Daniel

Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means, "God is my judge", and derives from two early biblical figures, primary among them Daniel from the Book of Daniel. It is a common given name for males, and is also used as a surname. It is also the basis for various derived given names and surnames.

Background

The name evolved into over 100 different spellings in countries around the world. Nicknames (Dan, Danny) are common in both English and Hebrew, although in some instances "Dan" may be a complete given name rather than a nickname. The name "Daniil" (Даниил) is common in Russia. Feminine versions (Danielle, Daniela, Daniella, Dani, Danitza) are prevalent as well. The Dutch names "Daan" and "Daniël" are also variations of Daniel. A related surname developed as a patronymic, Daniels. Other surnames derived from "Daniel" include McDaniel and Danielson.

In the United States, the U.S. Social Security Administration reports that Daniel has peaked as the fifth most popular name for newborns in 1985, 1990, 2007, and 2008. The U.S. Census Bureau reported that in the 2000 census, "Daniels" was the 182nd most common surname in the U.S., while "McDaniel" was ranked at 323, and "Daniel" (without a final "s") was ranked at 380.

Habib

Habib (Arabic: حبيب, ḥabīb; Arabic pronunciation: [ħɑbiːb ]), also written Habeeb is an Arabic male name with the meaning "beloved", or "sweetheart", and its plural form is Habaayib or Habaaib (Arabic: حبايب‎, translit. ḥabâyib; Arabic pronunciation: [ħɑbɑːjib]). In Maltese it translates to "friend". It also appears as a surname. The name is popular in the Middle East and Africa. In other countries, especially in Yemen and Southeast Asian countries such as Brunei, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia, it is an honorific to address a Muslim scholar of Sayyid (a descendant of Muhammad) families.

Given name

Divine Liturgy

Divine Liturgy (Armenian: Սուրբ Պատարագ Surb Patarag;Bulgarian: Божествена литургия Bozhestvena liturgiya; Georgian: საღმრთო ლიტურგია saghmrto lit'urgia; Greek: Θεία Λειτουργία Theia Leitourgia; Romanian: Sfânta Liturghie; Russian: Божественная литургия Bozhestvennaya liturgiya; Serbian: Света Литургија or Sveta Liturgija) is the Eucharistic service of the Byzantine tradition of Christian liturgy. As such, it is used in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. Armenian Christians, both of the Armenian Apostolic Church and of the Armenian Catholic Church, use the same term. Some Oriental Orthodox employ the term "holy offering" (Syriac: qurbana qadisha) for their Eucharistic liturgies instead. The term is sometimes applied also to Roman Rite Eucharistic liturgies, though the term Mass is more commonly used there.

Eastern Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, also referred to as the Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Orthodoxy, is the second largest Christian Church in the world, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, teaching that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles, and practicing what it understands to be the original faith passed down from the Apostles.

United in communion with the Latin Church before the East–West Schism in 1054, and with the Oriental churches for the first quarter of its history, Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Byzantine Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople.

Eastern Orthodoxy has no Papacy or similar authority, but instead teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, and each autocephalous church is typically governed by a Holy Synod. This is one of the main reasons for the division between the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The commonly-used but unofficial designation "Eastern" derives from the geographical location of the main centers of Orthodoxy in relation to the "Western" churches (now known as the Roman Catholic Church), and from Constantinople being the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the largest Christian Church in Egypt, and also the largest in the Middle East overall.

According to tradition, the Church was established by Saint Mark, an apostle and evangelist, in the middle of the 1st century (approximately AD 42). The head of the Church and the See of Alexandria is the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Coptic Pope. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo.

The Coptic Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of Churches, which has been a distinct Christian body since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different position over Christology from that of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The precise Christological differences that caused the split with the Coptic Christians are still disputed, highly technical, and mainly concerned with the nature of Christ. The foundational roots of the Coptic Church are based in Egypt, but it has a worldwide following.