Salvation of Non-Believers – Disputes with Catholics

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III speaks about the topic of the salvation of non-believers, and starts from defining what true Christian faith is — faith in the Holy Trinity, in the word and teachings of Christ, and in the sacred sacraments: baptism, chrismation, and the Eucharist — and points out that non-believers do not embrace these matters.

The content of the word “faith”
He clarifies that faith in Christianity is not merely an intellectual belief but a living faith that shows fruit and works; and that true faith is linked to knowledge of the Trinity, the resurrection and the life of the age to come, and that the sacraments have a living role in establishing the life of salvation.

Salvation and contemporary doctrines
He criticizes the idea of “the salvation of non-believers” promoted by some Catholics and other churches and considers it an innovation that weakens Christianity, because it ignores the requirements of faith and the sacraments through which the grace of redemption flows.

Testimony of the Holy Scripture
His Holiness cites texts from the Holy Scripture (Acts 16:31, John, Mark 16:16 and others) to show that faith and baptism are linked to life and salvation, with clarification that verses should be understood in their context and that faith without works is dead as the prophets, Christ and the apostles said.

The natural law and the human conscience
He warns that God placed in the conscience of every human a “natural law” that knows good and evil, but this does not replace the written law revealed in Scripture nor salvation in Christ; the ancients before Christ had conscience but it did not equal full faith in the kingdom.

Fate of the prophets and saints before redemption
He explains that the prophets and saints in the Old Testament were in a place of waiting (the abyss) until Christ redeemed them with His blood after His crucifixion and opened for them the gate of Paradise; for no one obtained complete salvation except by the blood of Christ.

The Immaculate Conception and the Virgin
He rejects the idea of the “Immaculate Conception” as a recent innovation that arose among some Catholic circles, and affirms that the Virgin was in need of salvation by the blood of Christ like all humans, citing the Virgin’s own hymn in which she acknowledges God as her Savior.

Spiritual and educational conclusion
His Holiness concludes that salvation is linked to Christ and His blood, and that any doctrine that diminishes the role of redemption or assumes salvation outside the faith and experiences of the Church and the sacraments distorts the true meaning of Christianity. He calls to adhere to the Word of God and the teachings of the Church and to beware of innovations propagated through visions or new concepts.

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