INTRODUCTION TO THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH

De: Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty, Bishoy Boshra Behnam

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

BLESSED IS EGYPT MY PEOPLE Isa. 19:25 God's promise to His people is always fulfilled; He foretold that He would ride on a light and upon a swift cloud and come to Egypt (Isaiah 19:1), and in that day there will be an altar for the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border (Isaiah 19:19). This promise was fulfilled by the flight of the Holy Family from the tyrant Herod to find refuge among the Gentiles. Thus, Jesus Christ came to Egypt during His childhood to lay the foundation stone of His Church in Egypt which has be­come one of the four primary "Sees" in the world. One among the churches of Jerusalem, Antioch, and Rome, joined later by the "See" of Constantinople. The star of the Egyptian Church shone through the School of Al­exandria which taught Christendom the allegorical and spiritual meth­ods in interpreting the Scripture and was the leader in defend­ing the Orthodox faith on an ecumenical level. The Christian monastic movement in all its forms started in Egypt, attracting the heart of the Church towards the desert to practice the angelic inner life. The Coptic Church carried Jesus' cross throughout gen­era­tions, bearing sufferings even from the sides of Christians them­selves. She continued to offer a countless number of martyrs and confessors throughout the ages. Sometimes, the people of towns were martyred and endured many struggles to win the crowns of martyrdom, doing so happily and with a heart full of joy. Our Church is ancient and new at the same time; ancient in being apostolic, founded by St. Mark the Evangelist, traditional, and sticking fast to the original apostolic faith without deviation. However, she is ever new through her Living Messiah who never becomes old and through the Spirit of God who renews her youth (Ps. 103:5). The Coptic Church is rich with her evangelistic and ascetic life, her genuine patriotic inheritance, her heavenly worship, her spiritual rituals, her effective and living hymns, her beautiful icons, etc... She attracts the heart towards heaven without ignoring actual daily life. We can say that she is an apostolic, contemporary church that car­ries life and thought to the contemporary man without de­viation. In the life of the Coptic Church, one can find sweetness and power of Spirit, with apprecia­tion for and sanctification of arts, literature and human cul­ture. This church is well-known for her numerous saints: ascetics, clergymen and laymen. She offered many saints throughout the ages and is still offering the same today, for she believes that practising the sanctified life and communion with God, the Holy One, is superior to satisfying minds with solid mental studies. Lastly, I hope, in the Lord, to present the main lines of the Church's thoughts and concepts as an evangelical, apostolic and pa­tristic church, which has a heavenly attitude. The Coptic Church believes in the sanctity of man, in his wholeness, and in awarding every gift, giving interest and care to every soul, so that the heavenly Christ might be revealed within her as the eternal Bridegroom who sanctifies His bride, beautifies her by His Holy Spirit, and embraces her to en­joy His eternal glory. Indeed, I may have to speak about the Egyptian nationalistic side, but I hope, in the Spirit of God, that every reader will enjoy the Orthodox thought, regardless of his nationality, being a member of the one Body of Christ, through one faith and with one spirit. FR. TADROS Y. MALATY