Date: Wed, 27 Apr 94 18:00:00 -0700 Subject: Copt-Net Newsletter: Issue #9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ___ ___ /___\ ___ IHC | | nXC ______| |______ /______| |______\ | _|_ | |______ | ______| | | | ______ ______ ______ | | __ _____ _______ /_____/\ /_____/\ /_____/\ | | /\_\___ /\____\ /\______\ \ ___\/ \ __ \ \ \ __ \ \ | | / / /___\ / / ___/ \/__ __/ _\ \ \_____\ \ \ \ \_\ \_\ \ \___| |____/ / ___ /_/ / /_\___ / / / / \ \ \____ \ \ \ \ \ \ ___\/ | | / / // / / / / ___/ / / /\ / \ \/___/\ \ \_\ \ \ \ \ \ | | / / // / / / / /_\ / / / \ / \_____\/ \_____\/ \_\/ | | \/_/ \/_/ \/____/ \/_/ \ / \ /____________________________________________________________________________\ \ / \ An electronic newsletter about the Coptic Orthodox Church / \ / \ "Blessed is Egypt My people" / \____________________________________________________________________/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Table of Contents ----------------- 1. Easter Greetings: Christ is risen; Truly he is risen! 2. The Prophesied Gospel: What could be more compelling? 3. The Copts and Christian Civilization (Part 2). 4. Monica, Mother of Augustine of Hippo. 5. The service of the laity. Readers' Corner --------------- 1. Why is marriage a sacrament and not simply a civil contract or vow? 2. Does Christianity have or require us to believe in any dogmatic cosmology? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. "This is the day which the LORD hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." _ _ ___ ___ _____ ___ ___ _ ___ ___ _____ \ / | \ | | ` | | | | ` / \ |\ | | | ` | | | \/ |__/ | | | | | | ' / \ | \ | |__ | | |___| /\ | | | | | | | / \ | \| | | | | | _/ \_ | | |___, | |___| |___, \___/\_ | | |___ |___, | | | | oo | | | __ | | _ | / \ | | / | | \__| ___ _ | | .'--' \________________/ /___)_____)_____)_)_)__/_]_| | | / | ( oo | \___, C H R I S T I S R I S E N To all our readers we would like to extend our best wishes for a blessed Easter and Pentecost season ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- The Prophesied Gospel ---------------------- Foreword -------- The Old Testament is not simply an account of the relationship between God and humanity in general and the chosen people in particular. It is not just a book where the history of Israel is recorded. On the contrary, the Old Testament points to the one act of salvation that is the core of the Christian Faith. The following verses are only few of the many prophesies and references about the birth, life, passion, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Many of these verses were written hundreds and even thousands of years before incarnation. They were written by great Prophets (like Moses and Isaiah) and great kings like (David), who (with God's inspiration) spoke of events that they have never experienced or witnessed. So when the Prophet Isaiah speaks of the "Virgin Birth" and the "newborn Mighty God and Everlasting Father", or when King David speaks of "pierced hands" and "divided garments", we know that guided by the Holy Spirit they were talking about the birth and passion of the Incarnate Word! The quoted verses below are from the New King James translation of the Bible and match almost identically the corresponding verses of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, which relies on the Dead Sea Scrolls (in addition to all the classic manuscripts of the Old Testament), discovered earlier in this century and which date back long before Christianity. Wherever appropriate, we have added [between square brackets] the appropriate references to verses in the New Testament, or references to earlier texts. The striking accuracy of many of the prophesies in the Old Testament about our Lord's plan for salvation through the suffering, death, and resurrection of His own word Jesus Christ, is compelling. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Promise of Salvation -------------------- Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you [the serpent/devil] and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel." Psalms 118:26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We have blessed you from the house of the LORD. Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; a King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. [see Luke 1:32] Jeremiah 23:6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. Daniel 7:14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed. [see Luke 1:33] John the Baptist's mission -------------------------- Isaiah 40:1 "Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" says your God. Isaiah 40:2 "Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her, that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned; for she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins." Isaiah 40:3 The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [see Mark 1:2-3, Matthew 3:1-3]. Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough places smooth; Isaiah 40:5 the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken." Malachi 3:1 "Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts. Advent ------ Isaiah 7:14 "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel. [see Luke 1:26-33] Isaiah 40:9 O Zion, you who bring good tidings, get up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, you who bring good tidings, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say to the cities of Judah, "Behold your God!" Isaiah 40:10 Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His work before Him. Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; For your light has come! and the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. Isaiah 60:2 For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. [see Luke 2:9-11] Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Micah 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." [see Matthew 2:6]. Isaiah 9:2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined. [see Matthew 2:9-10]. Isaiah 60:3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. [see Matthew 2:11]. Jeremiah 31:15 Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are no more." [see Matthew 2:16-18]. Isaiah 19:1 Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt; the idols of Egypt will totter at His presence, and the heart of Egypt will melt in its midst" [see Matthew 2:13-15]. Christ's miracles ----------------- Isaiah 61:1 "The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; [see Matthew 11:3-5, Matthew 15:30-31, Mark 9:17-27]. Isaiah 35:5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. [see Matthew 9:27-29] Isaiah 35:6 Then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the dumb sing. Isaiah 40:11 He will feed His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those who are with young. [see Matthew 14:19-21, Matthew 15:32-38] Isaiah 42:2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. Isaiah 42:3 A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. The Holy Passion ---------------- Zechariah 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey. [se John 12:12-16]. Isaiah 53:3 He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Psalms 41:9 ``Even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.'' [see Mark 14:10] Zechariah 13:7 ``Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!'' declares the Lord Almighty. [see Mark 14:50] Zechariah 11:12 I told them, "If you think it best, give me my pay; but if not, keep it." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver. [see Matthew 26:15] Zechariah 11:13 And the Lord said to me, "Throw it to the potter" --- the the handsome price at which they priced me! So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord to the potter. [see Matthew 27:3-7] Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Psalms 69:20 Reproach has broken His heart, And He is full of heaviness; He looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; And for comforters, but He found none. Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Zechariah 13:7 Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. [see Matthew 26:31] Good Friday ----------- Psalms 69:19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before me. [see Matthew 27:28] Isaiah 50:6 He gave His back to the smitters, and His cheeks to them who plucked out the beard; He did not hide His face from shame and spitting. [see Matthew 27:26, 30] Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not his mouth. [see Matthew 27:13, 14] Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:5 But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. [see John 19:16] Psalms 22:16 For dogs have surrounded Me; The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; [see Matthew 27:35] Psalms 22:18 ``They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.'' [see John 19:24] Psalms 69:3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. [see John 19:28] Psalms 69:21 They put gall in my food and gave my vinegar for my thirst. [see John 19:29] Psalms 22:17 People stare and gloat over me. [see Matthew 27:36] Psalms 22:7 All those who see Him laugh Him to scorn; They shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, Psalms 22:8 "He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!" [see Matthew 27:41, 43] Psalms 109:25 I also have become a reproach to them; When they look at me, they shake their heads. Psalms 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? [see Matthew 27:46] Psalms 109:26 Help me, O LORD my God! Oh, save me according to Your mercy, Psalms 109:27 That they may know that this is Your hand; That You, LORD, have done it! Psalms 22:13 They gape at Me with their mouths, As a raging and roaring lion. Psalms 22:14 I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. [see John 19:34] Psalms 22:15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. Exodus 12:46 It [the Passover lamb] must be eaten inside one house; take none of the meat outside the house. Do not break any of the bones. [see John 19:33, 36] Psalms 34:20 He guards all my bones; Not one of them is broken. Psalms 22:17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. Isaiah 52:14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him -- his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness. [see John 19:5, 14] Zechariah 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. [see John 19:34] Psalm 22:31 They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn -- for he has done [completed] it. [see John 19:30] Genesis 3:15 .... he will crush your head, and you will strike his heal. [see John 12:30-33] Daniel 9:26 "... The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;" [see John 11:49-52] Isaiah 53:9 And they made His grave with the wicked; but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. [see Matthew 27:57-60] Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53:11 He shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied. by His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. [see Luke 23:34] Easter ------ Psalms 118:22 The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. Psalms 118:23 This was the Lord's doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. Psalms 118:24 This is the day which the LORD has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Job 19:25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; Psalms 24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Psalms 24:9 Lift up your heads, O you gates! And lift them up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Psalms 24:10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah New Covenant ------------ Isaiah 42:6 "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, Isaiah 42:7 To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Zechariah 9:10 I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; the battle bow shall be cut off. He shall speak peace to the nations; His dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.' Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; Jeremiah 31:32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them," says the LORD. Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days, says the LORD, I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jeremiah 31:34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," says the LORD. "For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." Isaiah 44:3 For I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and floods on the dry ground; I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring; Joel 2:28 "... I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; Joel 2:29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. Malachi 3:2 "But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire And like fuller's soap. Malachi 3:3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness. Zechariah 13:6 "And someone will say to Him, 'What are these wounds in Your hands?' Then He will answer, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of My friends.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- The Copts and Christian Civilization Aziz S. Atiya The Oecumenical Movement ------------------------ This movement began as early as the reign of Constantine the Great, under whom Christianity was recognized as the religion of the state by the Edict of Milan in 312 A.D. With the disappearance of Roman persecutions against which the Christians had had to present a unite front, elements of disunity began to surface among those same Christians in matters of faith. Heresies arose with the vehemence of intense piety and split the faithful into rival camps which imperiled the peace of the Empire. Perhaps the most dangerous situation occurred in Alexandria in the war words which broke out between the followers of Arius and Athanasius, for both groups claimed to profess the only true orthodoxy, and each of them had a strong army of adherents to the extent that both factions had penetrated the inner circle of the imperial court. The problem was the principle of consubstantiation. The "Homoousion", signifying that the Father and the Son were one and of the "same" essence, was the thesis of Athanasius in opposition to Arius, whose conception was that of the "Homoiousion" [16], indicating that the Son was of divine origin but only of "like" essence, begotten of the Father as an instrument for the creation of the world, hence the Father's unequal in eternity. Mark ye! That little "iota" in the middle of one word made all the difference in the world and shook the Empire to its very foundations, and the peril of civil war between the contestant camps loomed on the horizon. In passing, it might be said that a parallel of the latter scheme of thought predated Arius in the idea of the "demiurge" of late antique Neoplatonism and Gnosticism. Amidst all these confusions and in order to bring unity back to the Church and the Empire, Constantine inaugurated the Oecumenical Movement by calling to order the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. under the presidency of the old bishop of Alexandria. This was Alexandros (died 328 A.D.), who came with a young and able deacon, the future Athanasius, destined to follow him on the throne. Against some accepted views in the science of patrology, he is revealed to be Coptic and not Greek. Recently, it has been found that Athanasius wrote in Coptic, though most of his monumental works were composed in Greek. Greeks knew no Coptic and had no need for using it [let alone learning it]. But the educated Copts were masters of both tongues, and Athanasius belonged to this class. Furthermore, Athanasius spent two years in one of his five exiles in the Red Sea wilderness with Saint Anthony the Great, whose life he compiled in a famous Vita. It is well known that Anthony was an illiterate Copt and spoke nothing but Coptic, which was his only means of communication with his illustrious visitor. It is, therefore, not unreasonable to relate Athanasian contributions to the native Church of Egypt. It is beyond the limits of this work to cover the immensity of the Nicaean canons and the literature in which they have been discussed. But certain criteria are clear from the deliberations of the Council under Coptic leadership. First and foremost, the Nicaean Creed was sanctioned by the Council. Composed by Athanasius, it remains a triumph for Alexandrine theology to this day. Of historic importance was the creation for the first time of a Bishopric of Constantinople. A gift from a predominantly Alexandrine Council, the same bishopric paradoxically joined forces with the Bishopric of Rome two centuries later to degrade the former Alexandrine benefactor. But let me first sum up the momentous events in the field of Christology which occurred between 325 and 451, from Nicaea to Chalcedon, to signal the parting of the ways between East and West. In that period, three major councils were convened [17], one at Constantinople (318 A.D.) and two at Ephesus (431 A.D. and 449 A.D.), and all seemed to be under Alexandrine control. They dealt with two new major heresies: Eutychianism, which denuded Christ of his humanity, and Nestorianism, which relinquished the unity of Christ's divinity and humanity. Constantinople condemned Eutychius, though he was reinstated at Ephesus II after abjuring his former views. At Ephesus I, Nestorius clung to his view that Mary should be pronounced Mother of Jesus in the flesh, not Mother of God (Theotokos), a thesis that implied a cleavage between the human and the divine nature of Christ. Again under the influence of Dioscorus I, a Coptic patriarch, the formula of Cyril the Great (412-444 A.D.) was accepted, and Nestorius and his teachings were condemned, leading to the schism of the Nestorian Church. What matters here was the question of Coptic leadership in definitions of Christology. Sait Cyril was succeeded by his nephew, the aforementioned Dioscorus I (444-454 A.D.), a determined and active theologian whom the Copts describe as a pillar of the faith, while the Romans stigmatized him as the leader of a Robber Council (Latrocinium) because he had judged Eutychius without reading the Tome or letter of Leo I to Ephesus II. Feeling was running high in Rome and Constantinople, and the change of Emperors brought changes in imperial policies. Theodosius II was succeeded by Marcian and his wife Pulcheria, a former nun, who deplored Alexandrine supremacy in ecclesiastical matters. The two capitals were drawn nearer by the high-handed actions of Dioscorus, and Coptic patriarchs were described as the "Pharaohs of the Church", which was unpalatable to the authority of Byzantium. Thus Marcian summoned Dioscorus to answer for his actions at Ephesus II and to discuss his views on Christology at Chalcedon [18] in 451 A.D. The Romans quickly mustered a massive army of bishops from the West to join the East European prelates at Chalcedon in Asia Minor, while Dioscorus was detained by the imperial guard under a kind of house arrest, and the Council summarily condemned and exiled him to the island of Gangra in Paphlagonia near the southern shores of the Black Sea where he died a few years later. In this wise, the Copts lost their leadership in Christendom. Chalcedon of course was not recognized by them, and from that moment we begin two parallel lines of succession from Saint Mark, the one a Melkite obediantiary to Byzantium, and the other proudly nationalistic of native Coptic stock. Thus was inaugurated a new wave of merciless persecution to curb Coptic separatism and humiliate the so-called Monophysite Christians, with disastrous results on the eve of the Arab Conquest. Monastic Rule ------------- If the Copts lost their leadership in the fifth century, we must go back in time for a more enduring contribution to Christian civilization. Parallel to the Catechetical School and the Oecumenical Movement, a new and more stable institution had evolved which must be regarded as a purely Coptic gift to Christendom. This is the monastic rule [19], which was generated by Coptic piety and the image of Christ and the Apostles. Social and economic factors played a role as well, since persecution forced many to escape to the desert. >From its humble beginnings on the fringe of the desert, monasticism grew to be a way of life and developed into cenobitic communities which became the wonder of Christian antiquity. With its introduction to Europe, it was destined to become the sole custodian of culture and Christian civilization in the Dark Ages. However, like all great institutions, Coptic monastic rule was perfected through a number of long and evolutionary stages. The founding of this way of life is generally ascribed to Saint Anthony [20] (died 336 A.D.), though organized flights to the wilderness are known to have predated his retirement from the Nile Valley. A certain Frontonius and seventy companions decided to reject the world and espoused a celibate life in the Nitrean desert during the reign of Antonius Pius (died 161 A.D.). Anthony himself, while penetrating deeper and deeper into the Eastern Desert, assuming that he was in perfect solitude with the Lord, suddenly discovered Saint Paul the Hermit at the age of 113 years already long established in that remote region. Nevertheless, if we overlook these isolated instances, we can safely consider that the first definable phase in the genesis of monasticism was the Antonian way of life based on solitude, chastity, poverty, and the principle of torturing the body to save the soul. How did all this begin? An illiterate twenty-year-old Christian at the village of Coma in the district of Heracleopolis in Middle Egypt, Anthony heard it said one day in church: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven" [Matthew 19:21]. A fundamentalist, he did just that and crossed the Nile for the desert solitude where he spent eighty-five years of increasing austerity and asceticism. Though a solitary, he could not hide his light of sanctity under a bushel, and, when his fame had spread so as to reach the imperial court, Constantine wrote asking for his blessing. Even the great Athanasius spent two years with the Saint and composed his biography. Others followed this "athleta christi" to the Red Sea Mountains and lived around his cave to seek his spiritual guidance. Thus the second phase in the evolution of the monastic rule arose in what may be termed "collective eremiticism" where settlements of solitaries sprang up around the person of a saint, not merely for initiation and orientation, but also as a measure of self-defense in the arid desert. A disabled anchorite in this distant wilderness could perish for lack of food and water, if he were not observed by another neighborly solitary. Such settlements began to multiply in other parts of the country. Besides Pispir in Eastern Desert, others arose in the Thebaid in Upper Egypt as well as the Nitrean Valley [21] in the desert to the west of the Delta of the Nile. Subsequently at Tabennesis, the third stage in the development of cenobitic life was already taking shape under the rule of Saint Pachomius [22] (died 346). Originally a pagan legionary in the armies of Constantine and Licinius, he was exposed to the goodness of Christian villagers during the wanderings of his battalion. They came to wash the soldiers' feet and broke bread with them despite their harsh tax levies. Captivated by their kindness to their oppressors, he decided, on his liquidation from the service, to become a Christian. After his baptism, he zealously followed a hermit by the name of Palaemon for training in the art of sanctity and self-torture. An educated man with a background of military discipline, he soon perceived that self-inflicted torture could not be the only way to heaven. This signaled the inception of one of the greatest cenobitic doctrines of all times. The new Rule of Saint Pachomius prescribed communal life in a cenobium and repudiated the principle of self-mortification. Instead, the brethren should expend their potential in useful pursuits both manual and intellectual while preserving the monastic vow of chastity, poverty, and obedience. The Pachomian system reflected the personality of the soldier, the legislator, and the holy man. Pachomius aimed at the humanization of his monastic regime without losing the Christian essence of Antonian or Palaemonian sanctity. Every detail of a monk's daily activities was prescribed within the walls of a given monastery. Each monk had to have a vocation to make himself a useful human being to his brotherhood; all must labor to earn their daily bread, without losing sight of their intellectual advancement; and each must fully participate in the devotional duties of monastic life. Pachomian monasteries multiplied rapidly in their founder's lifetime, and all were enriched through wise administration as well as honest and selfless labor. in his famous work entitled "Paradise of the Fathers", the fourth-century Bishop Palladius states that he found in one monastery fifteen tailors, seven smiths, four carpenters, fifteen fullers, and twelve camel drivers besides unspecified numbers of bakers, cooks, basket and rope makers, millers, weavers, masons, instructors, and copyist of manuscripts -- all living in complete harmony and perfect discipline within a structure that looked like a vast Roman fortification. To preserve good government in his expanding institutions, Pachomius established a closely knit Rule to guard against corruption and moral deterioration. Three or four monasteries within reach of each other were united in a clan or a stake with a president elected from among their abbots, and all of the monks in the clan met periodically to discuss local problems. All clans were organized under a superior-general who summoned the whole brotherhood to a general council twice each year: once in the summer after the harvest for administrative and budgetary considerations, and again at Easter for making annual reports as well as for the announcements of new abbots and the transfer of office among the old ones. The last meating ended with an impressive scene of prayer and mutual forgiveness of sins. The fame of Pachomian foundations spread far and wide, not only within Egypt but also throughout the world. Monks came to live with the fathers of the desert from many nations -- Greeks, Romans, Capadocians, Libyans, Syrians, Nubians, and Ethiopians, to mention a few of those on record -- and Pachomius devised a system of wards for each nation within every monastery. The Coptic cenobitic rule became the wonder of ancient Christendom. The planting of the Coptic system in Europe and other continents of the Old World was achieved by some of the greatest divines of the mediaeval world. We know that during one of his exiles in Europe, Saint Athanasius spoke about Coptic monasteries at the Roman Curia of Julius I (337-352 A.D.) But the real apostles of Coptic monastic rule were celebrated personalities who resided for years in Pachomian establishments in the Thebaid and sojourned as well in the convents of Kellia, Scetis, and Nitrea in the Western Desert. To quote some of the illustrious names who made extended pilgrimages to the Coptic fathers of the desert, we must begin with Saint Jerome (342-420 A.D.), who translated the "Regula Sancti Pachomii" into Latin, which version must have been used by Saint Benedict of Nursia (480-550 A.D.) in composing his famous Rule. Others included Saint John Chrysostom (347-407 A.D.); Rufinus (345-410 A.D.), the renowned ecclesiastical historian; Saint Basil (330-379 A.D.), the Cappadocian author of the great Eastern liturgy used to this day and the founder of a Byzantine monastic order on the model of the Rule of Saint Pachomius; Saint John Cassian (360-435 A.D.), the father of monasticism in Gaul, who is known to have spent seven years in the Thebaid and Nitrea, Palladius (365-425 A.D.), Bishop of Helenopolis in Bithynia, who compiled the lives of the desert fathers in "The Lausiac History"; Saint Augen or Eugenius of Clysma, the father of Syrian asceticism; and many more from other parts of Europe in addition to some lesser known persons from Ethiopia, Nubia, and North Africa. In reality, the rule of Saint Pachomius continued to influence European monasticism beyond the Middle Ages. Saint Benedict failed to incorporate in his rule the Pachomian system of unifying the convents into clans with annual meetings for mutual surveillance of their activities. It is known that independent Benedictine houses became very rich in the long run, and that the Benedictine monks decided to discard toil and live luxuriously on the hired labor of local farmers, thus losing the virtue of the Pachomian system of surveillance by other members of the brotherhood. Only the Cluniac reform of the tenth century was able to remedy that rising evil by reverting to the spirit of the Pachomian rule. Subsequently most newer European orders of religion observed the same cooperative system. The Carthusians and the Cistercians in the eleventh and twelfth centuries as well as the Franciscans and the Dominicans were founded on the basis of union among their convents under the authority of a central government. Even the Jesuits in the sixteenth century appear unwittingly to have fallen under the spell of Pachomian dictates. It becomes quite obvious that the contribution of the Copts in the field of monasticism persisted until the modern age. [16] A.S. Atiya, "A History of Eastern Christianity" (London, 1967, reprinted Notre Dame, Ind., 1968), p. 42. [17] C. J. Helfe, "Connziliengeschichte", English Translation by W.R. Clark as "History of the Christian Councils" (Edinburgh, 1871-1896), Vols. I-V (to 787 A.D.); authorized French translation by H. Leclercq as "Histoire des Conciles", 11 volumes in 22 (Paris, 1907-1952). [18] R.V. Sellers, "The Council of Chalcedon" (London, 1953); A. Grillmeier and H. Bacht, "Das Konzil von Chalcedon", 3 vols. (Wurzburg, 1951-1954). [19] W.H. MacKean, "Christian Monasticism in Egypt to the close of the Fourth Century" (London, 1920); R. Draguet, "Les peres du desert" (Paris, 1949); Helen Waddell, "The Desert Fathers" (London, 1936); Otto Meinardus, "Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Desert", (Cairo, 1961). [20] R. Meyer, "St Athanasius -- The life of St Anthony", (Westminster, Md., 1950). [21] M.C. Evelyn-White, "Monasteries of Wadi'n Natrun", 2 volumes (New York, 1926-1933). [22] A.S. Atiya, "A History of Eastern Christianity" (London, 1967, reprinted Notre Dame, Ind., 1968), p. 62, n.2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- MONICA, MOTHER OF AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO (4 MAY 387) Our information about Monica comes from the autobiography of her son, THE CONFESSIONS OF SAINT AUGUSTINE. She was born about 331, in North Africa, the region near Carthage, across the Mediterranean from Italy, and was a Christian from her earliest years. In her earlier life, she had a drinking problem, but, after being scorned for drunkenness by a serving-maid, she resolved to drink no more. She was married to a pagan husband, Patricius, a man of hot temper, who was often unfaithful to her, but never insulted or struck her. It was her happiness to see both him and his mother ultimately receive the Gospel. She and her husband had three children, the oldest a boy named Augustine, who showed great intellectual promise. Monica hoped that he would become a Christian, but she also had ambitions for a brilliant career for him. He went to Carthage to school, and began climbing the ladder of professional success (he ultimately became the chief professor of rhetoric at Milan, by then the capital of the Western Roman Empire, at a time when rhetoric was far more prestigious than at present). However, he turned his back on Christianity, took a mistress, and disappointed his mother in other ways. She consulted a priest, who told her to be patient, to give up arguing with him or asking others to do so, and instead to pray regularly for him and set a good example by her own conduct. She took this advice (not without an occasional relapse), and eventually Augustine became a Christian, partly through the influence of Ambrose, bishop of Milan. After his baptism in Milan, Augustine and his mother decided to return to Africa. Augustine records that, when they had reached Ostia, the port city of Rome, they had a most moving conversation regarding the eternal life of the blessed. Five days later, Monica fell ill. When Augustine's younger brother expressed regret that she would be buried so far from home, she answered: "Nothing is far from God, and I need have no fear that he will not know where to find me, when he comes to raise me to life at the end of the world. It does not matter where you bury my body. All I ask of you is that, wherever you may be, you will remember me at the altar of the Lord." She was buried at Ostia, but her bones have been moved at least twice since then and now rest in the Church of St Augustine in Rome. The original tomb at Ostia was recently excavated. The inscription spells her name as Monnica, which spelling has accordingly replaced the more usual one on some calendars. Although she appears to have died in November of 387, she has traditionally been remembered on May 4, one day before the commemoration of the Conversion of Augustine. The new Roman calendar commemorates her on August 27, one day before the commemoration of the death of Augustine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- SERVICE OF THE LAITY -------------------- In church, believers are not divided into working believers and ordinary ones, for Christianity does not admit ego-centrism. All forms of Christian life whether monasticism, monachism, and eremiticim reject such an idea of idleness. Being an integral part of the church - Christ's invisible body - the believer is never to remain idle, for Christ has never had any idle part except a dispensable appendage. Many people wrongly believe that church service is the responsibility of clergymen. This is far from being accurate. All Christians are workers in God's house, whether lay people or clergymen. As a matter of fact, lay people may acquire church orders that entitles them to specific responsibilities, as outlined below: + Psaltos (Psalmist) : Leading hymns and religious anthems in church. + Aneghnostos (Reader) : Reader, reading and instructing in church. + Epidiakon (Subdeacon) : Visitation and attending on the Holy Sacrifice. + Diakon (Deacon) : Managing the affairs and work of Epidiakons. + Archidiakon (Archdeacon) : Managing the affairs and work of deacons, and assisting the bishop in managing church affairs. Whether one has acquired one of the above ranks or not, every lay person is a worker in God's house. Each has a talent and each offers sacrifices to the Lord. Any attempt to escape responsibilities of the service is an escape from Christ Himself, rather from Christianity - the symbol of infinite giving. In the New Testament, we see how Christ works in the hearts to make preachers out of ordinary men and women. + The Samaritan Woman preaches a whole city! + Matthew preaches tax collectors! + Zecchaeus sets a striking example that spurs many to believe in Christ! + The woman with hemorrhage tells of God's marvels! + The Paralyzed Man takes up his bed announcing that the Beloved healed him! There are numerous ways that a lay person can serve in his/her own ways. The following are three out of many examples. Serving by Praying ------------------ Prayer is the most important, glorious and impressive of all types of services for it inflames the spirit in church, in both the word and the souls. It changes others' feelings and circumstances. Whoever prays for himself is granted a blessing which is only doubled when praying for others. When one prays he/she feels others' pains and sufferings whether being beloved ones or even enemies. Christians must live a life of prayer even for their enemies - "Pray for those who spitefully use you" [Luke 6:28]. Serving by Loving ----------------- "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another" [John 13:35]. "Through love serve one another" [Galatians 5:13]. Love's profound effectiveness exceeds all, for love is God Himself. Christians must seek out persons who are in need of a touch of compassion and love, or in need of any private service whether educational, health, materialistic, financial, psychological or spiritual. Serving by Proclamation ----------------------- "The generous soul will be made rich. And he who waters will also be watered himself" [Proverb 11:25]. Christians are responsible for the proclamation of the "Good News" of the Gospel, which is the work of God's grace for the salvation of our souls and the dwelling of the Holy Spirit within every human being. There are glorious and joyful news that many of our friends and loved ones know nothing about! As Christians we have an obligation to reach out and make these news known to all. This proclamation can be done by being good examples so that "your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" [Matthew 5:16]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ _|_ | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------- Readers' Corner --------------- This corner of the Copt-Net Newsletter is dedicated to answering questions regarding the Christian faith and teachings in general and the Coptic Orthodox Church's beliefs and traditions in particular. As much as possible we will try to avoid using any terminology that will not be accessible to the common reader. Also, it must be noted that the opinions expressed here are those of members of Copt-Net Editorial board and do not (and should not be taken to be) the official opinion of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Readers' Corner of this issue addresses two questions. The first is with regard to marriage and why is it a "sacrament" and not simply a "contract". The second question is reagarding "dogmatic cosmology". Question -------- Why does the Coptic Church (like all apostolic churches) consider marriage a "sacrament" and not simply a "contract" or a civil vow? Answer ------ There are numerous references in the New Testament that make it clear that marriage is not "just" a vow or a civil contract, but a holy union of a man and a woman underwritten by the Holy Spirit of God. It is that involvement of the Holy Spirit that makes marriage a sacrament, just like Baptism and Communion. The Coptic Orthodox Church believes that a newly formed family consists initially of three members: God, and the two spouses. That is why, when a family begets a child, then that child is the child of the two parents, and also the child of God, by baptism, thus belonging to the church. A marriage that does not have God as a member is not a holy family. In the Coptic church, marriage is carried out inside the church (in front of the Altar) by God through a priest. Every spouse feels that he or she has received the other as a gift from the hands of God who blessed and sanctified their marriage. God makes the two spouses into one when they receive the sacrament of marriage through the Holy Spirit. It is this Holy "contract", in which God is a member, that makes divorce by the single will of husband or wife impossible. This is clearly stated by nobody other than Jesus Christ in [Matthew 19:6]: "Whom God joins man cannot separate" [Matthew 19:6]. How could it be said any clearer than that? God is the One that joins the husband and wife in the holy matrimony. Question -------- Does Christianity have or require us to believe in any dogmatic cosmology? Answer ------ While religion in general will produce a view, in Christianity the cosmology is not necessarily dogmatic. St Basil the Great in his Hexaemeron (Six Days) says we know very little; Moses left it to us to exercise our minds on it. It is not a matter of dogma vs. heresy, but what in Greek is called a theologoumenon. It is not a matter of salvation whether or not we believe evolution explains the creation of Man, so long as we believe God created Man. Therefore it is possible for the creation scenario in Genesis to lead one to varying material conclusions - none of which by themselves are of any real importance to the primary purpose of Christianity. Saint John Chrysostom says: "the ways of God are not like unto our ways." Here is the crux of all the conflict. We are scandalized because God is acting in a different way from that which we in our narrow understanding, think He should. Many things in Holy Scripture (such as the prophecies of the last days, Antichrist, and Christ's second coming) cannot be understood clearly until the prophecies begin to be realized and become fact. So also, understanding Genesis was not easy without a better understanding of nature itself. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This Newsletter has been prepared by members of Copt-Net, a forum _|_ where news, activities, and services of the Coptic Orthodox Churches | and Coptic communities outside Egypt are coordinated and exchanged. | For any questions, or comments related to this Newsletter, as well as COP|NET any topics that you would like to be addressed in the next Newsletter please send a message to Copt-Net server at: cn-request@pharos.bu.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (C)opyright 1994 by Copt-Net