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Apostolic
Succession |
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TOWARDS
AN AWARENESS OF AFRICAN APOSTOLIC FOUNDATIONS |
A
brief history of the Coptic Orthodox Church
by Rev (Dr.) Doye T. Agama
Introduction
The Copts are descended from the ancient Egyptians,
whose great African civilisation affected
the Phoenician, Greek and Roman civilisations
that would in turn be so crucial to the modernisation
of Europe. The word "Copt" itself
is derived from the Greek/Roman word "Aegyptus"
which has been anglicized as Egypt. Today
there are about six million Copts in Egypt
and abroad, who still worship using the original
orthodox Christian liturgy. Coptic missionaries
have visited many modern African nations and
their churches are also widely established
in Europe and America, mainly serving the
expatriate Coptic community.
The Coptic Church is the only indigenous African
church that can trace its unbroken apostolic
root or lineage back to the Lord Jesus Christ,
his Apostles, and the first Disciples. This
church was among the first to be established
outside Palestine and was pivotal in the work
of the early Apostolic Fathers. Alexandria
in Egypt is one of the first of the ancient
five Sees of Christianity and retained a foundational
apostolic position in the advancement of the
Christian faith for about 600 years until
the Islamic invasions.
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is
therefore one of the oldest surviving mother
churches in the world possibly second only
to that of Jerusalem itself. As such, Apostolic
Orthodoxy in Africa is arguably older than
that of Greece or Rome. Coptic orthodoxy like
the other orthodox churches and Roman Catholic
churches are all among those still seeking
to retain their links to those ancient apostolic
foundations.
These facts are of crucial significance
as today's Christians of African decent seek
to claim a rightful heritage and lineage to
further authenticate their participation in
the end time re-gathering of the fruits of
apostolic labours around the globe.
Chalcedon and Monophysitism
The Coptic Church is one of the Eastern or
Oriental Orthodox Churches. Today these also
include the Armenian, Syrian, Ethiopian, and
the Malankara Indian Churches. They are collectively
often known as the "Non-Chalcedonian
Orthodox Churches", because of their
non-acceptance of the Council of Chalcedon
of AD 451.
At
that time, the Eastern churches were accused
of Monophysitism or a belief in one single
nature of the Saviour Jesus Christ. These
churches however deny any difference with
scriptural orthodoxy and claim that their
belief is in "one composite nature"
rather than "one single nature"
as the accusations at Chalcedon put it.
These
Eastern churches also claim that the Chalcedon
accusations were part of the political process
of elevating Rome above the other ancient
sees or seats of Christianity as well as the
desire of the Byzantine emperors to bring
the entire Church in the East under the jurisdiction
of the See of Constantinople.
However
in May 1973 the current presiding Coptic Pontiff,
H.H. Pope-Shenouda III of Alexandria visited
H.H. Pope Paul VI of Rome, and they issued
a common declaration, which says:
"We
confess that our Lord and God and Saviour
and King of us all, Jesus Christ, is perfect
God with respect to His divinity, perfect
man with respect to His humanity. In Him His
divinity is united with His humanity in a
real, perfect union without mingling, without
commixtion, without confusion, without alteration,
without division, without separation".
Origins
of the Coptic Church
The Coptic Church like to trace their origins
back to the sanctuary sought by Joseph, Mary
and the infant Jesus in Egypt during the slaughter
of the children by Herod (Hosea 11:1). The
Jews of Egypt who were present at the Pentecost
(Acts 2:10), were probably the first to introduce
organised Christianity to Egypt. Coptic tradition
states that Simon the Zealot also preached
the Gospel in Southern Egypt and Northern
Sudan. Acts chapter 18 also tells of Apollos
(Acts 18:24- 28), a native of Alexandria in
Egypt.
However
St. Mark who wrote the Gospel that bears his
name may have come to Egypt as early as 48
AD and tradition states that he founded what
is today is known as the Coptic Orthodox Church
(Isaiah 19:1). By Coptic tradition, St Mark
himself was also of African origins. He is
said to have met his death by a terrible martyrdom
in Alexandria in 68 AD.
St
Mark is also credited by the Coptic Church
with writing their first Liturgy that became
the basis for the later Liturgy of St Cyril.
Coptic missionaries are also said to have
travelled to Ethiopia to strengthen believers
there. Copts therefore also trace the origins
of formal Ethiopian orthodoxy to Alexandria,
though not all Ethiopians would agree. The
Nubian (Sudanese) Kingdom was officially converted
to Orthodox Christianity in 559 AD. Coptic
Bishops in Alexandria originally also had
jurisdiction over most of North Africa.
The Persecutions
As St Mark the founder laid down his life
for the faith, so the Coptic Church has continued
to witness the gospel of Christ through martyrdom,
from the time of Roman occupation, right up
to the modern era. The Roman edicts of 202
AD and 250 AD were especially noted for their
resulting persecution of Coptic Christians.
Mass executions as well as individual torture
were common. In this, the Coptic Church typifies
the wider context of the Holy Spirit at work
in the persecuted church that includes places
as far apart as China and Northern Nigeria.
The
Coptic Catechetical School in Alexandria was
closed for many years and the number of clergy
and bishops restricted. The height of Roman
persecution of Coptic Christians came under
Emperor Diocletian (284-305). The Coptic Church
still dates their calendar from his enthronement,
which they remember as the Anno Martyrum (A.M.)
or the year of the Martyrs. Coptic teaching
describes martyrdom as the continuous participation
in the crucifixion of Christ and a new birth
that grants entry to heaven.
The
martyrdoms only strengthened the church. By
the 3rd Century the Coptic Church had become
firmly established with a tradition of monasticism
that some modern archaeology has linked to
the early influences on the Irish monastic
life. However, as Rome declined, a new source
of persecution emerged in Byzantium.
Coptic
Christians who ventured out into what was
then a largely pagan Europe also suffered
persecution. St Maurice, the African Commander
of the Theban Legion and over 6000 of his
fellow Coptic Christian troops were massacred
in Switzerland in 285 AD. They were slaughtered
on the orders of Emperor Maximian for refusing
to renounce their Christian faith in favour
of Roman gods and refusing to kill fellow
Christians. Today over 50 towns and villages
in Europe still bear St Maurice's name in
honour to his memory.
In
the aftermath of Chalcedon the Western civil
and ecclesiastical authorities deposed and
exiled the Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria.
As a result, the See of Alexandria was split
between two Patriarchs, one loyal to Constantinople
and the other retaining his refusal to recognise
Chalcedon. This resulted in several massacres
of non-chalcedon Coptic Christians by the
Byzantines and the rift continued until the
Arab Conquest in 642 AD.
Arab
treatment of the Copts varied from one ruler
to the next. Some were quite tolerant towards
the Coptic Church. Under others, they suffered
terribly. During the Crusades, the Copts again
found themselves under pressure from both
sides. Their Islamic rulers suspected them
of assisting the European Crusaders, while
the Crusaders in turn regarded the Copts as
heretics and often slaughtered them without
mercy.
Coptic
Contributions to Apostolic Foundations
In spite of these centuries of hardships,
the Alexandrian scholastic and other contributions
of Egyptian Christianity to the wider body
of Christ, included the translation of the
Old Testament from Hebrew to the Greek "Septuagint"
in 270 BC and the arrangement in the now accepted
order of the books of the O.T., including
the "Apocrypha".
Some
well known Christian scholars produced in
Coptic Alexandria include:
· Clement of Alexandria
· Origen (Circa 215 AD)
· Dionysius of Alexandria (The
Great)
· Didymus the Blind, who in
turn was a teacher of St. Gregory Nazianzen
· St. Jerome
· Palladius
· Rufinus the historian
On
the negative side, the Coptic Patriarchs ex-communicated
Arius for his heresy, but the subsequent council
in Nicea (325 AD gave us the Nicene Creed.
Conclusions
Perhaps the greatest and most lasting contribution
of this African root of Christianity is the
fact that the Coptic faith and tradition has
remained as an example of the suffering yet
triumphant church.
The Coptic orthodox faith therefore remains
as a valuable source or link with the original
apostolic foundations. In this context, it
has helped over the centuries to inspire the
wider work and remains an ecclesiastical treasure
as Christians today seek modern expressions
of authentic apostolic foundations in Britain
and beyond.
