Thread by @Samueltadros

As some have asked me to write about the current theological crisis in the Coptic Church, here is a thread summarizing the issue:

After its early centuries, when the Church of Alexandria was the leading center of Christian thought and theology, the church went through a period of decline for several reasons:

The Theological fights of the 5th century led to a lasting schism in the church separating Alexandria from other centers of Christian thought. The Muslim invasion of Egypt created a further wall of separation between Alexandria and the rest of Christendom.

The move to Cairo and slow embrace of Arabic further separated the church from its own tradition and fathers. The Theological School’s replacement by the monasteries contributed to this development and so did the later destruction of the monasteries at the hands of Berbers.

By the early 19th century the Coptic Church was in crisis. Priests were illiterate, inheriting the job from their fathers. Church was ill equipped to deal with onslaught of Western Missionaries especially Protestant ones.

A vision of Revival and Reform emerged at hands of Pope Kyrillos IV which focused on education and reform of church administration, but was short lived.

Afterwards and until 40’s there were two camps: Reformers impacted by Protestant ideas, and traditionalists. Fights centered on the Milli Council and its role and saw Pope Kyirollos V temporarily removed at hands of Pashas with state help.

One light in the dark was Saint Habib Guirguis who attempted to revive the church through his writings and establishment of Sunday school. (Read @BishopSuriel book on him)

However, unable to access the writings of the Fathers, such efforts often relied on Catholic criticism of Protestantism and Protestant criticism of Catholicism to counter both sides. Some of these idea continue to shape current Coptic understandings.

In 40’s the Sunday School was becoming a movement, as young educated men joined. It represented a revivalist trend in opposition to both traditionalist Bishops and reform minded Pashas influenced by Protestantism. Movement was however not monolithic. Several trends emerged.

In the 50’s and 60’s fights were mainly between Giza & Shubra. Between a vision that emphasized social work & one focused on spiritual revival. Ultimately however fights became the fiercest between Nazir Gayed (later Bishop/Pope Shenouda) & Yousef Iskandar (Fr. Matthew the Poor)

Pope Shenouda had been a disciple of Fr. Matthew and abandoned his group in late 50’s. The feud started on personal grounds but soon took a theological grounding.

On one hand was Fr. Matthew, with a vision that rejected church involvement in both social work & state affairs. Only mission of Church is to lead sinners to Christ. Moreover, his writings driven by a rediscovery of Fathers took a sharp turn away from contemp Coptic teaching

Some of the crimes attributed to him were his writings on Deification, rejection of Original Sin, rejection of biblical literalism, and a million other views, Pope Shenouda found offensive.

On the other side was Pope Shenouda who rejected Deification and emphasized Substitution theories of Salvation. Part of the clash took a political form with the role Fr. Matthew played in the conflict between Pope Shenouda and President Sadat.

After Pope Shenouda emerged triumphant from Monastery in 1985, he was free to shape the church to his image. Bishop Samuel had been killed with Sadat and Bishop Gregorious was sidelined. With time on his side he ordained tens of Bishop & thousands of priests.

There remained Fr. Matthew. His books were banned, his followers persecuted. He remained in his monastery where disciples gathered around him. By early 2000’s Pope Shenouda devoted his sermons to attacking Fr. Matthew. Bishop Bishoy was his enforcer in this.

Fr. Matthew died in 2006 and Pope Shenouda and his followers imagined that his ideas had died with him. Surprise surprise, a new generation emerged out of nowhere influenced by those ideas.

The translation of the Fathers’ writings into Arabic by people like Noshy Abdel Shahid & Dr. Joseph Faltas revolutionized the conversation. Young Copts began accessing the Fathers and making their own judgments, often in opposition to Pope Shenouda's views.

@PopeTawadros, who came with a vision of openness to the church changed the situation dramatically by opening the doors to Fr. Matthew followers. He ordained Bishop Epiphanius and many others, appointed Fr. Matthew followers in teaching positions.

@PopeTawadros views on ecumenicism, willingness to cancel rebaptism of Catholics, change dates of Christmas and Easter, and other steps angered the old guard.

The old guard went nuts. For them this was pure heresy. Utilizing social media they launched groups like Defenders of the Faith to attack their opponents such as Bishop Epiphanius, Bishop Angelous, Fr. Seraphim El Baramousy.

These groups are directly backed by the Bishopric of Youth and used to counter what they deem as heresies among clergy and among new generation of scholars emerging in church such @amgd_beshara, Ashraf Bashir & @DonnaMRizk (everyone should follow her)

This is a quick and simplistic summery of the current state of the crisis in the Coptic church.

Let me add in case my own views are unclear. I was a student of Pope Shenouda in Theological Seminary in early 2000's, my father was a friend of Bishop Samuel (named me after him). I am no theology expert, but my own views align with Fr. Matthew