History of the Church

The lecture mentions a prophetic text from Isaiah (chapter 19) that links the establishment of an altar of the Lord and a pillar of the Lord in the land of Egypt, thereby considering the Coptic Church distinguished by an ancient prophecy about its foundation.
The speaker affirms that the Holy Family (the Lord Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Joseph the carpenter) visited Egypt, and that this visit granted the Coptic Church a unique blessing and a special position among the churches of the nations.
The lecture highlights that Alexandria was the first theological school in the world, and that it produced great scholars (such as Athenagoras, Origen, and Didymus) who influenced Christian theology with writings and teaching.
It also presents Egypt’s status as the source of monasticism: the emergence of monasticism in Egypt (Anba Anthony) and the establishment of monasteries by Pachomius, making the Coptic Church the “Mother of Monasticism” in the world.
The lecture points out that the Coptic Church offered a rare number of champions of the faith and martyrs, and bore its cross throughout its long history instead of living in luxury and authority as in other places.
The speaker reminds that the history of the saints is incomplete; many monks and hermits did not have their names recorded but their spiritual lives are preserved in the Book of Life, remaining examples of humility and piety.
The spiritual dimension in the lecture: a call to humility and love and to acknowledge the heritage of faith, and to hold to the tradition of monasticism, prayer, and sacrifice as a way of witness and holiness in the Coptic Orthodox tradition.
The educational dimension from a Coptic faith perspective: emphasizing the importance of the theological school and spiritual and theological training, and the role of the Fathers of Alexandria in shaping the Church’s doctrine and defending the mystery of the Incarnation against heresies.

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