in sharing this essential information through his writings and published works.
During his research, Fr. Abraam is open to know the truth as evident through his readings and works to pose critical questions that can only be answered with a deep understanding of the Scriptures. He believes that there is no sound theological principle that it is not deeply rooted on a biblical basis. Over the years, he has developed a method of referencing multiple translations of the biblical text, including text in the Arabic, Greek, and Hebrew languages. Using this, he forms an understanding by surveying the Bible as a whole, using the uniting thread of the Holy Spirit that runs in each book to uncover the truth.
Rev Fr Abraam Sleman is credited to be one of the first Coptic priests to stress the importance of the use of the internet as a medium to reach Copts. With the advent of the internet, he created one of the first Coptic online publications, "Voice of the Bible", which was later expanded to be http://www.saintmark.com/ and has now evolved into http://www.copticchurch.net/, one of the largest Coptic resources on the internet.
Rev Fr. Abraam Sleman has many published books. The list includes: The God of Daniel, The Meaning of the Holy Trinity and the Reference Book of the Coptic Liturgy. He is currently preaching on the book of Revelation and writing a new book from the spiritual view. Many of his recent writings and lectures are posted on http://www.copticchurch.net/ , http://www.revelationfellowship.net/, http://www.frabraam.net/, http://www.copticmedia.org/
Topics:
The Meaning of the Holy Trinity
- Making sense of the Holy Trinity using biblical analogies.
- The unity of the Holy Trinity, How can it be that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are one?
- Relevancy of the Holy Trinity’s doctrine in our lives.
The God of Daniel, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel
- Making sense of the Book of Daniel and its visions.
- Understanding Daniel’s 70th week in the light of Christ’s life and ministry.
Revelation of Jesus Christ, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Revelation
- Making sense of the Book of Revelation and its visions.
- Understanding the Book of Revelation in the light of Christ’s life and ministry.
Additional Topics Include:
- Family Relationships from the Biblical Perspective
- Biblical View of Jesus Christ
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Revelation Fellowship Retreat
Rather than a chapter-by-chapter discussion, we hope to discuss the Book of Revelation through the following topics (tentative):
- The Millennium in the Orthodox Concept
- Armageddon, Close or Far?
- The Coming of the Lord Jesus in Revelation
- The New Jerusalem
- Revelation and Liturgy
The amenities at the retreat center are too many to list, so feel free to visit their website http://www.sandycove.org/
Please confirm early, as seats are limited. The cost of the retreat will be $170 (flat rate, excludes transportation). For an application, or more information, feel free to contact Mary Sleman at Phone # (908)705-4067 E-Mail: mary.sleman@gmail.com
Revelation Fellowship Retreat
The Book of Revelation reveals the good news of God in Jesus Christ as a culmination of all the other books of the Bible. Rather than be distracted by solving the secret of the Beast, or setting out to explain the scenario of the Battle of Armageddon, we aim study it to reveal the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and God’s work in us through Him.
Rather than a chapter-by-chapter discussion, we hope to discuss the Book of Revelation through the following topics (tentative):
- The Millennium in the Orthodox Concept
- Armageddon, Close or Far?
- The Coming of the Lord Jesus in Revelation
- The New Jerusalem
- Revelation and Liturgy
The amenities at the retreat center are too many to list, so feel free to visit their website http://www.sandycove.org/