The Way of the Cross: Historical Persecution and Spiritual Endurance in the Coptic Church

The icon of the 2015 kidnapping and execution of the 21 Coptic Martyrs in Libya is one of the most recognizable modern icons in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It depicts the twenty-one martyrs dressed in orange garments, standing together in faith moments before their execution on a beach in Libya by ISIS militants in February 2015. In many icons, Christ is shown above them welcoming them into heaven, emphasizing their steadfast faith and martyrdom. The icon symbolizes courage, unity, forgiveness, and unwavering commitment to Christ even in the face of death. The martyrs were canonized by the Coptic Church shortly after their deaths and are commemorated annually on February 15.
The icon of the 2015 kidnapping and execution of the 21 Coptic Martyrs in Libya is one of the most recognizable modern icons in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It depicts the twenty-one martyrs dressed in orange garments, standing together in faith moments before their execution on a beach in Libya by ISIS militants in February 2015. In many icons, Christ is shown above them welcoming them into heaven, emphasizing their steadfast faith and martyrdom. The icon symbolizes courage, unity, forgiveness, and unwavering commitment to Christ even in the face of death. The martyrs were canonized by the Coptic Church shortly after their deaths and are commemorated annually on February 15.

The history of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is an enduring journey along the path of the Cross. Founded by Saint Mark the Evangelist in the middle of the first century, this ancient Apostolic see has preserved the spotless deposit of faith through eras of profound isolation, social marginalization, and overt hostility. To look upon the Coptic experience merely through the lens of modern secular politics is to miss the deeper spiritual reality of its survival. For the faithful, the ongoing hardships faced by the Christian minority in Egypt are not just social and political struggles, but a continuous participation in the suffering and endurance of Christ.1

According to the United Nations international framework established in 1948, systematic discrimination and state-sanctioned oppression toward a distinct community are defined by specific criteria of systemic harm. Article II of the 1948 Genocide Convention explicitly outlines these violations as, “Killing members of the group…Causing serious bodily or mental harm…physical destruction in whole or in part…imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group…forcibly transferring children of the group.”2 While a common misconception assumes that systematic destruction must involve the immediate and spontaneous erasure of a massive population, international standards recognize that systemic persecution can be slow, hidden, and characterized by profound mental anguish. This criterion allows us to understand the true depth of the ongoing structural adversity faced by Coptic Christians throughout Egypt’s modern history.

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Unceasing Prayer through the Spirit and its Fruit: A Homily of St. Macarius the Great

That we need a great zeal for prayer, and that the Spirit who dwells in our spirits brings it about, is clearly shown by the words of the Apostle, who exhorts us: “Pray all the time, asking for what you need, praying in the Spirit on every possible occasion”(Eph 6:18).

Whoever of the brothers dedicates himself to this, namely, unceasing prayer, possesses a beautiful treasure, which becomes the greatest possession of one who loves God with a firm and right conscience.” He never willingly strays away into distractions, nor does he have an unwonted debt that needs paying; but rather he fulfillsthe love and desires of his spirit, displaying to all the brothers the good fruits that come from perseverance.

It is necessary, however, that the others in the community also make time for such unceasing prayer and rejoice in persevering in prayer so that they become sharers of such a life. The Lord himself will surely give to those who ask how they must pray, according to what is said: “He gives to him what he has asked for” (Ps 106:15). Therefore, we ought to ask and to know that the better one makes an effort in the work of prayer, the more he must sustain the battle with great care and all virtue.

Continue reading “Unceasing Prayer through the Spirit and its Fruit: A Homily of St. Macarius the Great”

Preview: The Office of the Deaconate: Apostolic Order, Spiritual Maturity, and the Misuse of a Holy Office.

Our brother Deacon Nathaniel has written a well articulate and detailed analysis on the history of the Diaconate and its current place, misuse, and even misunderstanding within the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Churches respectively. This can be seen on our sister channel ‘Good & Faithful’.

Preview:

“This discussion matters because the Sacrament of Holy Orders is one of the most important and vital parts of the life of the Church, which is one with the Body of Christ, lives eternally with Christ, and was established by Christ. The Church was made one with Him through His sacrifice, His teachings, and the authority given to the apostles, who carried on the mission of the Church throughout history. For 2,000 years, the offices of priesthood, deaconhood, bishop, and patriarch in the Oriental Orthodox Church have seen “changes” depending on geographical and historical reasons, these are not major changes that affect communion with other changes or shake any core belief it’s still one church but culturally separate.

I intend to do is study, pick apart, and make sense of without diving too deep where this authority comes from and why it is so important in the Church, in hopes of correcting some misunderstandings and issues found in the Church. The intention is not to gossip, judge, or make an example of anyone. Rather, what this is meant to do is, by God’s grace, bring some correction and, hopefully, some solution to a few issues that seem to have gotten worse over time.  A lot of people would agree that the office of the deaconhood has, in many ways, changed in the last ten years.

What I mean is that in some ways the changes are good, but in many ways they are not. We are seeing a significant increase in the number of people being ordained into the office at a very young age, and that can eventually lead to a very dangerous path. We are seeing a rise in deacons not understanding their role, the reverence their position holds, and how that then begins to affect things like how they speak both in and out of church. It has reached a point where people no longer respect the office.

It seems, as absurd as it may sound, oversaturated at times. There is also something that I think people often overlook, and those are what I would call the enablers, and this goes as far as the office of the bishop in that general area or archdiocese. We are seeing laymen command younger deacons with authority that they do not possess, which is unfortunate. It is not fully their own fault, because these deacons are ordained so young that those who are much older, in many cases, command and scold them while forgetting what authority these deacons have…”

For the full article, please see here.

God bless.