Openness in the Coptic Church
Openness in the Coptic Church
The first policy that our Church adopted in these days in order to keep pace with the times was:
The policy of openness toward everyone.
In the past, the prevailing principle regarding the religious leadership in the Church was that it was to be visited and not to visit!! As a form of dignity!! The result of this was that the Church remained closed in on itself, to the extent that many countries around the world did not even know the name of the Coptic Church. Some of those who knew it accused it of being Monophysite.
Now, however, the Coptic Orthodox Church has opened itself to the ecclesiastical world, and it has come to have its own thought and opinion with which it contributes, and through which it discusses the views of others.
The Church entered the ecumenical world and the ecumenical organizations.
It obtained the presidency of the World Council of Churches, as well as the presidency of the Middle East Council of Churches, and the position of Vice President in the All Africa Conference of Churches, along with membership in all the local ecumenical institutions throughout the countries of the world.
The Church also became open to theological dialogue with many churches.
It held a theological dialogue with the Catholic Church through which the Christology issue that had lasted for more than fifteen centuries since the Chalcedonian schism in the year 451 A.D. was resolved.
The dialogue with the Pro Oriente Foundation began in September 1971 with informal discussions that developed into an official agreement in 1988.
Then there was another dialogue with the Byzantine Orthodox (Chalcedonian) brethren.
It ended with a theological agreement concerning the nature of Christ and a proposal to lift the anathemas between the two Orthodox families. This dialogue, which was conducted between theologians, proceeded toward the approval of its agreements by the religious leaders, many of whom signed in agreement, while the rest are on the way.
Visits were also exchanged with the churches.
With Rome, Constantinople, Russia, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, Antioch, Lebanon, Germany, Switzerland, France, England, Sweden, and with the Reformed churches. We came to have relations on the level of religious leadership theologically, and on the level of the Bishopric of Services socially.
The relations also extended to Africa.
They began with the Independent churches, then with those longing for African Orthodoxy. Ten African churches joined us. We ordained priests for them from among their own sons, and we built churches for them. We also came to have churches in Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Zaire. The caravan is still moving on. We also came to have churches in Libya.
We ordained five bishops for the Church of Eritrea.
We also ministered to our children in the Arab East.
We came to have churches in Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Bahrain, and Iraq.
We participated in the national issues related to the destiny of the Arab East.
We wrote articles, participated in seminars and conferences, and defended the cause of Jerusalem and Palestine. The Pope traveled once to Abu Dhabi and another time to Lebanon. The Coptic Church never stood isolated from the world surrounding it.
However, the subject has other branches.
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