Our Coptic Brethren

Today I'm listening to a Coptic hymn called "Hos Erouf."  I'm not really sure what it means, the closest I can find is the translation "Praise Him and exalt Him forever." I think that is a good thing to sing.  The Coptic church is an old denomination.  I believe they trace their roots to the church in Alexandria, one of the five patriarchs of the early Church (Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Alexandria.)  Traditionally, it's held that Mark brought the Gospel to Egypt in 42 A.D. Like the Pope tracing his lineage to Peter in the Vatican See, Pope  Theodoros II is the 118th Pope of Aleandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark (If you're trying to do the math, that's about 17 years per Pope).  Early on, the Coptic church faced severe persecution.  The worst was from Diocletian who ordered churches to be destroyed and scripture to be burned.  He also imprisoned, tortured, and killed the laity.  (Fun Fact: Coptic Church calendar doesn't count to the birth of Christ but the beginning of Diocletian's reign [284], so this year is 1731 Anno Martyrum).  Right now, about 10% of Egyptians are Coptic Orthodox.  They are minorities in a predominantly Islamic society.

Famous saints within the Coptic Church: Clement of Alexandria, who wrote the three major works Protrepticus (Exhortation), Paedagogus (Tutor), and Stromata (Miscellanies). Origen, who was very influencial in his writings (some now frowned upon). St. Athanasius, who had a big hand in Council of Nicea (325 AD). And St. Cyril, the great theologian who opposed Nestorius. (Nestorious argued for the separation of Christ's humanity from his divinity, which is bad.  Christ's sacrifice on the cross and subsequent resurrection is only redeeming if He is both fully human and fully God.)  The Coptic believers are also the group that gave the Christian world monasticism.  Views on monasticism vary greatly, but no one can deny that Christian monks have been very important in upholding the faith through dire times.

I remember one day, while I was living in State College, PA, I was having a very bad day.  Duke lost a basketball game, Alabama lost in the Iron Bowl, and App State was eliminated from the playoffs (You can imagine the rarity in which something like this happens).  I was complaining about my horrendous day to a friend, who politely reminded me that she was a cancer survivor (She's a strong woman).  Egg on my face (In truth, I was too stubborn to feel bad then, but I certainly felt guilty afterward. I'm a terrible sinner). I feel similar comparing the struggles of the Church in America with our brothers across the sea.  They have gone through some very trying times and it has only made their faith in Christ stronger.  Now I'm not saying that the American Church struggles are trivial, but we need to keep perspective.  We know scoffing and scorn; they are familiar with persecution.  So while we face our own struggles, we should also give thanks that we live in a place where we can worship freely.   We should also remember the Coptic Christians in our prayers as they stand on the Gospel against people who are actively trying to end their beliefs.