Blog Posts

It’s nearly the end of the year, and fundraising season is upon us. Over the next few weeks, we hope to make the case that you’ll want to support Axia. Here’s the start!

One of our Notable Women of Orthodoxy died recently. We wanted to share with you the eulogies from her funeral, to give you a sense of who we lost and what she meant to the church and what she will continue to mean to the church for generations to come. Here are two reflections from her parish priest and from a former student of hers: 

“In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Glory to Jesus Christ.

Samira Zaki Doherty, an Egyptian-born Coptic Orthodox woman, lived a life of intense prayer and unimaginable holiness. She possessed a unique and close friendship with Coptic Patriarch, St. Pope Kyrillos VI (Cyril VI), before and after his passing. It was through this friendship that many miracles and spiritual occurrences transpired in her life and in those around her.

Our first in our new series on Hospitality is by Jenna Funkhouser:

I am fifteen years old, volunteering on the streets of my hometown of Portland, Oregon, that February. A houseless man sees me shivering and offers me his own gloves. His gentle care and goodness shatter me. Suddenly, Christ is standing before me.

Thanks to a few generous donors, we have been offered a few scholarships for those for whom cost is an obstacle in attending our

Our gratitude goes to Sherry Mohr, who uncovered this prayer by the Empress Theodora Palaiologina (13th century). It is found at the start of the Typicon of Lips, a handbook and last will and testament of the Empress for the organization and protocols of the convent she led. 

We thank Fr. Arseny Aziz for sharing how two women in the parish in which he was raised influenced him. You may notice that neither of them is named. There is a recurring theme in the Coptic tradition of avoiding recognition. One example is Samira Doherty (1941-2015), who is acknowledged as a holy woman in the Coptic-American communities in California: she only shared her experiences with the saints with her priest. The wider world only learned of them from him after she passed. Here are Fr. Arseny’s influencers: