Principles of Ministry
Principles of Ministry
In truth, my brothers, I have been sitting throughout this time in deep embarrassment:
embarrassed by the great love you have shown me; embarrassed by the words spoken about me by the venerable fathers in their humility; embarrassed that I was unable to work in secret according to the Lord’s command; and embarrassed that I receive praise for matters in which others shared, yet which were attributed to me without my deserving it.
Nevertheless, I would like to thank all who attended and all who spoke.
I thank my brethren of great holiness who came from distant places.
I thank His Holiness Patriarch Ignatius Zakka I Iwas, Patriarch of the Apostolic See of Antioch, this gentle, humble, and loving spiritual man who attended despite his illness. I thank His Holiness Catholicos Aram of the Armenians, who was elected twice consecutively as Moderator of the World Council of Churches because of his many gifts and the strength of his character. I also thank His Holiness our father Philip, Patriarch of Eritrea, who attended despite his advanced age (about ninety-eight years) and spoke with love and humility.
I thank the Middle East Council of Churches, represented by its Secretary General Rev. Dr. Riyad Jarjour, Rev. Dr. Salim Sahyouni, one of the presidents of the Council from the Evangelical community, and our son Prof. Girgis Saleh, the Associate Secretary General. I thank all the representatives of the churches who attended. I also thank the Catholic fathers who attended and then excused themselves because of prior commitments. I thank everyone, and I thank you all for your presence.
I thank them for the great humility I heard in their words about me. Believe me, it is a difficult position, as Saint Anba Antony the Great said: enduring honor is harder than enduring humiliation. I thank all the choir groups for their beautiful hymns, and I thank our daughter Salwa for the hymn she chanted in the rhythm of the Psalmodia.
I thank Rev. Dr. Safwat El-Bayadi, Head of the Evangelical Church in Egypt, for his presence and for responding to us at times to certain requests we made to enroll our children in New Ramses College. This is undoubtedly a good spirit.
I thank everyone for their love, presence, words, and gifts.
Above all, I thank God who granted me these thirty years, and to whom alone belongs all the credit for the success of any work during them.
On this occasion, I would like to say that from the time we served in Sunday School and in the Theological Seminary, we placed before us certain principles for church work. We thank God who helped us to implement them.
The First Principle: We Are Only Stewards
We are not the owners of the Church; God alone is its Owner. He is the Lord of the vineyard, and we are merely His stewards in His Church. Our work is to carry out His good will. Indeed, the priesthood has been granted authority by God, but it is authority within the bounds of God’s will and never beyond it.
As stewards of God, we work only by what He works in us, as He said: “Without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Since it is He who works through us, we deserve no praise for this work, as the psalmist says: “Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but to Your name give glory” (Psalm 115:1).
We are His stewards. The money that comes into our hands is God’s money, not ours, and we have no right to dispose of it except within the scope of His work and for the sake of His children. Even our time does not belong to us, for we have consecrated it to God. We are stewards of this time and spend it only according to the will of its Owner. Being merely stewards is the first principle we believe in.
The Second Principle: The People and Their Importance
We are merely servants of the people, and we must constantly remember this truth and never rise above it. Saint Augustine said in his prayer: “I ask You, O Lord, for my masters, Your servants.” He also said: “Before them I appear as a shepherd to them, but with them I am one of the sheep of Your flock. You shepherd me as You shepherd them. I appear to them as a teacher, but with them I am one of Your disciples—you teach me as You teach them.”
Without the people, we would not be in the responsibility entrusted to us. We exist for them; they do not exist for us. For the sake of the people, we followed a principle known to all our children: “The people have the right to choose their shepherd,” as the Apostles said when choosing the seven deacons: “Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation… whom we may appoint over this business” (Acts 6:3).
This is what I do in the ordination of every bishop and every priest: I fulfill the desire of the people, so that they rejoice on the day of ordination, because it is according to their will and satisfaction. We never imposed anyone upon them.
The Third Principle: A Sense of Responsibility
No one can be faithful in any task unless he feels responsibility toward it. What, then, is our responsibility? It is a very serious phrase that shakes anyone who hears it, spoken at the coronation ceremony: “You receive the staff of shepherding from the hand of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has entrusted you with His flock; and from your hand He will require their blood.”
The phrase “from your hand I will require their blood” is taken from the Book of Ezekiel, chapters 3 and 33, and is repeated for its importance. If a person perishes because of our lack of care, attention, visitation, or teaching, God will require that person’s blood from our hands. Perhaps each of us remembers this meaning when praying Psalm 50: “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God” (Psalm 50:14).
Thus, the grave responsibility required of every patriarch, metropolitan, bishop, priest, and servant is this phrase: “From your hand I will require their blood.” Therefore, each of us must work in fear of this responsibility, remembering the words of the Apostles in the Didascalia: “Let the bishop care for everyone so that he may save them.”
But how can a patriarch care for everyone? Of course, through his assistants. Therefore, according to the strength God granted me, I have ordained so far one hundred bishops and six hundred thirty-three priests to carry this burden and care for the salvation of all.
This is especially important because pastoral work is not easy. We bear a comprehensive responsibility, caring for each person spiritually, psychologically, socially, and materially, guiding them to a righteous life and establishing them in it.
The Fourth Principle: Openness
When I began my responsibility, there was a known tradition: “The Pope is visited; he does not visit.” Thus, the papal residence was called “the patriarchal cell,” preserving the monastic life and the papal dignity. The Pope would sit on his throne, grant blessings, and administer the Church from his place, rarely going out.
I had to break this tradition. I was not seeking prestige or fear from people, but their love and the salvation of their souls, whatever the cost. Before me was what was said of the Lord Christ: “who went about doing good” (Acts 10:38), and that He “went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (Matthew 9:35).
Thus, I went out to visit and serve. When I visited the United States and Canada, it was said that this was the first visit of a Coptic Pope to them. The same was said when I visited Australia, Johannesburg, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Zaire, and when I visited the Zulu tribes in South Africa. Perhaps I have been the Pope of Alexandria who traveled most by airplane.
Openness also extended to visiting hospitals, public associations, syndicates, and university colleges, as well as engaging with the press, radio, and television in Egypt and abroad. It also extended to my Muslim brothers. I visited the Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, exchanged visits with him, and also visited the Grand Mufti at Dar Al-Ifta. Such exchanges became common, bringing Muslim sheikhs to the Patriarchate and bishops and priests to Al-Azhar.
This openness increased through Ramadan iftar banquets attended by state leaders, religious leaders, judges, governors, university presidents, journalists, writers, members of parliament, and others. These gatherings spread across Cairo and other cities, bringing hearts closer and encouraging unity.
My relations also extended to Muslim leaders outside Egypt—in Lebanon, Syria, London, Paris, and Washington—and in Egypt I had a close relationship with Sheikh Mohamed Metwally Al-Shaarawy. Likewise, in every country I visited, I met with diplomats and officials, and spoke frequently through media outlets, all according to the principle of openness.
The Fifth Principle: Youth and the Diaspora
I have always said: “A church without youth is a church without a future.” For the first time in our Church’s history, I ordained a bishop for youth ministry, His Grace Anba Moussa. He met with youth, addressed their problems, nurtured their talents, and organized conferences in Egypt and abroad. Later, Anba Raphael was ordained to assist him, and Anba Angelos served youth in the UK.
Our concern for the diaspora led us to establish many churches so that every Coptic community might have a place of worship. The number of churches in the West grew from seven to nearly two hundred, along with schools, seminaries, monasteries, and dioceses across the world. We also began missionary work in Africa, Brazil, Bolivia, and God willing, Mexico.
The Sixth Principle: Women’s Ministry
We opened the Theological Seminary to women, enabling them to study, teach Scripture and theology, and serve in Sunday School. We also established the system of consecrated women for service, involved women in church councils, and relied on them heavily in charitable committees.
In conclusion, we thank God for His work with us and for His grace that helped realize these principles, as much as our weakness allowed.
Thank you all for your attentive listening.
