| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy His Holiness Patriarch Kirill meets with members of Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church DECR Communication Service, 20.09.2022. On September 20, His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, met at the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour with members of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church, which is holding its session in Russia. Among the participants in the meeting from the Russian Orthodox Church were Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations, and S. G. Alferov, DECR, a member of the Commission. The meeting was co-chaired by Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles, Coptic Church, who attended the meeting online. Present at the meeting were Bishop Cyril, secretary of the Commission, dean of the Ss Athanasius and Cyril of Alexandria Seminary; Hieromonk Dawoud El Antony, representative of the Coptic Church in Russia; Dr Anton Milad, Patriarchal adviser; Ms Barbara Soliman, head of the Patriarchal department for church projects; and Dr Iskhak Ibrahim Agban, general secretary of the Institute of Coptic Studies. ‘We cherish the longstanding good and friendly relations that tie our two Churches, and, certainly, the ages-old friendship between the peoples of Egypt and Russia’, Patriarch Kirill said welcoming the delegation of the Coptic Church, ‘Now we are going through a special history of international relations, which in many cases are breaking, becoming more strained and burdened with conflicts. However, we should thank the Lord for the relations between our Churches as well as our countries, Russia and Egypt, which are invariably good and lasting’. The Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church stressed that in recent years, the development of her relations with Churches in Africa became one of the priorities of the Moscow Patriarchate’s external work. His Holiness recalled that in December 2021 the Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church established the Patriarchal Exarchate for Africa, which has created an additional potent base for developing cooperation with the Coptic Church in the continent. |
| Archive Theological consultations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church begin at the Moscow Theological Academy 18 October 2023 year 20:09 On 17th October the second round of theological consultations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church began at the Moscow Theological Academy, reports the press service of the MTA. The conversations are being held with the blessing of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill in accordance with the agreements he reached with the primate of the Coptic Church His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II. As part of the work of the commission on bilateral cooperation between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church there was set up in 2020 a special working group for the development of theological conversations. The members of the working group are: for the Russian Orthodox Church the secretary at the Department for External Church Relations for inter-Christian ties hieromonk Stephan (Igumnov), the deputy rector of study at the MTA Father Pavel Lizgunov and the director of the department of Oriental studies at the MTA deacon Sergei Panteleyev; for the Coptic Church the auxiliary bishop of the Los Angeles metropolitanate bishop Cyrilos and the rector of the Ss. Cyril and Athanasius of Alexandria Coptic Theological Academy Father Macarius Rephel and the representative of the Coptic Church in Russia hieromonk Daoud el-Antoni. Offering their expertise at the second round of theological conversations for the Moscow Theological Academy were honorary lecturer at the department of theology hegumen Adrian (Pashin) and senior teacher at the department of philology hieromonk Theodore (Yulaev). At the beginning of the meeting Father Pavel Lizgunov read aloud greetings from the rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and the vicar abbot of the Holy Trinity and Saint Sergius Monastery the bishop of Sergiev Posad and Dmitrov Cyril: “We are glad to see you at the grace-filled and blessed land of the Holy Trinity which is the Holy Trinity and Saint Sergius Monastery and the Moscow Theological Academy. |
| Photo: mospat.ru The 4 th Plenary Session of the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church took place from September 19 to 24, in Moscow. The Moscow Patriarchate membership included Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen – co-chairman; Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations – secretary; S. G. Alferov, DECR staff. The Coptic side was represented by Metropolitan Serapion of Los Angeles – co-chairman; Bishop Kyrillos, vicar of the Diocese of Los Angeles, rector of the Ss Athanasius and Cyril Seminary in Los Angeles – secretary of the Commission; Hieromonk Dawoud al-Anthony, representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Russia; Dr Anton Milad, Patriarchal adviser; Dr Iskhak Ibrahim Agpan, general secretary of the Institute of Coptic Studies. The session was preceded by a meeting of the Commission members with His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, which took place on September 20 at the Supreme Church Council Hall of the Cathedral Church of Christ the Saviour. Metropolitan Serapion thanked the Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church for the welcome and made a report on the Commission’s current activity and further plans for its work. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill cordially greeted the guests pointing to the invariably good relations binding the Moscow Patriarchate and the Coptic Church and to the ages-old friendship between the nations of Russia and Egypt. His Holiness made a special mention of the successful work of the Commission and the high significance of its joint projects. Among them are: – Monastic visits and pilgrimage tours; – Bilateral theological consultations on the Joint Commission’s work on theological dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Churches; – Joint work to promote pastoral care for the faithful of the two Churches residing in Egypt and Russia; – Academic cooperation between the leading Russian and Coptic theological schools; |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Commission for Dialogue between Russian Orthodox Church and Coptic Church holds its 3rd session On 27-31 May 2019, the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church held its 3 rd session. The delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate included Bishop Gennady of Kaskelen – co-chairman of the Commission; Hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations (DECR); Rev. Viktor Kulaga, representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa; Deacon Ilya Kashitsyn, DECR staff member; and Mr. Sergei Alfyorov, DECR staff member and co-secretary of the Commission. The Coptic Church was represented by Bishop Serapion of Los Angeles, co-chairman of the Commission; Bishop Youlios, General Bishop for Public, Ecumenical and Social Services; Bishop Kyrillos, Auxiliary Bishop of Christian Education in the Diocese of Los Angeles and Dean of Ss Athanasius and Cyril Coptic Orthodox Theological School; Rev. Boulos Halem, Coptic Orthodox spokesmen; Dr. Isaak Ibrahim Agpan, General Secretary of the Istitute of Coptic Studies; and Mrs. Barbara Soliman, Director of the Papal Office for Projects and Relations and co-secretary of the Commission. The Commission discussed the implementation of agreements reached at the session held in Astana on 27-29 June 2017 and defined programme of bilateral cooperation that will be presented to the church authorities for approval. The participants noted with satisfaction successful development of contacts between Russian and Coptic monks; mutual visits of the delegations of hegumens and brethrens were conducive to it. Last visit was paid by the delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church to Egypt on 6-12 November 2018. Annual visits are planned. Also discussed were plans of the implementation of pilgrimages. |
| The term “Coptic Orthodoxy” has often been used by historians to describe the multicultural Christianity of Egypt from the vantage point of the city of Alexandria, a perspective which tends to approach Coptic Christianity as basically a form of Greek Christianity expressed on Egyptian soil. The word Copt derives from a corruption of the Greek term for “Egyptian” (Aigyptos) signifying (pejoratively at first) a native of the hinterland outside the Greek-speaking littoral cities. The word carried with it in early Byzantine times a freight of disapproval, and this aura of prejudice lasted long into the modern age, with theological historians regularly presuming (without having looked at the evidence) that Coptic Christianity had to be uneducated, peasant, and therefore unsophisticated. It was a colonial blindness among Eurocentric commentators that accounts for the late emergence of the real significance of Coptic theology in the textbooks. This scholarly confusion of earlier times, eliding the life of the Greek Alexandrian Church with the conditions of Christian Egypt in the interior, failed to distinguish sufficiently between native Egyptians (Copts) and their colonial, almost foreign, neighbors to the north in the Romanized cities and in places of power throughout the Egyptian chora (countryside), as well as failing to engage thoroughly with the literature of the Coptic speaking Church, especially as it developed after the Council of Chalcedon. After the 8th century the distinction between Greeks and Copts became less important, given the new circumstances that faced the church in the form of the deep isolation that the overwhelming advent of Islam brought. In the long period of Islamic domination the fortunes of the minority Greek Orthodox were sustained by the favor of the sultans, whose hierarchy was acknowledged as ethnarchs under the terms of the sultan’s ascription of dominion to the patriarch of Constantinople. The Greek patriarch of Alexandria, therefore, became a virtual part of the administration of the Phanar until modern times. The Coptic clergy, heirs of those who had renounced links with Constantinople in the aftermath of the christological controversies of the 5th century, had a closer link with the people of the countryside and the towns, adopting Arabic as their normal mode of discourse, but rooting themselves in the Coptic tongue for liturgical purposes. The use of the ancient Coptic served to underline their distinctive traditions, their sense of ethnic antiquity, and their differentiation from the Byzantine Orthodox world. |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate meets with Coptic Patriarch DECR Communication Service, 01.05.02. On April 29, a delegation of monastics fr om the Russian Orthodox Church led by Metropolitan Dionisiy of Voskresensk, chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate, visited the residence of Coptic Patriarchs in Cairo and met with His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II. The Primate of the Coptic Church heartily welcomed the Moscow Patriarchate delegation and emphasized the importance of fraternal relations between Christians of Russia and Egypt. “Please convey my warm greetings and cordial wishes to my beloved brother, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Rus’. I am deeply moved by constant kind attention of His Holiness to Christians in Egypt and to our faithful in Russia. It is gratifying to know that they are under the incessant fatherlike care of the Primate of the great Russian Orthodox Church. I thank God for the opportunity granted to me today to receive high representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church. I am very glad that good relations between our Churches and peoples have existed from olden times, being determined by the true Christian love filled with the light of the Resurrection of Christ. Living through difficult times, we are called as never before to extend and strengthen our relationship.” His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros highly appreciated the work done by the Commission for Dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church and bilateral initiatives it carries out, including the exchange of monastic delegations that holds a special place. “I consider the Commission’s work very important as it maintains promising and mutually enriching cooperation to the glory of God. Contacts between our monastics are particularly important because the ancient living tradition of faith is being preserved thanks to the witness they are bearing. Therefore we are happy that you, our Russian brothers and sisters in Christ are visiting ancient Egyptians abodes. History of many of them dates back to the 4 th century – the time of the earthly life of the founders of Christian monasticism.” |
| Accept The site uses cookies to help show you the most up-to-date information. By continuing to use the site, you consent to the use of your Metadata and cookies. Cookie policy Delegation of Abbots and Monks from Egyptian Monasteries Comes to Russia On 23rd August 2021, at the invitation of His Holiness the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus Kirill, a delegation of abbots and monks of monasteries of the Coptic Church arrived in Moscow intending to go on pilgrimage to the Orthodox monastic houses of Russia. The present visit is coming at a time of growing dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church within the framework of the relevant commission for inter-church dialogue and is part of a programme of mutual visits realized in recent years by representatives of Russian and Coptic monasticism. The delegation consisted of: His Grace Bishop Bigol, Abbot of the Elmeharic Monastery in Asyut – head of the delegation; His Grace Bishop Sawerous, Abbot of the St. Tomas & St. Baktor Monastery in El Khataba; His Grace Bishop Metawas, Abbot of the St. Virgin Mary Mountain Monastery in Akhmim; His Grace Bishop Aghabios, Regent of the St. Bishoy the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; His Grace Bishop Mekhail, General Vicar in Cairo; Rev. Hieromonk Kyrillos Anba Bishoy, Secretary to His Holiness Pope and Patriarch Tawadros II (St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El Natrun); Rev. Hieromonk Tawadros Elmoharraqy, Elmeharic Monastery in Asyut; Rev. Hieromonk Dawoud El Antony, Representative of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the Russian Federation; Monk Macarius El Thomasy, St. Tomas & St. Baktor Monastery in El Khataba; Monk Youssef El Akhmimy, St. Virgen Mary Mountain Monastery in Akhmim; Monk Botros El Makary, St. Macarius the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; Monk Zeus El Makary, St. Macarius the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; Monk Mercurius El Makary, St. Macarius the Great Monastery in Wadi El Natrun; Monk Markos El Makari, monk of St Macarius the Great Monastery; Dr. Anton Milad, Special Representative of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. |
| On June 18, 2017, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia met with the delegation of the monks of the Coptic Church at the Red Hall of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Photo: http://mospat.ru The delegation will make a pilgrimage to the Orthodox monasteries of Russia in compliance with the decision of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Holy See of St. Mark. This is a return visit: a delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church made a pilgrimage to the Christian holy sites in Egypt in November 2016. The programme of the pilgrimage of the representatives of the Coptic Church includes visits to the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin, the Laura of the Holy Trinity and St. Sergius, the Danilov, Novospassky, Sretensky, Donskoy stavropegic and some other monasteries. On June 18 the delegation attended the Divine service at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The delegation consists of Bishop Daniel, Abbot of St. Paul monastery; Bishop Epiphanious , Abbot of St. Macarius monastery; Bishop Selwanis, Abbot of St. Pachomius monastery; Bishop Kyrillos, Abbot of St. Menas monastery; Bishop Youstos, Abbot of St. Antony monastery; Bishop Daniel of Maadi, auxiliary bishop of Patriarch Tawadros II; hieromonk Ashia Elbaramosy of St. Mary Baramos monastery; hieromonk Efraim Anba Bishoy of St. Bishoy monastery; hieromonk Sedrak El Syrian of St. Mary el Syrian monastery; hieromonk Sharobiem El Bakhomy of St. Pachomius monastery; and Dr. Anton Milad. Attending the meeting with Patriarch Kirill were Archbishop Feognost of Sergiev Posad, chairman of the Synodal department for monasteries and monasticism; Bishop Paramon of Bronnitsy, administrator of the North and Northwestern vicariates of Moscow; and hieromonk Stefan (Igumnov), secretary for inter-Christian relations of the Moscow Patriarchate’s Department for External Church Relations. His Holiness Patriarch Kirill greeted members of the delegation, saying that their visit was a great joy. |
| John Anthony McGuckin Africa, Orthodoxy in JUSTIN M. LASSER Christianity on the African continent begins its story, primarily, in four separate locales: Alexandrine and Coptic Egypt, the North African region surrounding the city of Carthage, Nubia, and the steppes of Ethiopia. The present synopsis will primarily address the trajectories of the North African Church, the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, and the Nubian Orthodox Church. The affairs of Christian Alexandria and the Coptic regions have their own treatments elsewhere in the encyclopedia. ROMAN-COLONIAL NORTH AFRICA After the Romans sacked the city of Carthage in 146 during the Third Punic War, they began a sustained colonizing campaign that slowly transformed the region (modern Tunisia and Libya) into a partially “Romanized” society. In most instances, however, the cultural transformations were superficial, affecting predominantly the trade languages and local power structures. It was Julius Caesar who laid the plans for Carthage’s reemergence as Colonia Junonia in 44 bce. This strong colonial apparatus made North African Christians especially susceptible to persecution by the Roman authorities on the Italian Peninsula. Because the economic power of Carthage was an essential ingredient in the support of the citizens in the city of Rome, the Romans paid careful attention to the region. The earliest extant North African Christian text, the Passion of the Scillitan Martyrs (180 ce), reflects a particularly negative estimation of the Roman authorities. Saturninus, the Roman proconsul, made this appeal to the African Christians: “You can win the indulgence of our ruler the Emperor, if you return to a sensible mind.” The Holy Martyr Speratus responded by declaring: “The empire of this world I know not; but rather I serve that God, whom no one has seen, nor with these eyes can see. I have committed no theft; but if I have bought anything I pay the tax; because I know my Lord, the King of kings and Emperor of all nations.” This declaration was a manifestation of what the Roman authorities feared most about the Christians – their proclamation of a “rival” emperor, Jesus Christ, King of kings. The Holy Martyr Donata expressed that sentiment most clearly: “Honor to Caesar as Caesar: but fear to God.” Within the Roman imperial fold such declarations were not merely interpreted as “religious” expressions, but political challenges. As a result the Roman authorities executed the Scillitan Christians, the proto-martyrs of Africa. Other such persecutions formed the character and psyche of North African Christianity. It became and remained a “persecuted” church in mentality, even after the empire was converted to Christianity. |
| Archive Press conference in Moscow on persecution of Christians in Africa 4 February 2022 year 22:07 On February 4, 2022, a press conference took place at MIA Russia Today with the online participation of Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Leonid of Klin, Patriarchal Exarch for Africa, Hieromonk Stephen (Igumnov), DECR secretary for inter-Christian relations and head of the Interreligious Working Group for defending the rights of believers from discrimination and xenophobia under the Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations. As Metropolitan Hilarion noted in his introductory remarks , every fifth Christian in African countries is subjected to persecution and each year thousands of African Christians have been deprived of life for their faith in Jesus Christ. “The Russian Orthodox Church considers the opposition to persecution on religious grounds to be one of its primary tasks on the international arena and for many years has given support to persecuted Christians in various regions of the world, including Africa”, the DECR chairman stated. He recalled that His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia repeatedly urged “not to leave without attention the problems of Christians in African countries”. Metropolitan Hilarion pointed out that the work of the Moscow Patriarchate “concerns both the informational support of the persecuted Christians and projects for giving them humanitarian aid”. It is the task, in particular, of the International Working Group for defending the rights of believers fr om discrimination and xenophobia under the Russian Presidential Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations. “The Moscow Patriarchate has given support to persecuted African Christians, maintaining contacts with Christian Churches of the continent, including its largest ones - the Coptic and Ethiopian Churches”, the hierarch said, “The work with them is carried out by the Russian Orthodox Church as part of the work of the bilateral Commission for Dialogue. Thus, in Ethiopia, the Moscow Patriarchate has given support to local Christians who found themselves in a grave situation as a result of the actions of extremist groups and the development of civic confrontation. In 2019-2020, His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia personally came out in defense of Christians subjected to organized attacks in central and western Ethiopia. “His voice was heard and the country authorities gave attention to this problem”, the DECR chairman said. |
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