Private revelations from God/Christ in the East and West

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What I do know is this is continuing in Egypt, apparently. I personally find no reason to be skeptical about the idea of the Holy Virgin is appearing. Which of course would be through Gods will.

zeitun-eg.org/warraq.htm

(Warraq el-Hadar), Egypt (2009)

Warraq el-Hadar is a small island in greater Cairo’s Nile river (Giza governorate, part of Greater Cairo). It is a poor district. More than 200,000 (Christians and Muslims) have so far witnessed the December 2009 apparitions on the domes of Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church in El-Warraq (as at 22 December 2009). Apparition lights in the night sky could also be seen several kilometers away from the church. People used their mobile phones to make videos of the apparitions and share them via Bluetooth and on YouTube. The full silhouette of the Blessed Holy Virgin Mary dressed in light blue gown could be clearly seen over the domes of the church between the church crosses. The apparitions also received wide media coverage in Egyptian newspapers and Arabic TV channels. The apparitions started in the Coptic month of Kiahk (December 2009), the Marian month/Nativity Fast in the Coptic Calendar. During this month the Coptic Church celebrates a special Midnight Praise dedicated to the Holy Virgin and the Incarnation.

She’s been busy. 😉

The visitation of the Mother of God with St John the Evangelist and Apostle Peter to St Sergius of Radonezh and his disciple Micah.

oca.org/saints/lives/2013/08/24/108974-appearance-of-the-mother-of-god-to-st-sergius-of-radonezh

The appearance of the Mother of God to St Dimitri Donskoy.

The appearance of the Mother of God at the church at Blachernae, the origin of the feast of the Holy Protection of the Mother of God.

oca.org/saints/lives/2013/10/01/102824-the-protection-of-our-most-holy-lady-the-mother-of-god-and-ever

The appearance of Christ and the Virgin to the fathers of the First Ecumenical Council.

The above sights are not great, but its indicative. Christ, St Mary and many Saints have indeed appeared to people throughout history, our tradition is full of such stories. It certainly can happen.

Devotion to St Mary existed very early in the Church.
 
EIF5A said:
Is there any account in the Eastern/Orthodox tradition where a saint conversed with God?
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There are in the Coptic Orthodox Church; I don’t know about others. St. Bishoy comes to mind, who not only talked to Christ but also carried him in the form of an old man and washed His feet. And there are some instances of conversations between our Lord Jesus Christ and St. Shenouda the Archimandrite recorded in his Vita by his disciple St. Besa.

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2012-03-20-StBishoyWashingFeetofChrist.jpg
Pictured: Depiction of St. Bishoy washing the feet of Christ; St. Bishoy Monastery, Wadi Natrun
 
dzheremi said:
There are in the Coptic Orthodox Church; I don’t know about others. St. Bishoy comes to mind, who not only talked to Christ but also carried him in the form of an old man and washed His feet. And there are some instances of conversations between our Lord Jesus Christ and St. Shenouda the Archimandrite recorded in his Vita by his disciple St. Besa.

http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2012-03-20-StBishoyWashingFeetofChrist.jpg
Pictured: Depiction of St. Bishoy washing the feet of Christ; St. Bishoy Monastery, Wadi Natrun
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Cool! What did Jesus tell him?
 
EIF5A said:
In a particular private revelation, God tells St. Catherine that (I’m paraphrasing) a revelation from God should espouse feeling of deep humility and unworthiness. And Jesus tells St. Gemma Galgani to say “Blessed be Jesus and Mary.”

Also, if a revelation causes someone to repent and understand their sinfulness, why would a demon do that? I suppose a demon can trick someone into believing that a certain thing will happen in the future and entice someone with false revelations and pride in knowing “hidden knowledge”.

IMHO, I think it’s possible to “miss” beneficial revelations by being overly skeptical, especially if approved by the Catholic Church…which probably won’t mean much if one is Orthodox…

But again, I still remain very confused about all spiritual matters…
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True private revelations are wonderful, awesome, beneficial, enlightening and encouraging to the faithful. The Church simply teaches us that, while they are entirely possible and have occurred, we’re not bound to accept any of them as a matter of faith, and that, while they can help clarify our understandings, they add nothing to the public revelation once for all delivered via the advent of Christ.
 
EIF5A said:
Cool! What did Jesus tell him?
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For St. Shenouda, they are recorded in his Vita but many are not of the type that you would probably find interesting: It is written that Christ sits and talks with St. Shenouda, or gives him instructions on building a church, or similar things. One interesting story, however, involves Christ and St. Shenouda sitting and talking when the Bishop of Shmin (modern Akhmim) passed by St. Shenouda’s monastery, sending a note that he was on his way to see the archbishop and wanted to stop by the monastery first, and would St. Shenouda come to meet him? St. Shenouda answers that he will not, as he is busy (talking with Christ). The request is repeated several times, all with the same answer, until finally the bishop threatens St. Shenouda with excommunication if he refuses again to meet him. At this point, Christ tells St. Shenouda “O Shenoute, arise and go out to the bishop, lest he excommunicate you. Otherwise, I will not let you enter [heaven] because of the covenant I made with Peter, saying ‘What you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” At that point, of course, St. Shenouda departs to see the bishop. 😉

St. Bishoy’s encounters are certainly more well-known. They are recorded in several versions, as St. Bishoy was very famous in the desert for being visited by Christ. Given this, novice monks would often come to him, asking that he reveal Christ to them. After many requests of this type, and prayers of St. Bishoy that the Lord appear should it be His will to appear to the acolytes, St. Bishoy tells them that they will go together and wait on a hill for the Lord. Excited, the young monks make haste to reach the hill at the appointed time. On the way there, they pass an old man, one of the many travelers in the desert. The old man asks for help from each one, but each turns him away, so that they might travel more quickly. Finally the man comes upon St. Bishoy, who, seeing the man’s need and suffering, takes him and carries him upon his own shoulders. The old man’s weight begins to wear St. Bishoy down (the good saint was very old by this time), and it is then that it is revealed to St. Bishoy that the old man who he is carrying is in fact Christ the Lord. St. Bishoy cries out that such a sinner as himself is unfit to carry the Lord and Savior. The Lord then tells St. Bishoy that because he has carried Him, his body will never decay (the saint’s body remains incorrupt to this day, lying in the monastery that bears his name in Wadi el Natrun).
 
My friend,

What is the linguistic differences in the Coptic Church, for example St. Bishoy or St. Pishoy? I’ve noticed the same in the Syriac - Faulos/Paulos, and it is a regional variation.
 
That is a good question. It is a kind of regional variation as well in the COC, but the matter is a little more complicated, because you have to delve into Coptic history a little to understand it. Basically, there are several different dialects of Coptic and they were concentrated in different regions in the days when Coptic was still a living language outside of the liturgy. Through various intrigues in the 1850s-1860s that are fascinating to me but probably boring to others, one came to dominate the Church, but the others (or rather, echos of the others) never really died out. The pronunciation “Bishoy” reflects more closely the Sahidic dialect of Upper Egypt (which is to say Southern Egypt/the Sa’id, which has always been the more heavily Coptic region in comparison to Cairo and points further north), which predominated in the Church until c.9th century and the rise of Cairo, while the pronunciation “Pishoy” reflects the so-called ‘Greco-Bohairic’ pronunciation, which is based ultimately on modern Greek and gained prominence in the formerly Bohairic-speaking areas (Alexandria and its environs), and was officially promoted by the Church (today they appear to support both pronunciations, and there is even a department dedicated to teaching “Old Coptic” at the clerical college; this was not always the case). Outside of villages in the Sa’id, where the ‘Greco-Bohairic’ pronunciation never really caught on for various reasons, and one church in North America (St. Mark, Rochester, NY; the parish of Fr. Shenouda Maher), you will not hear the Sahidic or “Old Coptic” pronunciation used in any church in the world.

Of course, like everyone else in today’s world, even these isolated pockets of Coptic language revival (or whatever you’d call it) have made Youtube videos to showcase their way of doing things, so here’s a comparison between the two if you’re interested:

The second hoos “Lobsh” (Explanation of the second canticle of the Midnight praises) in the “Old Coptic” pronunciation: youtube.com/watch?v=IKdHr4YtMzU

The second hoos “Lobsh” in the modern ‘Greco-Bohairic’ pronunciation: youtube.com/watch?v=l6_fgfMe4-Q

It can be difficult to notice if you are not trained for it, but generally the Greco-Bohairic tends to devoice things that the Old Coptic kept voiced, so where GB has “ch”, OC has “sh”; where GB has “ti”, OB has “da”. This is why there are two pronunciations of the name “Shenouda” – “Shenouti” or “Shenoute” reflects the [Greco] Bohairic, while “Shenouda” reflects the Old Coptic/Sahidic, Since the name is written in Arabic as “Shenouda”, we can know that this is a dialectical feature which was probably more widespread before the Arab invasion, since the Arabs would’ve first encountered Copts in places like Pelusium/Baramoun at the mouth of the Nile delta, far from the Sa’id. For this reason, “Old Coptic” is sometimes referred to more specifically as “Old Bohairic”, since it is assumed to reflect common features found in Bohairic before it was made to conform with the Greek following the reforms of the 1850s and 1860s under Erian Moftah.
 
dzheremi said:
At this point, Christ tells St. Shenouda “O Shenoute, arise and go out to the bishop, lest he excommunicate you. Otherwise, I will not let you enter [heaven] because of the covenant I made with Peter, saying ‘What you will bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and what you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” At that point, of course, St. Shenouda departs to see the bishop. 😉
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Interesting how in this private revelation, Christ specifically mentions Peter, and not Peter and the Apostles/Disciples.
 
EIF5A said:
Interesting how in this private revelation, Christ specifically mentions Peter, and not Peter and the Apostles/Disciples.
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St Mark (who was the disciple of St Peter) founded Alexandria. Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch are Petrine Sees and were the original Sees of the Church (Constantinople and Jerusalem were elevated later). 😉

An old Coptic Icon of Ss Peter and Paul (note that St Peter holds the Keys):
https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1454939_597099880354390_2000493_n.jpg
 
Zekariya said:
St Mark (who was the disciple of St Peter) founded Alexandria. Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch are Petrine Sees and were the original Sees of the Church (Constantinople and Jerusalem were elevated later). 😉

An old Coptic Icon of Ss Peter and Paul (note that St Peter holds the Keys):
https://scontent-b-atl.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/1454939_597099880354390_2000493_n.jpg
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Ahh…

Is that St. Mark different from Mark, Jesus’ disciple?

I’ve read that St. Mark founded the Coptic Church but assumed it was the disciple.
 
After the Ascension, the Apostles got together and went out to the various ends of the Earth. They took the disciples with them and traveled. St. Mark became a disciple of St. Peter.
 
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