Unity… But in Faith
Unity… But in Faith
1- We believe in unity, and it was proclaimed by the Lord Jesus Christ and His apostles.
We believe in one universal Church—that is, one that includes all believers throughout the entire world. The Holy Bible describes this Church as the Body of Christ, and Christ has only one Body, of which He is the Head.
The Lord desired this unity and taught about it when He said, “There will be one flock and one shepherd” (John 10:16). For this unity He prayed on His way to the Cross, saying, “Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are” (John 17:11).
He continued, emphasizing the same meaning: “And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one” (John 17:22). Surely, there can be no unity stronger than this—the unity that resembles that between the Father and the Son, “as We are one.”
The apostles lived this unity, for the Bible says, “Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul” (Acts 4:32). The apostles also proclaimed and taught this unity. John said about the Lord Jesus, “He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad” (John 11:52). Saint Paul wrote, “For you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). In his first letter to the Corinthians, he said, “For as the body is one and has many members… we were all baptized into one body by one Spirit, and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:12–13).
This is not only a New Testament teaching—it existed even in ancient times. The Lord spoke through the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever” (Jeremiah 32:39).
2- What is unity in Christianity?
It is not joint meetings, nor cooperation in certain social or educational matters, and so on. Rather, it is first and foremost one faith and one mind in Christ. It is the “unity of the Spirit,” as Saint Paul described it: “One body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:3–5).
Friendship, courtesy, visits, and social contact are all good beginnings, but they are not Christian unity. We cannot consider ourselves united unless we can pray together at one altar, partake together of one Sacrifice, in one faith—each acknowledging the priesthood of the other. If this happens, unity will have truly been achieved… but it has not happened yet.
To reach this, there must be mutual understanding and serious meetings among theologians, aiming to reach one solution accepted by all—a solution that agrees with our conscience and the faith delivered to us by the saints, through struggle and martyrdom.
3- External or superficial union is harmful, not beneficial
To reach a sound conclusion, we must speak frankly. Unfortunately, those interested in unity today begin with external forms of unity. For example:
Unifying feasts—does it lead to unity?
The Coptic Catholics in Egypt—alone among the Catholics here (Armenians, Greeks, etc.)—decided to celebrate the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection on the same day as the Coptic Orthodox Church. At the same time, a joint papal–Coptic Orthodox committee was formed to study the Coptic calendar and the possibility of unifying feasts, especially Christmas: should it be on December 25 or remain on January 7?
We do not wish here to go into the scientific details of the calendar, which have nothing to do with matters of faith. Let us suppose all agreed on one date for Christmas—would that mean they have achieved the desired unity? Or would it be a mere formality, misleading people into thinking that the Copts and Catholics have united and that there is no difference between them? In pursuit of this superficial appearance, would people—especially the simple and unlearned—forget the serious differences in faith between us and the Catholics?
Other formalities… such as in the Liturgy
Not everyone understands the deep doctrinal differences between us and other Christian denominations. Many, especially the simple folk, see only visible differences in rites and feasts. For example, they used to notice that Catholics celebrated the Mass in Latin, which the people did not understand, while our language was Coptic. They also observed that Catholics did not use the same Eulogia (holy bread) in the Divine Mysteries as we do, and that their music, hymns, readings, and vestments were different.
Now, however, the Catholics have adopted the same Coptic rite—its liturgy, hymns, language, and Eulogia—to the extent that some people think there is no difference! Yet, even within the same liturgy, differences remain that the Synod itself could reveal. For example, after the name of Saint Mark, we mention our father Saint Severus, Patriarch of Antioch, and our teacher Saint Dioscorus, Pope of Alexandria, in whose time the schism occurred in 451 AD. These two are considered heretics in the eyes of the Catholics and should not be mentioned among the saints! The same applies to all the saints who came after or during the schism, such as Saint Daniel the Hegumen, Saint John Kama the Priest, Saint Samuel the Confessor, and the great Saint Macarius the Bishop—one of the three holy Macarii.
Also, in the hymn Pi Enshouti, they do not mention Saint Barsoum the Naked nor Saint Rewis, because these are considered heretics in their view!
At the same time, they venerate Leo the Great, the author of the “Tome of Leo,” which introduced the Chalcedonian faith that the Copts firmly rejected in the fifth century, for which hundreds of thousands of saints in Egypt and Antioch were martyred.
Yet the simple and poor people may not realize any of this, deceived by superficial similarities in language and hymns. As long as they hear in the Mass Tai Shori and Hiten Ni-Epresvia, they say, “The Catholics’ Mass is just like ours—there’s no difference! We’ve united!”
Other meaningful matters…
A significant example is that the former Coptic Catholic Patriarch before Anba Stephanos (the current patriarch) was called Anba Mark II—that is, the first patriarch named Mark after Saint Mark himself—forgetting that we had already had a Patriarch Mark VIII (the 108th Patriarch). Yet, all these patriarchs were never recognized by the Coptic Catholics as legitimate patriarchs. Similarly, they do not recognize any patriarchs after Saint Dioscorus (the 25th). Surely, if they had ordained a patriarch named Cyril, they would not call him Cyril II, the name that would follow directly after Saint Cyril the Great, who lived before the schism!
So, is it right to begin with externals and neglect matters of faith?
What are the doctrinal differences then?
There are many differences if we attempt to list them all, and we will discuss them in future issues, God willing. For now, it suffices to mention a few examples that contradict the Christian faith:
(a) The Nature of Christ
(b) The Immaculate Conception
(c) Purgatory
(d) The Primacy of Peter
(e) Indulgences
(f) The Treasury of the Saints’ Merits
(g) Differences in rites that carry doctrinal significance
We must begin with these issues and others like them before concerning ourselves with external forms of union such as calendars and similar matters—so that the people may clearly understand the true situation.
In the next issue, God willing, we will discuss our relationship with our brethren of the “Greek Church.”
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1. An article by His Grace Bishop Shenouda, Bishop of Education – El-Keraza Magazine, Issue 4, Year 1, April 1965
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