Contemplations on the Sermon on the Mount

by Pope Shenouda III

This book presents sixteen lectures given by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III (Pope and Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church) on the “Sermon on the Mount” in 1967.  “ The Sermon on the Mount is indeed the constitution of Christianity.  It is worthy of more meditation by you and while reading these and other contemplations you have rather to learn it by heart.  I wish God may grant you the power to behave according to it so that you, yourself, may become a sermon read by all people.”  ( Pope Shenouda III)

224 pages, Paperback

First published March 23, 2012

About the author

H.H. Pope Shenouda III (Coptic: Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ Papa Abba Šenoude pimah šoumt , Arabic: بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث‎ Bābā al-Iskandarīyah Shinūdah al-Thālith; born Nazeer Gayed Roufail نظير جيد روفائيل ) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria from his consecration on 14 November 1971 until death. Previously, as Father Antonios the Syrian, Pope Cyril VI appointed him to the bishopric of Christian Education and as Dean of the Coptic Orthodox Theological Seminary, and renamed him Shenouda in honour of the renowned scholar and writer in Coptic, Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite on 30 September 1962.

In 2000, Pope Shenouda III was awarded the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura.

Reviews

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way Pope Shenouda gets deep with the principles behind the scriptures but in very simple language and with a focus to get us to repent and pray. I also love the way he gives examples of principles from the old testament, psalms and "desert fathers".
The translation is sometimes very dodgy but the teachings are so good that I still want to read his books. And one mustn't grumble really as this is freely downloadable.

[Trevor Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of really good reflection to mull over. Sometimes it was hard to follow disconnected chains of thought. One thought that particularly struck me was that Christ told his disciples, who he knew would abandon him, that they were salt and light. I don’t know why that never hit me like it did when reading this book. But if Christ can restore their saltiness and light after their betrayal and deception, then he can definitely restore me from my sin. Beautiful.