Posted on 04/11/2017 4:22:50 PM PDT by NYer
From the Aleteia archives:
With the news of the terrible bombing during Divine Liturgy in a Coptic Orthodox church in Cairo, December 11, 2016, attention is being drawn again to the sufferings of Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Who are these Coptic Christians? What do we share with them?
1. The Coptic Church is among the oldest Christian communities in the world.
Coptic Christians trace the founding of their church to a missionary journey by the evangelist St. Mark in the year 42. According to tradition, Mark spent his last days in Alexandria, then the capital of Greek-influenced Egypt and a center of knowledge and culture in the Mediterranean world. The first converts he made were the native Egyptians known as Copts for the language they spoke, which was the last surviving form of ancient Egyptian. (The word Copt is rooted in the ancient Egyptian word that describes a person from Egypt.)
2. Since the 5th century, the Coptic Orthodox Church has been out of communion with Rome and with the Eastern Orthodox churches. The Coptic Catholic Church, a tradition that split off at the same time, is today in full communion with Rome.
The divisions occurred over complex points of theology (particularly the understanding of the nature of Christ) and authority following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Coptic Orthodox Church is autocephalic (its own independent church). It has followers among Egyptian immigrants to other countries in Africa and around the world, including the US, and “daughter churches” in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and is in communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches. The Coptic language, which was written using Greek letters, remains the official liturgical language of the church, but over the centuries has been gradually replaced by Arabic, the vernacular of modern Egypt. Coptic Orthodox Christians, like many other Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Christians, follow the Julian calendar, with Christmas celebrated on January 7. Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church is headquartered in Cairo at St. Mark’s Cathedral (next door to the chapel where the bombing occurred), although the symbolic center of Coptic Christian life remains Alexandria.
The Coptic Catholic Church is headed by a Patriarch (bishop) who pledges obedience to Pope Francis. Coptic Catholics celebrate their own liturgical rite, and continue to use the Coptic language for Mass. The Coptic Catholic Church also traces its origins to St. Mark and Alexandria, but is today headquarted in Nasr City, a suburb of Cairo, at the cathedral of Our Lady of Egypt.
3. The Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox is known as the Pope.
Before the divisions in Christianity between east and west, the patriarch (or head bishop) of the Coptic See of Alexandria was considered, by reason of the church’s age, primer inter pares (“first among equals”). By tradition, the first Patriarch of Alexandria was ordained by St. Mark himself. Like the Bishop of Rome, the Coptic Orthodox patriarch has been called pappas (“Father”) for generations, and today the Orthodox Patriarch carries the title of Pope. Pope Tawadros II succeeded to the office in 2012 after the death of Pope Shenouda III. Bishop Tawadros was selected by having his name chosen by a blind child from among ballots containing the names of three candidates. Pope Francis considers Pope Tawadros II his brother in Christ, and called him directly to offer sympathy and prayers after Sunday’s bombing.
4. Coptic Christians gave us the first school of catechesis and the blessing of the monastic tradition.
Under the Copts, Alexandria gave rise to a catechetical school where Christian doctrine took shape. Many of the early Church fathers lived or studied in Alexandria, joining the Greek philosophers and Jewish scholars who already made the city their home. Besides catechetical studies, the school taught humanities and mathematics. Its library contained carved wood texts with raised letters so the blind could study – long before the invention of Braille. The desert fathers of Egypt began the heremitic and monastic traditions that would later inspire St. Basil of Cappadocia in the East and St. Benedict in the West.
5. Coptic Christians have undergone persecution at various times throughout history.
After the Council of Chalcedon, Coptic Orthodox Christians suffered persecution at the hands of Byzantine Christians who considered them heretics. Many were tortured, imprisoned, and killed, but the Coptic Orthodox remained faithful to their understanding of Christology. With the rise of Islam and the Umayyad conquest of Egypt, most of the population retained their Coptic Christianity at first. Later the taxation and limitation of opportunities that were the price of being Christian under Islamic rule drew many Egyptians to convert to Islam. Gradually, Egypt became a Muslim-majority country, and today Coptic Christians represent only 10%-20% of the population. Since the rise of Islamic militarism, however, Copts (both Orthodox and Catholic), like other Middle Eastern Christians, have come under violent attack from terrorist groups. The December 11 bombing, for which no group has yet taken credit as this is published, appears to be one more in a growing list of attacks.
More to read: Women were the targets: Cairo attack was a strike at the womb of the Church
Blood and water unite Catholics and Copts, Pope Francis tells Egyptian church
Thanks very much,just when you think the mad muzzies can’t get any crazier,,,they do.
It's wonderful that there's so much free education out there: applicable, of course, only to those who are willing to learn.
You're comparing Freeper Catholics to people who commit mass murder?
Stay classy ...
Curious about how a “Catechism” is based on God’s Word?
Same with “Sacred Tradition”?
If you do any honest research on both, you’ll see that they are both heavily influenced on Greco-Roman Paganism.
Thanks for playing though...
I was once Catholic, I know far more than you do I bet.
You read the Bible? Really???
What does it say about Purgatory?
Idolatry?
What about praying to the dead?
Rosary beads (another pagan ritual)?
Speaking of softballs!
Well they do have a much longer history than the Islamists do if we’re going to have an honest conversation about this.
Good luck having that here though.
Yes, the Church is in heavy dialogue with Greco-Roman culture. To such an extent, that seven books of the OT and the entire New Testament were written in Greek, and (in both East and West) almost the entire corpus of the earliest commentary, the discussions and rulings of the first Ecumenical Councils, and even the polemics were carried out in Greek.
And the Church is in dialogue, not just with Greco-Roman culture (which Paul did not scorn, but built upon: cf. especially Acts 17:22-34), but with every human culture She encounters.
You're very welcome.
You consider celebrating and praying to “Saints” as Biblical or “Tradition”?
Holy Water?
Mary being sinless and co-redeemer with Christ?
Salvation only possible through the RCC?
Rosary & other repetitive pagan style prayers?
Sacraments as necessary for salvation?
Worship of the Eucharist?
Salvation includes Muslims? (your Pope says so as do your bizarre Catechism)
(2) Yes
(3) Yes, and No. "Co-redeemer" is not a Catholic dogma. You might want to refer to Dominus Iesus, the Declaration reiterating the constant teaching of the Church on Jesus' being the unique (only, sole) and universal savior.
(4)Yes, with a kibosh on the word "Roman"
(5) Tendentious question. As for pagan, singing is a "pagan" prayer style; use of musical instruments is a pagan prayer style; in fact, everything in "Judeo-Christian" culture has possible antecedents or congruent practices in previous or contemporary "non-JC" societies, including praying in dedicated buildings; reading from sacred texts; calling God "Father"; fasting and almsgiving; and making offerings of bread and wine.
As for repetitive, you ought to consider a recitation of Psalm 119.
(6) Yes.
(7) Yes.
(8) The Catechism makes no statement on the salvation of Muslims as Muslims, but says that they (like Jews, non-believers, and all the rest of the human race who ae discussed in this section of the Catechism) are "part of the plan of salvation," inasmuch as they are called to repent and believe the Gospel. This section includes with this paragraph:
#848:
"Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."
You know Mrs. Don-O I have a lot of respect for you - I really do. You’ve got your beliefs based on what you believe and so do I.
Difference between you and I is that I go straight to the source for rules, traditions and doctrines. I’ve also been on the other side, so I know quite a lot about being Catholic.
You and I can go back and forth for months over this and we’ll still stick with what we know.
Salvation:
Jesus Alone
Acts 4:11-12
Acts 16:31
John 14:6
John 3:18
John 6:29
1 Timothy 2:5
Romans 3:30
Romans 10:9-10
He is sufficient for Salvation. No building or membership in an organization created by man can change that.
The Roman Catholic Church rejects this. The official position of the Roman Catholic Church is that a person must believe in Jesus Christ AND be baptized AND receive the Eucharist along with the other sacraments AND obey the decrees of the Roman Catholic Church AND perform meritorious works AND not die with any mortal sins AND etc., etc., etc.
Everybody else of every other faith, from history past to future will die in their sins and be tossed into the lake of fire if they reject Him and these verses. It’s a hard truth that must be told.
Some listen, most don’t. It’s their loss eventually.
The RCC has done more damage to the message of Christ through it’s half-paganism and watered down version of salvation than any invading Muslim army could ever do.
Just look at your current pontiff, whom you have defended on various occasions, and what nonsense he’s stating these days with regards to truth, salvation, and tradition. He’s ten thousand steps backwards from Ratzinger and I wasn’t even a fan of Ratzinger.
You will find out one day who is right about all of this. I pray you start reading God’s Word, which was written by God Himself through men, over Catechism’s written by who knows whom.
And with all that said about Catechisms and “Traditions” - I like My Lord & Savior’s Opinion about it:
Mark 7:9
And he said to them, “You have a fine way of a rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!”
So yes, we’ll continue to disagree. Still with that said, I say God Bless and may you find the Truth that is Jesus Christ and Him Alone.
BTW, the Church was not "created by man," but created by "A" "Man" who is also God. It is Jesus Christ who said "I will build my Church."
I don't have any reason to think you're not in it.
God Bless!
There’s a lot of confusion out there in Christianity - look at all the denominations out there (and cults) I’m sure you’ll agree. That’s why I said man made organizations.
FWIW He said He would build His Church on the “rock” of Peter’s statement in Matthew 16:16
;)
Hope you have wonderful Easter. May God bless you abundantly.
Gracias!
God Bless you and your family also! We’ll say to each other on Sunday - He Has Risen, Indeed He has!
Also, I see that this thread has deteriorated into a bash on Catholics thread or I guess bash on anyone who isn’t Evangelical. So I thought that this news was relevant:
http://www.pravmir.com/bible-answer-man-hank-hanegraaff-chrismated-eastern-orthodoxy/
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