Alexandria and Christian Dogmas
Dogmas, to the Coptic Orthodox Church, are not merely theological concepts concerning God, man, church, eternal life, heavenly creatures, demon etc.., to be discussed among clergymen, scholars and laymen, but are, in essence, daily experiences each member of the church has to live. In other words, dogmas representing our faith in God through various aspects have one message, i.e. our communion with God the Father in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, by His Holy Spirit. Thus, we conceive of our redemption, and our membership of the church, a deep understanding of the Holy Bible, an acceptance of the Kingdom of God within our souls, a communion with the heavenly creatures and the experience of eternal life.
DOGMAS AND INTEGRAL CHURCH LIFE
The Christian Church is not merely a school involved in researches and teaching dogmas, but an institution which worships God and serves mankind. It works for the transformation and the renewal of this world, and hopefully awaits the world to come. Truly, the Christian Church would not be the church as we know it without Christian dogmas. Dogmas interpret our whole philosophy of the church through repeated practise of our faith through the holy tradition (the holy Scriptures, worship, behavior and preaching). All these elements represent different aspects of the one inseparable church life.
If we look at the relationship between the dogmas and the holy Scripture, we observe that they are not only based on the Scripture but that any dogmas which has no base in it is invalid. Dogmas in fact are mirrors of the holy Scripture. They explain the holy Scriptures and attract men to enjoy its spirit.
Similarly, we can say that dogmas are the way in which believers are guided to worship God in truth and in spirit. True worship reveals our dogmas in simplicity.
Dogmas correlate to our ascetic attitude. The early Alexandrian theologians and clergymen were true ascetics, and as a result asceticism still strongly affects our theology. This is not by denying the needs of our bodies, as some scholars charge, but by insisting on the soteriological aspect: The early Coptic ascetics were involved in enjoying the redeeming deeds of the Holy Trinity, i.e. in enjoying the sanctification of the soul, mind, body, gifts etc.. through communion with the Father in His Son through the Holy Spirit.
Early Egyptian asceticism was biblical. It did not hate the body, its senses and capacities nor did it deny the human free will, or despise earthly -life and all its properties. Coptic asceticism in its essence was not an isolation from men, but rather enjoying unity with God. This attitude affected our theology and dogmas, through concentration on the “deification,” i.e. the return of man to the original image of God by restoring his soul, mind, body etc.., in preparation for Paradise.
Concerning the relationship between dogmas and behavior or practical faith’. we have to distinguish between only believing (without practising) and a living belief, for as St. James says: “even demons believe” Jam. 2:19.
Concerning the relationship between dogmas or theology as a whole and practical religious life, we can quote Alan Richardson: “Religious people very often feel that theology leaves a cold dead
abstraction in the place of what was once a warm and living faith. Theology, like any other study can become dry and academic.. The fact is that religion without theology is as unthinkable and incomplete as theology is without religion: the two are as complementary to one another as theory and practices.
The close relationship between dogmas and preaching was well exercised through the ordination of the majority of the early deans of the School of Alexandria as Popes or Bishops of this See. Those men were well educated in theology, and dogmas and were highly capable of preaching and practising pastoral care.
In conclusion, the true theologian is not merely a man who is involved in discussing or teaching dogmas, but also one who accepts the dogmas of the church of which he is a member. Therefore Origen calls him “a man of the church. ” He is not only a spokesman of the church but he practises its life.
Dogmas are what is believed, taught, confessed and practised.
DOGMAS AND KNOWLEDGE
One of the very important characteristics of the church of Alexandria was her broad-mindedness and openness of heart towards philosophers. While leaders of the church in other countries looked at philosophy as an enemy of faith (like St. Justin and Tertullian), our Fathers embraced philosophers with love, treated them as children in need of the, church to help them grow through faith into manhood. Thus the Alexandrians saw faith not as opposite to the mind and knowledge, but as a satisfaction of mind and an elevation of thoughts through which one could enjoy Divine knowledge. This knowledge was thus superior to philosophical knowledge. God grants faith to men who are His rational creatures, and He would not destroy the minds which He created.
During the second century, St. Clement of Alexandria, a theologian of great piety, wide reading and classical scholarship, believed that the spiritual believer was a Gnostic, giving the word “gnosis” (knowledge) a Christian meaning, instead of the common meaningof that time which signified “heresy.” He says: “Gnosis is the principle and author of every action conforming to the Logos,” the grace of gnosis comes from the Father through the Son.
Faith, in our concept, embraces all human nature, it signifies not only our souls and hearts but also our minds and thoughts.
THE “DOGMA” BASED ON “TRUTH” AND “LOVE”
Dogmas, as we have seen, are the interpretation of our experience of God, in the Crucified and Risen Jesus Christ. This experience throughout the ages does not alter, for Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:18). The disciples and apostles (and bishops afterwards) did not sit around a table and agree to teach new dogmas, but rather they preached their Christian experience. As St. John says, “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” I John 1:3. Thus all Christian dogmas resulted from Church’s experience of the Crucified and Risen Christ, “Truth and “Love” at the same time. We receive these dogmas as the unchangeable truth that we must holdfast, with “love.”
The Alexandrian Popes (bishops) as theologians and pastors at the same time looked to dogmas as an expression of evangelic truth integrated with love. They were very zealous in defending the Orthodox faith and dogmas against any heresy, not only in Egypt but in all Christendom, offering their lives as sacrifices on behalf of the church. They were very firm and strict concerning the faith they had once received (2 Tim. 12,14), and some historians accuse them of violence, but in fact they were truly loving and kind men. St. Cyril wrote to Nestorius telling him that he would never find a person who loved him like Cyril, but never would this love be at the expense of his faith. He hated heresy and error but loved the soul of the heretic and desired his salvation.
DOGMA AND THEOLOGICAL TERMS
The Alexandrian Fathers used theological terms to explain the divine truths and their deep meanings, and to defend the Orthodox faith against heresies, but they were not enslaved to the terms themselves. St. Athanasius who devoted his life to defending Christ’s Godhead stated that disputes merely about words must not be suffered to divide those who think alike.
DOGMA AND RENEWAL
The Coptic Orthodox Church is well known as a conservative church, especially in dogmas and doctrines. At the same time, it progresses not by embracing new doctrines or new “articles of faith,” but by explaining the same faith “once given to the saints” (Jude 3) in a contemporary language.
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Our Belief in God
GOD IS LOVE
“God is love” I John 4:8. He is neither an idea that we believe in, nor a Supreme Being isolated from mankind in His heaven far away from our world, but He is the Lover of mankind, He granted us His divine knowledge to enjoy His love and to touch His Fatherhood. He would like to be very near to mankind, to unite them to Himself, to live within their souls, and grants us participation in His Glory.
In other words, God reveals Himself to us, not to involve us in theoretical discussions, nor to practise His authority upon us, but to attract us to Himself as children to their true Father in whom they find the essence of life, satisfaction, immortality and eternal glorification.
REVELATION OF GOD
God created man in His image, as the most perfect of His creations on earth. God did not plan to leave man in Paradise alone, but to embrace him as His beloved, to meet him (Gen. 18:17), and to reveal Himself, His nature, His mysteries and His will to him.
God spoke to mankind through nature (Rom. 1:20). As they refused to hear the voice of the natural law, He presented His written Law through Moses and sent His prophets to them (Heb. 1: 1,2). At last, the Incarnate Son of God came to enlighten their inner life and to set His Kingdom within them. He came to reveal the mystery of God, the Lover and Savior of men. His revelation has its effect on our nature and eternal future.
MYSTERY OF GOD
“Mystery” in Christianity does not mean that a believer takes obscure dogmas without understanding them, or that these dogmas are unacceptable to his mind. Our minds cannot conceive this naturally without God’s grace and revelation. Mystery does not oppose man’s thinking but is supreme and inconceivable without God’s help.
God created us as rational beings. He reveals Himself and His deeds to us, not to abolish our minds but to elevate them so that all our human nature can accept Him and acknowledges His mysteries.
MONOTHEISM AND TRINITARIAN FAITH
Our faith in its essence is a call to enjoy the experience of the One God, Lover of mankind. The Old and the New Testaments confirm the belief in the One God, but the Old Testament deals with this matter in its passive aspect, for its aim was to keep the believers away from idols and from practising the abominations of nations that accompanied paganism (2 Kings 21:2; Chorn. 28:3).
The New Testament witnesses to the One God in a positive aspect, for it does not only declare the oneness of God but it also deepens our faith in God by revealing the “Trinitarian” faith. In fact this faith does not oppose “Monotheism,” but emphasizes it by revealing some mysteries of the One God and giving interpretation to these mysteries.
THE TRINITARIAN DOGMA AND THE BIBLE
The Holy Trinity was referred to at Jesus’ baptism (Joh. 1:27-33). Besides our baptism is fulfilled in the name of the Holy Trinity (Matt. 28:19). St. Paul benediction enumerates the Trinity in 2 Cor. 13:14.
In the Old Testament we find the Trisagion (holy, holy, holy) of Isaiah’s Vision (6:3); and the name of God is mentioned in plural “Elohim,” even in the Deuteronomy 6:4 “unity” passage [see Gen. 1:26, 11 :7].
Is it necessary to believe in the Holy Trinity?
1. The “Trinitarian” faith solves many problems which was caused by the absolute “monotheistic” faith. For example, we say that God is love and His love is eternal; does this mean that there was another being whom God loved eternally? We can not say that He loves Himself eternally; this means He is selfish (God forbids!). We cannot say that He eternally loved by power and not by action, and after the creation of the heavenly and earthly beings His love became in action; this means that creation was necessary for God to realize His love and changes it from power to action.
What we say concerning love might be repeated in regards to other divine characteristics like peace-making, mercy etc..
Truly if we accept the Holy Trinity as three Hypostaseis in one divine essence, this problem will be easily solved. This faith in the One God of three Hypostasies declares the act of love, unity and peace in God as an eternal action of the Holy Trinity. The Father loved the Son and there was no time when the Father did not love the Son. Love as a divine character was eternally in power and in action, for “Love” is God Himself who loved eternally, and was not in need of the creation to declare His characteristic’ s. God’s love to us is an extension of His work and eternal loving nature. Then the Trinitarian faith reveals God as a dynamic, personal and communal Being and not a solid being.
2 . Someone may say that the “Trinitarian” faith may incline to “polytheism.” We reply that the Son is the Word of the Father; many religions believe that the words of God are eternal. the Word of God is not “outside” God, but is one with Him, as brightness that shines from the light. The Father was not without His Word, as light is never without brightness. Thus our belief in the Son does not mean Polytheism.
The Holy Spirit is the “Life,” and the Father is the “Being.” This “Being” is not separated from “Life…”
It is important to believe in God who is “the rational, Being” one essence, eternally simple, for the three are not separated, nor has one existed before the others. They are like the fire which has flame, light and heat at the same time.
3. St. Clement of Alexandria states that all expressions concerning God are used because of our weakness and disability. In other words, we must not understand “One” here as a number among other numbers, but it means an unspeakable unity. “Monotheism” cannot be tasted nor understood as “Numbering,” for it makes God as a solid Being subject to numbering. St. Clement says: [God is One, and beyond one, and above the Monad itself].
Let us not understand the Oneness of God in a material manner.
4. We should not understand the expression “the Son” in a materialistic way as if the Son had an essence other than that of the Father, but He is the Brightness who never separates from the “Light. 11
Can God not bring forth a Son? For we cannot accept God as a solid, being unable to bring forth! Every energetic essence has to bring forth something. Fire brings forth light and radiates heat, the radio element brings forth energy, and the human mind brings forth wise thoughts. God can never be a solid Being, but eternally He brings forth the Son, for He is the “Light” who brings forth “the Light.” Truly a light that brings forth no light is darkness.
Bringing forth the Son eternally reveals the nature of God as the Loving Being, who in His infinite love brings forth the Son offering to Him His own divine essence being One with Him.
5. St. Athanasius clarifies that the “Son” is called “the Word of God,” to confirm the oneness of the essence, that no one may think in two essences.
6 . The unity of the Holy Trinity as a unity of love, of continuous
movement, has an effect on our lives, for we imitate the Holy Trinity through our unity together in the Holy Trinity.
7 . The “Trinitarian” faith has its effect on our daily life and on our eternal future. For through it we acknowledge the fatherhood of God, enjoy the divine friendship of Jesus our Savior, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the door of hope in the eternal glories will always be opened before us.
8 . The Holy Trinity declares the concept of “perfection,” i.e., the perfection of the unity of the Holy Trinity and not the theoretical A the solid perfection which has no movement of love.
THE HOLY TRINITY AND HUMAN MIND
Our Trinitarian faith does not oppose the human mind as someone may think, for if it is called a “Mystery” this is because of our need for a divine revelation to accept it. Even “monotheism” has many mysteries that the mind cannot understand by itself. For example, all religious men say that God fills heaven and earth and He in infinite, at the same time there is a divine throne. Is this divine throne limited? How does it look like in heaven? How can God occupy the whole world and at the same time He is present in every room and in every house of God, not partially for He is undivided, but He is entirely present?
The human soul may be used as an example to explain the Trinitarian faith. Every soul is “Existent,” rational and alive. Although man has one soul and its being is distinguished from its mind and its life, the three are inseparable.
Fire has three self-properties that look like the hypostasis, for ithas flame, the light that is begotten of the flame, and the heat that proceeds from it.
It was very important to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity so that our salvation can be realized. The Father, Lover of men, sent His Word incarnate to bear our sins and pay our debts, and sent His Holy Spirit which raises us to His Glory.
Our Trinitarian faith uncovers the real divine love, for God does not seek our destruction, or have authority over us as some existentialists say, He is “Love,” that longs for our adoption so that we might be united with Him and share in His eternal Glories
“God is love” I John 4:8. He is neither an idea that we believe in, nor a Supreme Being isolated from mankind in His heaven far away from our world, but He is the Lover of mankind, He granted us His divine knowledge to enjoy His love and to touch His Fatherhood. He would like to be very near to mankind, to unite them to Himself, to live within their souls, and grants us participation in His Glory.
In other words, God reveals Himself to us, not to involve us in theoretical discussions, nor to practise His authority upon us, but to attract us to Himself as children to their true Father in whom they find the essence of life, satisfaction, immortality and eternal glorification.
REVELATION OF GOD
God created man in His image, as the most perfect of His creations on earth. God did not plan to leave man in Paradise alone, but to embrace him as His beloved, to meet him (Gen. 18:17), and to reveal Himself, His nature, His mysteries and His will to him.
God spoke to mankind through nature (Rom. 1:20). As they refused to hear the voice of the natural law, He presented His written Law through Moses and sent His prophets to them (Heb. 1: 1,2). At last, the Incarnate Son of God came to enlighten their inner life and to set His Kingdom within them. He came to reveal the mystery of God, the Lover and Savior of men. His revelation has its effect on our nature and eternal future.
MYSTERY OF GOD
“Mystery” in Christianity does not mean that a believer takes obscure dogmas without understanding them, or that these dogmas are unacceptable to his mind. Our minds cannot conceive this naturally without God’s grace and revelation. Mystery does not oppose man’s thinking but is supreme and inconceivable without God’s help.
God created us as rational beings. He reveals Himself and His deeds to us, not to abolish our minds but to elevate them so that all our human nature can accept Him and acknowledges His mysteries.
MONOTHEISM AND TRINITARIAN FAITH
Our faith in its essence is a call to enjoy the experience of the One God, Lover of mankind. The Old and the New Testaments confirm the belief in the One God, but the Old Testament deals with this matter in its passive aspect, for its aim was to keep the believers away from idols and from practising the abominations of nations that accompanied paganism (2 Kings 21:2; Chorn. 28:3).
The New Testament witnesses to the One God in a positive aspect, for it does not only declare the oneness of God but it also deepens our faith in God by revealing the “Trinitarian” faith. In fact this faith does not oppose “Monotheism,” but emphasizes it by revealing some mysteries of the One God and giving interpretation to these mysteries.
THE TRINITARIAN DOGMA AND THE BIBLE
The Holy Trinity was referred to at Jesus’ baptism (Joh. 1:27-33). Besides our baptism is fulfilled in the name of the Holy Trinity (Matt. 28:19). St. Paul benediction enumerates the Trinity in 2 Cor. 13:14.
In the Old Testament we find the Trisagion (holy, holy, holy) of Isaiah’s Vision (6:3); and the name of God is mentioned in plural “Elohim,” even in the Deuteronomy 6:4 “unity” passage [see Gen. 1:26, 11 :7].
Is it necessary to believe in the Holy Trinity?
1. The “Trinitarian” faith solves many problems which was caused by the absolute “monotheistic” faith. For example, we say that God is love and His love is eternal; does this mean that there was another being whom God loved eternally? We can not say that He loves Himself eternally; this means He is selfish (God forbids!). We cannot say that He eternally loved by power and not by action, and after the creation of the heavenly and earthly beings His love became in action; this means that creation was necessary for God to realize His love and changes it from power to action.
What we say concerning love might be repeated in regards to other divine characteristics like peace-making, mercy etc..
Truly if we accept the Holy Trinity as three Hypostaseis in one divine essence, this problem will be easily solved. This faith in the One God of three Hypostasies declares the act of love, unity and peace in God as an eternal action of the Holy Trinity. The Father loved the Son and there was no time when the Father did not love the Son. Love as a divine character was eternally in power and in action, for “Love” is God Himself who loved eternally, and was not in need of the creation to declare His characteristic’ s. God’s love to us is an extension of His work and eternal loving nature. Then the Trinitarian faith reveals God as a dynamic, personal and communal Being and not a solid being.
2 . Someone may say that the “Trinitarian” faith may incline to “polytheism.” We reply that the Son is the Word of the Father; many religions believe that the words of God are eternal. the Word of God is not “outside” God, but is one with Him, as brightness that shines from the light. The Father was not without His Word, as light is never without brightness. Thus our belief in the Son does not mean Polytheism.
The Holy Spirit is the “Life,” and the Father is the “Being.” This “Being” is not separated from “Life…”
It is important to believe in God who is “the rational, Being” one essence, eternally simple, for the three are not separated, nor has one existed before the others. They are like the fire which has flame, light and heat at the same time.
3. St. Clement of Alexandria states that all expressions concerning God are used because of our weakness and disability. In other words, we must not understand “One” here as a number among other numbers, but it means an unspeakable unity. “Monotheism” cannot be tasted nor understood as “Numbering,” for it makes God as a solid Being subject to numbering. St. Clement says: [God is One, and beyond one, and above the Monad itself].
Let us not understand the Oneness of God in a material manner.
4. We should not understand the expression “the Son” in a materialistic way as if the Son had an essence other than that of the Father, but He is the Brightness who never separates from the “Light. 11
Can God not bring forth a Son? For we cannot accept God as a solid, being unable to bring forth! Every energetic essence has to bring forth something. Fire brings forth light and radiates heat, the radio element brings forth energy, and the human mind brings forth wise thoughts. God can never be a solid Being, but eternally He brings forth the Son, for He is the “Light” who brings forth “the Light.” Truly a light that brings forth no light is darkness.
Bringing forth the Son eternally reveals the nature of God as the Loving Being, who in His infinite love brings forth the Son offering to Him His own divine essence being One with Him.
5. St. Athanasius clarifies that the “Son” is called “the Word of God,” to confirm the oneness of the essence, that no one may think in two essences.
6 . The unity of the Holy Trinity as a unity of love, of continuous
movement, has an effect on our lives, for we imitate the Holy Trinity through our unity together in the Holy Trinity.
7 . The “Trinitarian” faith has its effect on our daily life and on our eternal future. For through it we acknowledge the fatherhood of God, enjoy the divine friendship of Jesus our Savior, and the communion of the Holy Spirit. Thus, the door of hope in the eternal glories will always be opened before us.
8 . The Holy Trinity declares the concept of “perfection,” i.e., the perfection of the unity of the Holy Trinity and not the theoretical A the solid perfection which has no movement of love.
THE HOLY TRINITY AND HUMAN MIND
Our Trinitarian faith does not oppose the human mind as someone may think, for if it is called a “Mystery” this is because of our need for a divine revelation to accept it. Even “monotheism” has many mysteries that the mind cannot understand by itself. For example, all religious men say that God fills heaven and earth and He in infinite, at the same time there is a divine throne. Is this divine throne limited? How does it look like in heaven? How can God occupy the whole world and at the same time He is present in every room and in every house of God, not partially for He is undivided, but He is entirely present?
The human soul may be used as an example to explain the Trinitarian faith. Every soul is “Existent,” rational and alive. Although man has one soul and its being is distinguished from its mind and its life, the three are inseparable.
Fire has three self-properties that look like the hypostasis, for ithas flame, the light that is begotten of the flame, and the heat that proceeds from it.
It was very important to reveal the mystery of the Holy Trinity so that our salvation can be realized. The Father, Lover of men, sent His Word incarnate to bear our sins and pay our debts, and sent His Holy Spirit which raises us to His Glory.
Our Trinitarian faith uncovers the real divine love, for God does not seek our destruction, or have authority over us as some existentialists say, He is “Love,” that longs for our adoption so that we might be united with Him and share in His eternal Glories.
Man and Redemption
MAN IN GOD’S SIGHT
Our faith in God is correlated to our life, for we acknowledge Him as the Lover of mankind who reveals Himself to His beloved creatures, likewise we can’t understand ourselves as human beings, our salvation and our eternal destiny apart from our relationship with God and outside our concept of Him.
Man in God’s view is not just one out of billions of creatures, but God deals with him as His own image, beloved, and His own close friend. He founded all the world for his sake, and gave him authority even over the space. Therefore, when man was totally ruined his spirit and body the Word of God was incarnated to raise him up and to renew his nature. Through Incarnation, God revealed two things:
1. God’s honorable sight of man, for the Word of God Himself became man and dwelt among us.
2. He granted man freedom which sin had destroyed.
MAN’S FREEDOM
According to St. Cyril of Alexandria, the image of God in which man was created (Gen. 1:26) was his own free will, however, he spoiled it by his disobedience to God, thus he became incapable of interacting with God’s love, freely.
THE HUMAN NATURE
When we speak about “man and his redemption” or about the human nature and its renewal, we refer to man’s soul, mind and body, for Christ came as a perfect Man to renew “man” in his wholeness. Therefore, the Alexandria Fathers argued against the Gnostics who rejected the body and looked at it as an enemy. The Alexandrians were also interested in revealing the sanctification of mind: looking to science and philosophy as if it were not in enmity towards the mind.
GOD’S ROLE IN MAN’S SALVATION
After his fall, man became in need to enjoy the risen life, and at the same time he was in need for One who can redeem him by realizing God’s justice. These two requirements can’t be fulfilled except through the “Incarnation and the Resurrection.” The Word of God descended to us and became our Savior, to realize the following advantages to us:
1 . To declare the Creator’s goodness. He created man and He is able to renew his nature.
2. To join us with Himself (John 17:23).
3. To accomplish God’s sentence of death (2 Cor. 5:14) and to condemn sin (Rom. 8:3).
4 . To undergo death by His victory over death and His resurrection (I Cor. 15:21).
5. To conquer Satan, our enemy (I John 3:1).
6. To raise us up to heaven (Eph. 2:6).
7. To renew our nature in Him, and grant us participation in His divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4).
8. To realize universality of the Church, by joining the Gentiles together with the Jews through faith in one Body.
9. To grant us the true knowledge (Matt. 11:27), for Jesus alone knows the Father. 1 . To declare the Creator’s goodness. He created man and He is able to renew his nature.
2. To join us with Himself (John 17:23).
3. To accomplish God’s sentence of death (2 Cor. 5:14) and to condemn sin (Rom. 8:3).
4 . To undergo death by His victory over death and His resurrection (I Cor. 15:21).
5. To conquer Satan, our enemy (I John 3:1).
6. To raise us up to heaven (Eph. 2:6).
7. To renew our nature in Him, and grant us participation in His divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4).
8. To realize universality of the Church, by joining the Gentiles together with the Jews through faith in one Body.
9. To grant us the true knowledge (Matt. 11:27), for Jesus alone knows the Father.
MAN’S ROLE IN SALVATION
Grace is the center of the Alexandria theology, for God “first loved us” (I John 4:19), foreknew us (Rom. 8:29), chose us, predestined us, called us, justified us and glorified us. He wills, decides and acts for our salvation, but we never enjoy this free salvation unwillingly. God wills that all men might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth(I Tim. 2:4), for He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turns from his way and lives (Ezek. 33:11). He offered His Son as the propitiation for the whole world (I John 2;2). Nevertheless, God asked us to choose the way we desire (Deut. 30:15,19), and to declare this choice through practical faith. Thus the good deeds that we practise by the divine grace are necessary and essential.
H.H. Pope Shenouda III, in his book “Salvation in the Orthodox Concept” presents many proofs of the importance of “good deeds” to our salvation:
1. Evil work leads to eternal condemnation (Gal. 5:19,21; Eph. 5:5,6).
2 . Judgment will be based upon our deeds (Matt. 16:27; John 5:28, 29).
3. Works are the fruit of true faith (Luke 3:8, James 2:14).
4 . Through good deeds we witness to our faith (James 2:18; Matt. 7:16, 17).
5. Through our good deeds we witness to be children of God (I John 2:29; 3:9, 10).
6. Works make faith perfect (James 2:22; 1: 2 7).
We have to distinguish between many kinds of good works as mentioned in the Holy Bible:
1. The works of man’s own righteousness, when man trusts in his own power, his salvation is ruined.
2. The works of the Lam), like circumcision, preserving the Sabbath in a solid way etc. If these works are performed literally they ruin the spiritual life.
3. Good works which are the fruits of faith: The believer leans on the Lord’s breast and asks for the work of His divine grace under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; these works are necessary to our salvation.
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The Church
NATURE OF THE CHURCH
The Church occupies the heart of the Bible, for she is the object of the redemption which the Bible proclaims. God purchased her at the cost of Christ’s Blood (Acts 20:28).
Understanding the Church means understanding the relationship between God and man, manifested in, the divine plan of salvation, God’s Fatherhood, the kingdom of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, the means of grace, the lessons from the history of mankind, the destiny of men … etc. It is through the church that God makes known His redeeming wisdom even to the heavenly hosts (Eph. 3:10).
The fathers of Alexandria adopted the spiritual concepts of the Church and did not consider it a political or a human organization, for many reasons:
a. Throughout the past twenty centuries, the Church of Alexandria was isolated from politics and had no civil authority.
b. The Alexandrines” view of knowledge (gnosis) as a divine gift constantly granted by the Fattier through His Son, attracted the clergymen to practicing contemplation, studying the Holy Bible and worshipping without being involved in church administration.
c. Even before the appearance of the monastic movement, the Egyptian clergymen and laity practised the ascetic life. Their minds and hearts were more often lifted up to the heavenly kingdom than to church administration.
1. COVENANT WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD: In the Old Testament, believers looked at the community as a whole, as the people of God and the children of Abraham who enjoyed a covenant with God (Gen. 17). In the New Testament Christ offered a new covenant giving HIS Blood and Body, and presenting them as food to His people thus capable of granting them eternal life (Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:25).
The Church of the New Testament inherited the promises that were given through the Old Testament, but in a new and deep concept. Therefore the church is ancient and is new at the same time. We, the members of the Church enjoy the ancient prophesies through the new life which we practise in Jesus Christ who never ages.
2. THE MOTHER OF BELIEVERS: The Church is virgin because of her Purity (2 Cor. 11:2), and at the same time she is a mother who brings forth children of God unceasingly. Her children are a fruitful witness to Christ.
3. THE BODY OF CHRIST: The Church is the Body of Christ that grows towards perfection; her children enjoy communion in the Body and Blood of the Lord.
4. A new creation in Christ: The believer receives the rebirth in baptism, and he becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), he dies with Christ and also rises with Him (Eph. 2).
The work of the Holy Spirit is the continuous sanctification of the believers so that they might become in the likeness of Christ, the Head.
5. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST: The Church waits for her Christ who will come to perform His eternal spiritual marriage with her (Rev. 19:7). Christ called Himself the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:14,15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5-33-35- Matt. 25:1-3). Through this concept we acknowledge that the Lord who is the Judge, is cming not to judge us but to grant her to be close to Him, to unite with Him and to enjoy His glories. As the Groom, He is jealous (Exod. 20:5; 34:24; Deut 4: 25; 5:9; 6:51), for He cannot be in communion with sin. Every sin we commit is a crime not only against His law but rather against His love, for by sin we break the heart of our Heavenly Groom. This concept also means that our unity with God is eternal and indissoluble.
6. THE DWELLING PLACE OF CHRIST, that grows as the holy temple of God (Eph. 2:21 etc.), a spiritual temple, and a sanctuary in which the Holy Trinity dwell.
7. THE CHURCH IS THE HOUSE OF FAITH, the house that preserves the deposit of faith without deviation.
8. THE CHURCH IS THE HOUSE OF SALVATION, like the house of Rahab (Jos. 2). There is no salvation outside it
9. THE COMMUNITY OF LOVE : The Church reveals the kingdom of God on earth, as the pure kingdom of love, her goal is that every soul may enjoy eternal life.. Whoever belongs to the church but has no love, is truly outside the church, for he does not know God (I John 3:14, 16; 4:7,8). This love unites us all in God who is Love, and unites the earthly creatures with the heavenly hosts, men with angels, the militant members with those who are victorious.
10. THE ICON OF HEAVEN: The Heavenly One descended to our land, made of us His heavenly Church. Thus we live on earth
with a heavenly heart and high thought, participating with the heavenly creatures in their hymns, joy and peace.
11. EVER-YOUTHFUL CHURCH: The Church never ages (spiritually) nor weakens, for she is united with her Groom who never ages. The Groom grants her His Holy Spirit which renews her
unceasingly, therefore her youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:5). “Even though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” 2 Cor. 4:16.
12. THE FIRST-BORN CHURCH: Her Groom, the First-Born One, grants all her members the glory of becoming first-born in Him.
THE CHURCH CHARACTERISTICS:
1. The Alexandrian Fathers spoke about Church democracy.
It is the peoples’ right to choose their shepherds, and it is the duty of the clergyman to show his loving fatherhood and not his authority.
Every member of the church – man, woman or a child – has his own role in the church, as we shall explain when we speak about “the Church of the People.”
2. Spirituality is the common feature of all aspects of church life and activities.
3. The Alexandrian Fathers- like St. Cyril The Great- state that “Unity,” based on the “One faith” without deviation is a characteristic of the church
The Church occupies the heart of the Bible, for she is the object of the redemption which the Bible proclaims. God purchased her at the cost of Christ’s Blood (Acts 20:28).
Understanding the Church means understanding the relationship between God and man, manifested in, the divine plan of salvation, God’s Fatherhood, the kingdom of Christ, the work of the Holy Spirit, the means of grace, the lessons from the history of mankind, the destiny of men … etc. It is through the church that God makes known His redeeming wisdom even to the heavenly hosts (Eph. 3:10).
The fathers of Alexandria adopted the spiritual concepts of the Church and did not consider it a political or a human organization, for many reasons:
a. Throughout the past twenty centuries, the Church of Alexandria was isolated from politics and had no civil authority.
b. The Alexandrines” view of knowledge (gnosis) as a divine gift constantly granted by the Fattier through His Son, attracted the clergymen to practicing contemplation, studying the Holy Bible and worshipping without being involved in church administration.
c. Even before the appearance of the monastic movement, the Egyptian clergymen and laity practised the ascetic life. Their minds and hearts were more often lifted up to the heavenly kingdom than to church administration.
1. COVENANT WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD: In the Old Testament, believers looked at the community as a whole, as the people of God and the children of Abraham who enjoyed a covenant with God (Gen. 17). In the New Testament Christ offered a new covenant giving HIS Blood and Body, and presenting them as food to His people thus capable of granting them eternal life (Matt. 26:28; 1 Cor. 11:25).
The Church of the New Testament inherited the promises that were given through the Old Testament, but in a new and deep concept. Therefore the church is ancient and is new at the same time. We, the members of the Church enjoy the ancient prophesies through the new life which we practise in Jesus Christ who never ages.
2. THE MOTHER OF BELIEVERS: The Church is virgin because of her Purity (2 Cor. 11:2), and at the same time she is a mother who brings forth children of God unceasingly. Her children are a fruitful witness to Christ.
3. THE BODY OF CHRIST: The Church is the Body of Christ that grows towards perfection; her children enjoy communion in the Body and Blood of the Lord.
4. A new creation in Christ: The believer receives the rebirth in baptism, and he becomes a new creation in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17), he dies with Christ and also rises with Him (Eph. 2).
The work of the Holy Spirit is the continuous sanctification of the believers so that they might become in the likeness of Christ, the Head.
5. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST: The Church waits for her Christ who will come to perform His eternal spiritual marriage with her (Rev. 19:7). Christ called Himself the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:14,15; Mark 2:18-20; Luke 5-33-35- Matt. 25:1-3). Through this concept we acknowledge that the Lord who is the Judge, is cming not to judge us but to grant her to be close to Him, to unite with Him and to enjoy His glories. As the Groom, He is jealous (Exod. 20:5; 34:24; Deut 4: 25; 5:9; 6:51), for He cannot be in communion with sin. Every sin we commit is a crime not only against His law but rather against His love, for by sin we break the heart of our Heavenly Groom. This concept also means that our unity with God is eternal and indissoluble.
6. THE DWELLING PLACE OF CHRIST, that grows as the holy temple of God (Eph. 2:21 etc.), a spiritual temple, and a sanctuary in which the Holy Trinity dwell.
7. THE CHURCH IS THE HOUSE OF FAITH, the house that preserves the deposit of faith without deviation.
8. THE CHURCH IS THE HOUSE OF SALVATION, like the house of Rahab (Jos. 2). There is no salvation outside it
9. THE COMMUNITY OF LOVE : The Church reveals the kingdom of God on earth, as the pure kingdom of love, her goal is that every soul may enjoy eternal life.. Whoever belongs to the church but has no love, is truly outside the church, for he does not know God (I John 3:14, 16; 4:7,8). This love unites us all in God who is Love, and unites the earthly creatures with the heavenly hosts, men with angels, the militant members with those who are victorious.
10. THE ICON OF HEAVEN: The Heavenly One descended to our land, made of us His heavenly Church. Thus we live on earth
with a heavenly heart and high thought, participating with the heavenly creatures in their hymns, joy and peace.
11. EVER-YOUTHFUL CHURCH: The Church never ages (spiritually) nor weakens, for she is united with her Groom who never ages. The Groom grants her His Holy Spirit which renews her
unceasingly, therefore her youth is renewed like the eagle’s (Ps. 103:5). “Even though our outward man perishes, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” 2 Cor. 4:16.
12. THE FIRST-BORN CHURCH: Her Groom, the First-Born One, grants all her members the glory of becoming first-born in Him.
THE CHURCH CHARACTERISTICS:
1. The Alexandrian Fathers spoke about Church democracy.
It is the peoples’ right to choose their shepherds, and it is the duty of the clergyman to show his loving fatherhood and not his authority.
Every member of the church – man, woman or a child – has his own role in the church, as we shall explain when we speak about “the Church of the People.”
2. Spirituality is the common feature of all aspects of church life and activities.
3. The Alexandrian Fathers- like St. Cyril The Great- state that “Unity,” based on the “One faith” without deviation is a characteristic of the church.
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The Heavenly Creatures
THE COPTIC CHURCH AND THE WESTERN THEOLOGY When Calvin spoke about “angels,” he said, “It is also our duty cheerfully to remain in ignorance of what is not for our advantage to know”; and Barth began his discussion of angels with so much hesitation. The western theologians are inclined to avoid talking about the heavenly creatures, looking to modern man even though he has no objection to the existence of angels theologically or logically but he does not like to describe them on psychological bases, looking to this speech as a kind of myth and imagination. As for the Coptic Church, we find that the heavenly creatures have had their own strong print on the writings of the Fathers of Alexandria, especially Origen, as well as on her hymns, feasts, icons, church buildings etc.
Concerning the patristic writings, there was a clear line of thought as regards to the heavenly creatures in the early church, especially the writings of the School of Alexandrian which adopted the biblical thoughts. For the Holy Bible refers to them throughout all its books, from Genesis to the Revelation. These references throughout the two testaments is not meaningless or without aim.
As to Church hymns, believers who receive the pledge of the heavenly life waiting for being in the likeness of angels chant hymns with the angels, blessing them, requesting their prayers, setting feasts in their names, especially the Archangel Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the four Living creatures, the twenty-four incorporeal priests etc.
The Coptic Church was interested in icons of the heavenly creatures, either portraying them alone, or in the icons presenting events of the life of Christ, or in the icons of saints as they appear holding crowns on top of the saints’ heads. These indicate the accessibility of heaven to the believers, and that believers struggle to attain resemblance to angels.
Angels are highly considered, when we speak about the Church as an icon of heaven. In the “Doxology of Morning” we sing: “Hail to the church, the house of the angels.” The Church as defined by an ancient Coptic homily is “a place of consolation, a place of meetings of angels and a place of the Cherubim and the Seraphim.”
THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
St. Paul the Apostle speaks about the angels as “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” Heb. 1: 14. This does not mean that they are less in rank or glory than be
lievers, but means that they love them and serve them for their salvation. What is their ministry to the believers?
1. The suffering church finds a kind of heavenly joy through her feeling that she is accompanied by angels, her heart is involved in the eternal glory and the communion with the heavenly creatures,
Therefore Origen says “do not waver at the solitude of the desert; it is during your sojourn in the tents that you will receive the manna from heaven and eat the bread of angels. 11
2. Stephen the Deacon, and Paul the Apostle spoke about the active role of angels in receiving the Law (Acts 7:35; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2-3). Origen states that angels are friends of the Groom who prepare the Church – people of God – during the time of her espousal to meet the Groom personally. He says “When I was preparing myself for my marriage with the Son of the King and the Firstborn of every creature, the holy angels followed me and ministered to me, bringing me to Law as a wedding presented”. [These are the angels who are called the guardians of children and who always see the face of the Father in heavenly].
St. Clement of Alexandria refers to Daniel (10:13-21) when he says: “The presiding powers of the angels have been distributed according to the nations and the cities.
3 . The coming of the Groom, our Lord Jesus Christ, does not stop the work of the angels nor their acting love on behalf of the Kingdom of Christ within us. The New Testament declares the appearance of angels throughout the life of Christ on earth from the announcement of His incarnation till His Ascension. Origen states: “When the angels saw the Prince of the heavenly host touring the places of earth, followed the way He had opened, following their Lord and obeyed the Will of Him who put those who believe in Him under their guardianship. The angels are in the service of your salvation… They say among themselves, “If He has put on mortal flesh, how can we remain doing nothing? Come, angels, let us all descend from heaven.” That is why there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising and glorifying God when Christ was born. Everything is filled with angels71.
St. Athanasius states that angels who descended from heaven to announce the coming of Christ, ascended to heaven on His ascension to announce to the heavenly creatures that they might open their doors to the King of Glory.
4. Origen clarifies the communion of the Church with the heavenly creatures, for he says: [If the angel of the Lord encompass those who fear God and brings them deliverance (Ps. 33:8), it would seem that when a number of people duly meet together for the glory of Christ, each will have his own angel, encompassing him, since they all fear the Lord. Each angel will be with the man he has been commissioned to guard and to direct. Thus when the saints assemble, there exist two churches one of men and the other of angels].
St. Clement of Alexandria sees that angels have their own role in helping clergymen in the ministry of the children of God, and Origen speaks of their role in the ministry of the church sacraments and in the repentance of souls 11, and in helping believers in their prayers.
St. Clement speaks about angels’ assistance to souls in their spiritual progress, and Origen speaks about their grief over man’s fall in sin -3.
5. Origen correlates between angels and our entrance to paradise, especially the martyrs. He comments on the Apostle’s words that we became a spectacle to angels and men (I Cor. 4:9), saying that angels look to the martyrs in wonder, and that they rejoice with us in heaven. When Calvin spoke about “angels,” he said, “It is also our duty cheerfully to remain in ignorance of what is not for our advantage to know”; and Barth began his discussion of angels with so much hesitation. The western theologians are inclined to avoid talking about the heavenly creatures, looking to modern man even though he has no objection to the existence of angels theologically or logically but he does not like to describe them on psychological bases, looking to this speech as a kind of myth and imagination. As for the Coptic Church, we find that the heavenly creatures have had their own strong print on the writings of the Fathers of Alexandria, especially Origen, as well as on her hymns, feasts, icons, church buildings etc.
Concerning the patristic writings, there was a clear line of thought as regards to the heavenly creatures in the early church, especially the writings of the School of Alexandrian which adopted the biblical thoughts. For the Holy Bible refers to them throughout all its books, from Genesis to the Revelation. These references throughout the two testaments is not meaningless or without aim.
As to Church hymns, believers who receive the pledge of the heavenly life waiting for being in the likeness of angels chant hymns with the angels, blessing them, requesting their prayers, setting feasts in their names, especially the Archangel Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, the four Living creatures, the twenty-four incorporeal priests etc.
The Coptic Church was interested in icons of the heavenly creatures, either portraying them alone, or in the icons presenting events of the life of Christ, or in the icons of saints as they appear holding crowns on top of the saints’ heads. These indicate the accessibility of heaven to the believers, and that believers struggle to attain resemblance to angels.
Angels are highly considered, when we speak about the Church as an icon of heaven. In the “Doxology of Morning” we sing: “Hail to the church, the house of the angels.” The Church as defined by an ancient Coptic homily is “a place of consolation, a place of meetings of angels and a place of the Cherubim and the Seraphim.”
THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY OF ANGELS
St. Paul the Apostle speaks about the angels as “ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation” Heb. 1: 14. This does not mean that they are less in rank or glory than be
lievers, but means that they love them and serve them for their salvation. What is their ministry to the believers?
1. The suffering church finds a kind of heavenly joy through her feeling that she is accompanied by angels, her heart is involved in the eternal glory and the communion with the heavenly creatures,
Therefore Origen says “do not waver at the solitude of the desert; it is during your sojourn in the tents that you will receive the manna from heaven and eat the bread of angels. 11
2. Stephen the Deacon, and Paul the Apostle spoke about the active role of angels in receiving the Law (Acts 7:35; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2-3). Origen states that angels are friends of the Groom who prepare the Church – people of God – during the time of her espousal to meet the Groom personally. He says “When I was preparing myself for my marriage with the Son of the King and the Firstborn of every creature, the holy angels followed me and ministered to me, bringing me to Law as a wedding presented”. [These are the angels who are called the guardians of children and who always see the face of the Father in heavenly].
St. Clement of Alexandria refers to Daniel (10:13-21) when he says: “The presiding powers of the angels have been distributed according to the nations and the cities.
3 . The coming of the Groom, our Lord Jesus Christ, does not stop the work of the angels nor their acting love on behalf of the Kingdom of Christ within us. The New Testament declares the appearance of angels throughout the life of Christ on earth from the announcement of His incarnation till His Ascension. Origen states: “When the angels saw the Prince of the heavenly host touring the places of earth, followed the way He had opened, following their Lord and obeyed the Will of Him who put those who believe in Him under their guardianship. The angels are in the service of your salvation… They say among themselves, “If He has put on mortal flesh, how can we remain doing nothing? Come, angels, let us all descend from heaven.” That is why there was a multitude of the heavenly host praising and glorifying God when Christ was born. Everything is filled with angels71.
St. Athanasius states that angels who descended from heaven to announce the coming of Christ, ascended to heaven on His ascension to announce to the heavenly creatures that they might open their doors to the King of Glory.
4. Origen clarifies the communion of the Church with the heavenly creatures, for he says: [If the angel of the Lord encompass those who fear God and brings them deliverance (Ps. 33:8), it would seem that when a number of people duly meet together for the glory of Christ, each will have his own angel, encompassing him, since they all fear the Lord. Each angel will be with the man he has been commissioned to guard and to direct. Thus when the saints assemble, there exist two churches one of men and the other of angels].
St. Clement of Alexandria sees that angels have their own role in helping clergymen in the ministry of the children of God, and Origen speaks of their role in the ministry of the church sacraments and in the repentance of souls 11, and in helping believers in their prayers.
St. Clement speaks about angels’ assistance to souls in their spiritual progress, and Origen speaks about their grief over man’s fall in sin -3.
5. Origen correlates between angels and our entrance to paradise, especially the martyrs. He comments on the Apostle’s words that we became a spectacle to angels and men (I Cor. 4:9), saying that angels look to the martyrs in wonder, and that they rejoice with us in heaven.
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The Saints
THE SAINTS AND THE BOND OF LOVE
The Saints are dear brothers who have struggled like us and have departed to Paradise. They are not dead, but are sleeping, as our Lord said (John 11: 11), and as St. Paul called them (I Thess. 4:13).
Our early fathers spoke clearly and in detail about our relationship with Saints. The Saints in Paradise are the triumphant members of the same one church in which we are militant members. We, the triumphant and militants, are members of the Church, which is the one Body of Jesus Christ. The triumphant become invisible members because of the death of their bodies, and then militants ire the visible ones. This is man’s point of view, but in God’s sight, we are all a visible holy family.
They departed from earth, but did not leave the church; their love toward their brothers did not cease by their departure and dwelling in Paradise. The death of their bodies does not sever the bond of mutual love between them and us-, on the contrary it increases in depth and strength. Their prayers for the salvation of all the world never cease. They pray for us, and we venerate them as they are our holy and dear friends.
ICONS OF SAINTS
We venerate the icons of saints and put them on the iconstasis (icon-stand). Church walls and doors are hung with icons, also our homes etc., as a sign of our communion with them in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Coptic Icons have their own characteristics as we have mentioned in the book : “Church, House of God.”
THE INTERCESSIONS OF SAINTS (THEIR PRAYERS FOR US)
We all – the triumphant and militants – as one Body, have love that never fails (I Cor. 13:8), for our interaction is unceasing. Those who preceded us pray for us, and we through love – pray for those who departed, and God in His Fatherhood appreciates this mutual love.
Our belief in intercession is biblical, as it appears from the following points:
1 . Saints who departed are still alive, for it is said, “When he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob for He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all are alive in Him” Luke 20:37,38; Matt. 22:32; Mark 12:26. Moses and Elijah appeared on Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9:28-33), and many bodies of the saints were raised on Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt. 27:52,53).
2. God disclosed many secrets which concern the future of His men in both the Old and the New Testaments (Acts 20:22, 23, 29, 30; 2 Pet. 1: 14), no wonder that He reveals our conditions to the saints who are in Paradise. Their knowledge about us is a gift from God to them. Therefore Abraham knew that Moses and other prophets had come (Luke 16; 29-3 1), and those who are in heaven rejoice for the repentance of a sinner (Luke 15:7-10).
3. The believers who departed have a kind of privilege before God, therefore the Lord blessed Isaac for the sake of Abraham his
father (Gen. 26:5), and He was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (2 kings 13:23). He did not tear down the kingdom in the days of Solomon for the sake of his father David (I kings 11: 11- 13). God raised a dead man when his corpse touched the bones of Elisha the prophet, revealing the great position of this prophet in God’s sight (2 Kings 13:20,21).
4. We, the militants ask for the intercessions of the saints, as Jacob did when he asked for the intercessions of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac (Gen. 32:9). Moses asked for the intercession of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exod. 32:13)… For God honors those who honor Him (1 Sam. 2:30). He attributes Himself to them (Gen. 26:24; 28:13), and hears their supplications… Therefore the rich man appealed to Abraham (Luke 16:27,28).
Origen says: “It is not against truth, that we ask saints and seek for their intercessions… but that they might help us.” St. Athanasius says: “0 lady and queen, the mother of God (Theotokos) intercede for us.”
The Saints are dear brothers who have struggled like us and have departed to Paradise. They are not dead, but are sleeping, as our Lord said (John 11: 11), and as St. Paul called them (I Thess. 4:13).
Our early fathers spoke clearly and in detail about our relationship with Saints. The Saints in Paradise are the triumphant members of the same one church in which we are militant members. We, the triumphant and militants, are members of the Church, which is the one Body of Jesus Christ. The triumphant become invisible members because of the death of their bodies, and then militants ire the visible ones. This is man’s point of view, but in God’s sight, we are all a visible holy family.
They departed from earth, but did not leave the church; their love toward their brothers did not cease by their departure and dwelling in Paradise. The death of their bodies does not sever the bond of mutual love between them and us-, on the contrary it increases in depth and strength. Their prayers for the salvation of all the world never cease. They pray for us, and we venerate them as they are our holy and dear friends.
ICONS OF SAINTS
We venerate the icons of saints and put them on the iconstasis (icon-stand). Church walls and doors are hung with icons, also our homes etc., as a sign of our communion with them in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Coptic Icons have their own characteristics as we have mentioned in the book : “Church, House of God.”
THE INTERCESSIONS OF SAINTS (THEIR PRAYERS FOR US)
We all – the triumphant and militants – as one Body, have love that never fails (I Cor. 13:8), for our interaction is unceasing. Those who preceded us pray for us, and we through love – pray for those who departed, and God in His Fatherhood appreciates this mutual love.
Our belief in intercession is biblical, as it appears from the following points:
1 . Saints who departed are still alive, for it is said, “When he called the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob for He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all are alive in Him” Luke 20:37,38; Matt. 22:32; Mark 12:26. Moses and Elijah appeared on Jesus’ transfiguration (Luke 9:28-33), and many bodies of the saints were raised on Jesus’ transfiguration (Matt. 27:52,53).
2. God disclosed many secrets which concern the future of His men in both the Old and the New Testaments (Acts 20:22, 23, 29, 30; 2 Pet. 1: 14), no wonder that He reveals our conditions to the saints who are in Paradise. Their knowledge about us is a gift from God to them. Therefore Abraham knew that Moses and other prophets had come (Luke 16; 29-3 1), and those who are in heaven rejoice for the repentance of a sinner (Luke 15:7-10).
3. The believers who departed have a kind of privilege before God, therefore the Lord blessed Isaac for the sake of Abraham his
father (Gen. 26:5), and He was gracious to Israel and had compassion on them because of His covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (2 kings 13:23). He did not tear down the kingdom in the days of Solomon for the sake of his father David (I kings 11: 11- 13). God raised a dead man when his corpse touched the bones of Elisha the prophet, revealing the great position of this prophet in God’s sight (2 Kings 13:20,21).
4. We, the militants ask for the intercessions of the saints, as Jacob did when he asked for the intercessions of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac (Gen. 32:9). Moses asked for the intercession of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exod. 32:13)… For God honors those who honor Him (1 Sam. 2:30). He attributes Himself to them (Gen. 26:24; 28:13), and hears their supplications… Therefore the rich man appealed to Abraham (Luke 16:27,28).
Origen says: “It is not against truth, that we ask saints and seek for their intercessions… but that they might help us.” St. Athanasius says: “0 lady and queen, the mother of God (Theotokos) intercede for us.”
The Sacremental Life
SACRAMENTS AND CHURCH LIFE
I am delighted to write here about church sacraments, for in fact practising church sacraments gives us enjoyment through the exceeding love of God and the free divine grace. Such are the practical gospels in the actual church life, that through them believers discover the mystery of the Gospel.
In brief I can say that the sacraments grant us the following blessings:
1. Practical divine grace: If teaching the divine grace is the heart and center of the Gospel, we attain this grace through the sacraments, as it is written in the Holy Bible:
In the sacrament of Baptism, we attain the rebirth, not of our own merit nor by a human hand but by the Holy Spirit (John 3:3-5; Tit. 3:5). We also receive God’s adoption (Gal. 3:26, 27), attain the remission of sins (Acts 2:38) and sanctification (Eph. 5:25-26).
Through “Chrism” (Mayroun) we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who teaches us, guides us and sanctifies us, so that we may attain the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Acts 8:17; 19:5,6).
Through penance and confession, the Holy Spirit grants us the remission of sins (Matt. 16:19).
In the Eucharist, the church is lifted up as if to heaven so that she meets her heavenly Savior, participates with the heavenly host in their hymns, and partakes of the Body and the Blood of the Lord to be united with Him, established in Him and to live forever with Him
(John 2:3 5,55; Matt. 26:27,28; 1 Cor. 10: 17).
Through the Sacrament of holy unction, the sick who accepts to be united with Christ in His sufferings attains the remission of sins (by repentance). and the healing of his body (James 4:14; Mark 6:13).
Through the Sacrament of marriage, the couple are united together, and the Holy spirit sets their home as the holy church of God…
Through the Sacrament of priesthood, Jesus Christ, the Unique Chief-Priest acts in those whom the Holy Spirit grants the grace of priesthood (Matt. 28:19-20; Eph. 4:11; Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1: 16).
These exceeding divine acts are the free grace of God offered to believers through His Church.
2. The free divine actions for human sanctification: These actions are called “Sacraments,” for they are divine and they surpass the human mind. The believer acknowledges the Holy Trinity acting to his advantage, so that he may become son of God sanctified by the precious Blood. He participates with the heavenly creatures in their supreme life, and enjoy God’s action in his conjugal life, and the divine providence in his sickness etc. These sacraments have an evangelic spirit, I mean they do not ignore the human side.
In more details, I say that God grants man special honor because of His love to him. Thus God acts by him and through him and does not ignore him. For example, no heavenly or earthy creatures has the power to grant a human being to be a child of God. This is the work of the Holy Spirit in baptism, according to the merits of the Cross, but it is performed by the priest. God appreciates giving man this honor, but the Sacrament is effectively God’s work and not the priest’s. Someone may ask, why does not God grant His gifts to the believer directly and not through the priest? we reply that when God the Son became man, He honored all mankind by acting through them, calling them, sanctifying them and granting them the grace of priesthood.
When God the Son was incarnate for our salvation, He took a true Body from Virgin Mary who had a positive role… We considered this as an honor to mankind. Likewise, God asks men to have a positive role, so that He may reveal Himself through men.
3. Proclaiming the nature of the church: Someone may misuse the sacraments, as sources of authority and not for serving others. This in turn may cause anger and protest against church authority. The Coptic Church however deals with the believers in a motherly way through these sacraments. The Holy Trinity grants gifts to the believer through His Church that has the image of Christ, and carry His likeness.
For example, the believer who receives rebirth in baptism, looks to the church as his mother who begot him by the Holy Spirit as a son of God. This gift of adoption unites him spiritually with other members so that he will not feel isolation nor live in individualism. In his conjugal life, a husband meets his wife as one with him through the loving church, looking at his relation with her as an image of the relation of Christ and the Church.
Practising the sacraments in spirit and truth without misusing authority proclaims the motherhood of the church, her unity, her spiritual existence and her message concerning the salvation of every soul, far away from the spirit of administration and human organization.
4. Proclaiming our concept to the whole creation: God the Word who surpassed all materials; became a true Man; who ate,
drank, worked and sanctified our view, not only on the body that He took, but even on our daily life and the materials we use. We find no defilement in food, or look at the creation in enmity or as an element of darkness.
I Using materials in sacraments, like water in Baptism, oil in the Holy Unction, bread and wine in the Eucharist, metal crown in baptism and marriage celebration, priests’ vestments etc. grant us an honorable view on materials, for we see God’s hand that sanctifies everything for our salvation.
OUR CONCEPT OF CHURCH SACRAMENTS
Sacraments are vital and essential to the believers; they are the means of practising the evangelic thoughts, besides receiving the grace of God and the action of the Holy Spirit in the Church of Christ, so that all believers-might be lifted up to the bosom of the Father.
Here, I wish to explain in brief our concepts of every sacrament:
1. In the Coptic rite of Baptism there are two essential lines; denying Satan and the acceptance of God’s work. In other words, in baptism the believer is transferred from being belonged to Satan through subjection to his works, to receiving God’s adoption, and being His. He denies the kingdom of the devil to receive within himself that of Christ, turning towards the east, where the sun of Righteousness shines, instead of the west, which is a symbol of darkness.
In this rite, the church deposits the newly baptized into the hands of a godparent giving him firm commandments, to be responsible of, and do his best to present the evangelic church life to the newly baptized.
The Coptic church insists that baptism is performed by immersion, except in necessary cases such as illness; whereas the baptized person is buried with Christ and also risen with Him to enjoy the new risen life (Rom. 6:4-6).
2. In the rite of Chrism, the body is anointed with holy oil thirtysix times, as a symbol of the sanctification of the soul and body together, so that man in his wholeness, becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit. All members of the body-even those which are inferior-are anointed with the holy Chrism, for there is no defiled or shameful member of the body.
Putting on new white clothes (and also a crown in ancient), refers to enjoying the pledge of the crowned, pure and heavenly life.
3. In the rite of penance and confession, the priest and the confessor feel that they are together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which convicts men of sins, and forgives sins in order to obtain a communion with the Holy Trinity.
The believer does not feel ashamed of discovering his own weakness, in the presence of his spiritual father who takes care of his salvation, and who feels as if he was partaker with his sons of their weaknesses.
4. In the Eucharist, the church is lifted up to heaven, through the One unrepeated Sacrifice, the life giving and ever present One.
In this Sacrament, the ckurch prays for her children, for the whole world, for the salvation of mankind, and for their life on earth etc. For she appeals to God’s heart that is tender with love, and His ears that hear her petitions.
5. In the Holy Unction, the petition for spiritual blessings are correlated to the temporal ones, so that the sick person may obtain remission of sins and healing of the soul and body.
6. In the sacrament of marriage, the rite is concentrated on revealing the heavenly crown, that the hearts of all who are present
may be lifted up to the heavenly marriage, and that the couple acknowledge that their conjugal life is a shadow of the church in heaven.
7. In the sacrament of priesthood, the person obtains this grace to wash the feet of God’s people, not by himself, for he is unworthy of this ministry, but by Christ the Servant of mankind on behalf of their salvation. The priest receives “fatherhood” not by his own merit, but by the act of God’s Fatherhood in him. He says with St. John: “My children” I John 2: 1, and with Paul the Apostle, “in Christ Jesus I have begotten you” I Cor. 4:15.
Hence the sacraments, in their rites seek for man’s salvation and his receiving God’s adoption, lift him up to the heavenly life to the bread of angels, that he may obtain participation in the eternal glories. Sacraments are the fulfillment of Gospel blessings.
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Church Tradition
For a long time, some western writers looked to “tradition” as a blind obedience to the past, and stickfast to a passive solid deposit. In their point of view, tradition is a precise catalogue of a set of ancient doctrines, canons and rites, or it is a museum for antiquity. Therefore, the traditional church, in their view, seems to be a solid obscurant and retrograded one, attached to what is old, simply for its antiquity.
THE MEANING OF “TRADITION”
The word “tradition,” in Greek, as it is mentioned in the New Testament, is “Paradosis,” which does not mean “imitation,” but “delivering a thing and receiving it, i.e., delivering a deposit of faith and receiving it along the generations (Jude 3).
THE SUBJECT OF CHRISTIAN TRADITION
1. The message of Faith in the Holy Trinity and God’s redeeming deeds.
2 . The deeds and words of Christ.
3. The books of the Old Testament.
4. The spiritual and ethical teachings of Jesus Christ. 5. The curriculum of worship, its concept and order.
TRADITION IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE
In the apostolic age, tradition was the only source of Christian faith, doctrines and worship. Its role in the Church life of that period may be summarized in the following points:
1. The Early Church received from Christ and the apostles a new understanding of the Old Testament, which the Jews did not acknowledge. She received the Old Testament with a new concept.
2 . Through tradition, Christians accepted the books of the New Testament as the inspired word of God, before they were canonized by the Church.
3 . Tradition was the source of the Apostles’ teaching (I John 1: 1; John 19:35, Luke 1:2; Acts 1:21,22). The Apostle Paul considered what he received from the Church through tradition as if received from the Lord Himself (Gal. 1: 7; 1 Cor. 11: 23).
4. By tradition, the church practised the active new life in Christ.
TRADITION AND THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
The Holy Scriptures in fact are a part of the Church tradition. The tradition in its essence is declaring the word of God by various methods. For tradition concentrated on the apostolic teaching. The appearance of the books of the New Testament did not cancel the tradition, but these books command us to preserve the tradition (2 John 12; 3 John 13:14; 1 Cor. 11:34; Titus 1:5; 2 Thes. 3:16; John 21:25; 2 Cor. 11:23).
TRADITION IN THE APOSTOLIC AGE
In the apostolic age, tradition was the only source of Christian faith, doctrines and worship. Its role in the Church life of that period may be summarized in the following points:
* Origen says: “By tradition, I knew the four Gospels, and that they are true ones.”
* Church Tradition preserve the unity of understanding the Holy Scriptures throughout ages, so that no believer interprets them according to his own will. Origen states: “The true disciple of Jesus is He who enters the house, that is to say, the Church. He enters it thinking as the Church does, and living as she does; this is how he understands the word. The key of the Scriptures must be received from the tradition of the Church, as from the Lord Himself.
THE JEWISH TRADITION AND CHRISTIANITY
Christ rejected the literal Jewish tradition, which opposed the word of God (Matt. 15:3; Mark 7:13; Col 2:8). The early Church used to participate in the ministry of the Jewish temple with its hymns and Psalms. The Church accepted what was living and in accordance with the word of God. From the Jewish tradition St. Jude knew the dispute between Michael and the devil (Jude 9), and the prophecy of Enoch (Jude 14,15), and the apostle Paul knew the names of those who opposed Moses (2 Tim. 3:8), etc.
THE PRESERVATION OF CHURCH TRADITION
Church tradition in faith, worship, behavior and practical life was delivered to us through the decisions of the Ecumenical and local councils, the patristic writings and also through the practical life of laymen who played a vital role in delivering the spirit of the new life to us throughout generations.
CHURCH TRADITION AND THE PRESENT LIFE
* Tradition does not mean “rigidity,” but giving attention to the past as a basis for the present, and to the present as a basis for the future. Tradition is the mystery of church growth and vitality and not of rigidity.
* We have to understand tradition in its spiritual depth and theological basis and not in holdingfast its literality without understanding.
* When the Church of Alexandria preached to Ethiopia, she offered her the living Church tradition, but did not oblige the Ethiopians to accept the Coptic traditions in their details. We have to distinguish between tradition as a general Church thought and the traditions which concern the local churches. For example, Ethiopia accepted the tradition of using liturgies in her worship but did not use the same texts in their literality. She accepted the spirit and the general frame of the liturgies. Ethiopia also accepted tradition of venerating icons but she used her own art and not the Coptic one. Thus the Coptic church offered Ethiopia the essence of her tradition but not its details. Therefore if we preach to a foreign country, we
have to present the Orthodox Church Tradition without obliging them to accept a certain local thought. This is what happens today as the Coptic church preaches to Africa, and Kenya for example.
THE CHURCH TRADITION AND PERSONAL LIFE
Some believes that preserving the Church tradition means canceling the personality of every member of the Church in his relationship with God, his understanding the Holy Bible and in practising worship. The Orthodox Church believes in the moderate way without any exaggeration, for she holdsfast the church tradition that organizes the church life, clarifies the principal concepts of worship and reveals the spirit of the Holy Bible without canceling the personal relationship of every member of the church with his Savior. Besides his personal understanding of the Bible, and his enjoying freedom.
For example, in any society, social organization and family relationships or bonds furnish the personality of every member within the spirit of the community, but do not ignore his personality.
The Church of Europe in the middle ages used church orders and canons as rigid laws and got the believer’s personal rights. While today the majority of the Western Christians believe in the individual freedom in understanding the Bible according to one’s will, and to acknowledge Christianity individually. The Orthodox church in fact follows midway, i.e., sanctifies the church thoughts as a community and at the same time appreciates the personal life of every member of the Church.