SSCN Voumes 1-10, 1994-2004

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

entailed greater interaction between the Coptic Church and a number of Western denominations. By the turn of the century, the Coptic Church was faced with a wave of non-Orthodox missionary groups who viewed the Orthodox Copts as possible converts. A number of Coptic responses were forwarded against the subsequent theological attack. This attack required the Church’s rebuttals to be persuasive and swift—a fact that unbalanced their perspectives and cogency. Consequently, the response which marginalized the role and prominence of St. Peter among the Apostles and in the early Church has been widely disseminated and accepted ever since. But such a response is fundamentally at odds with biblical, patristic, and Coptic liturgical texts. Furthermore, it misses the historical and theological reality that for the Orthodox, the point of contention was not (and should not be) whether or not St. Peter had a prominence among the Apostles, but rather the nature of his prominence. For certain, the Orthodox Church herself recognizes a certain prominence which is always given to the Patriarch, to the oldest bishop among bishops, or the oldest priest among priests. Thus, the very idea of an individual having a prominence is not alien to her; to the contrary, it is an essential factor in keeping internal organization and order. What is alien to the Orthodox mind is the Roman Catholic interpretation of the nature of St. Peter’s prominence. This paper aims to revise the Coptic response forwarded at the beginning of this century. First, it will highlight the biblical, patristic, and Coptic liturgical texts which portray St. Peter as “First among the Apostles”--indeed, having a primacy. Second, it will establish that all three criteria agree in that this primacy was not one of power, but rather of honor. Finally, it will forward the long held Orthodox view that the primacy of Peter is the possession of each and every bishop in the Church, and not only the bishop of Rome. ----------------------- Title: The Coptic Psalmodia (Project Update) Presenter: Sherief Sorial , (Los Angeles, CA)

The Coptic Psalmodia is one of the more important liturgical projects that the Society is engaged in. Following the preliminary topical comparison, the scope of research turned to determining a criterion for dating and establishing the provenance of such manuscripts. The commemoration section of the Annual Psalmodia was a logical choice, judging by the variances encountered in the current published editions. The scope of research was expanded to include the Kiahk Office of the Psalmodia alongside the Annual one, because they were similar enough for comparison of this section. In his paper, the process and the results of this work will be discussed. ----------------------- Title: Multiconfessional Churches in Egypt in the XII Century Presenter: Dr. Youhanna Nessim Youssef (Melbourne, Australia) Abu al Makarim books (published by Bishop Samuel) is a compilation of some ancient books (some of them are lost today) and his own experience as an eyewitness. It gives us an idea about Egypt at the End of the XII century. In this paper I have tried to highlight the churches, where more than one confession used the building. Despite the theological doctrines, but for practical reasons, a building was shared by more than one confession such as Greek (Roum), Copts, Syrians, Franks, and Armenians. It is noteworthy that this practice had survived till the XIX century. There was no official position that we can notice. Sometimes each group tries to highjack the church from the other groups and sometimes it is the opposite. The multiconfessional churches are especially from Lower-Egypt. There is no mention of such in Upper Egypt. ----------------------- Title: Romanos in the Coptic Church Presenter: Dr. Youhanna Nessim Youssef (Melbourne, Australia)

St. Shenouda Coptic Newsletter

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