The Monastic Journey

A young man lies face down on the floor of a Coptic Orthodox church while the choir sings the hymns used at funerals. Minutes later he stands up in a black habit with a new name, and the congregation greets him with joy. Visitors who witness a Coptic monastic consecration, in person or in videos online, almost always leave with the same questions. What just happened? Why the funeral hymns? Why black? Why does he lie on the floor?

Monastic Journey answers them. Written for readers with no background in Orthodoxy or in Christianity at all, this short booklet from St Shenouda Press walks step by step through the Coptic Orthodox Rite of Monastic Consecration: the prostration before the altar, the funeral hymns, the tonsure, the giving of a new name, and the vesting in the monastic habit. Each garment is explained in turn, including the black tunic, the belt, the qalansuwa, and the eskim.

Drawing on Scripture, St Athanasius, St John Cassian, the Sayings of the Desert Fathers and Pope Shenouda III, it explains not only what the Church does but why she has done it for sixteen centuries.

Author: St Shenouda Press

Publisher Name : St Shenouda Press

Publisher URL : www.stshenoudapress.com

Publication Year : 2026

Pages : 26