Future Plans for Pastoral Care in the Diaspora
Future Plans for Pastoral Care in the Diaspora
Question:
We thank Your Holiness for the tremendous efforts you have made in establishing many churches in the diaspora, sending numerous priests to care for them, and personally visiting us to check on our well-being. What are Your Holiness’s future ecclesiastical plans for the Church in the diaspora?
Answer:
There are many matters that the ministry in the diaspora still needs, in addition to what further studies may reveal. Among our future projects, God willing, are the following:
1. Establishing one or more Ecclesiastical Councils in America
As well as branches of the Ecclesiastical Council in other diaspora countries, dedicated to matters of personal status and cases involving marriage and divorce. These councils would operate according to established principles based on the teachings of the Gospel and the laws of the Church. Cases beyond their competence would be referred to the General Ecclesiastical Council in Cairo.
2. Organizing church membership records for all our children in the diaspora
And storing this information in a computerized database. A separate database would be dedicated to personal status matters, enabling accurate records concerning marriage, divorce, and widowhood.
3. Standardizing translations of liturgical and ecclesiastical books
At present, there are numerous translations of the Holy Kholagy (the Divine Liturgy prayers). The goal is to unify these into a single translation officially approved by the Church. We have attempted this for a long time, but geographical distances between translators across Canada and the United States have made meetings difficult. Therefore, we proposed inviting everyone to gather in Egypt, perhaps at the Monastery of Anba Bishoy, together with representatives of the Mother Church and under its supervision, to reach an approved unified translation.
4. Unifying the By-Laws of diaspora churches
A synodal committee has already begun working on this task with clergy and lay members from the diaspora so that all our churches abroad may be governed by one common set of regulations. Any newly established church, God willing, will be founded according to these by-laws.
5. A large-scale translation project to bring Coptic spiritual heritage to the diaspora
The Church’s first concern was translating the liturgical books necessary for worship, such as the Kholagy, the Agpeya, the Katameros, the Synaxarium, and the service books for the sacraments such as marriage and baptism.
What remains is the translation of spiritual books, lives of the saints, doctrinal and theological works, and writings explaining the spirituality and doctrinal foundations of the Church’s rites. We will strive to provide our children in the diaspora with all of these resources so that they may not fall under the influence of foreign doctrines or differing spiritual traditions.
We have already begun this translation movement, but it requires expansion, follow-up, and comprehensiveness in order to meet all needs.
6. Following up on several important projects needed in the diaspora
Some churches have requested the establishment of childcare centers for children whose mothers work outside the home. Others have requested homes for the elderly.
Another important proposal concerns residences for new immigrants, where they could live under the care of the Church until they become settled and obtain homes of their own. This project would involve caring for newcomers in every aspect of life, helping them adapt to a new society, find housing, obtain employment, and receive guidance. Such support would help prevent them from turning to harmful paths, being absorbed by other organizations that might alter the course of their lives, or entering marriages solely for immigration stability, with the family problems that may later result.
We have also received proposals for establishing Coptic schools. This idea requires further study and may be particularly suitable in cities with large Coptic communities such as Jersey City, New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, Sydney, and Melbourne.
7. Caring for youth, children, and Sunday Schools
This is a very extensive subject that deserves a separate study and a focused spiritual and pastoral effort, God willing.
8. Publishing a magazine specifically for the diaspora
This publication would primarily serve youth and children, with most of its content in English and designed to meet their various needs. We intend to study this project seriously and explore practical ways to implement it.
9. Additional pastoral initiatives
These include sending bishops to serve the diaspora, increasing the number of priests, appointing roving priests who can substitute for clergy during illness or travel, and supervising church councils and their formation.
10. The Coptic language and Coptic hymns
Special attention will be given to their preservation and instruction. The efforts of the branches of the Theological Seminary in Jersey City, Los Angeles, and Sydney, Australia, will greatly assist in this endeavor, along with local initiatives in each church.
11. Establishing new churches in areas where they are needed
This also remains part of our future plan.
