scholarly journals Whose Heritage Counts? Narratives of Coptic People’s Heritage

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Monier
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Church Leadership ◽  
The Body ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Middle Ground ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
The Church ◽  
Church Buildings

This paper examines whose voices narrate official Coptic heritage, what the in-built biases in representations of Coptic heritage are and why, and some of the implications of omissions in narratives of Coptic heritage. It argues that the primary narrator of official Coptic heritage during the twentieth century was the leadership of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the body that holds authority over the sources of heritage, such as church buildings and manuscripts, and also has the resources with which to preserve and disseminate heritage. The Church hierarchy’s leadership was not entirely uncontested, however, a middle ground was continually negotiated to enable lay Copts to play various roles and contribute to the articulation of Coptic heritage. Ultimately, though, alternative voices must operate within the limits set by the Church leadership and also negotiate the layers of exclusion set by society and state.

scholarly journals Matthew the Poor: Towards Modern Birth Control Methods in the Coptic Orthodox Church

Family Forum ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 173-190
Author(s):  
Jaroslav Franc
Keyword(s):  
Birth Control ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Bioethical Issue ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
The Church

The paper is focused on the Matta el-Meskeen (Matthew the Poor) and his reflection of selected bioethical issue: birth control. The paper deals with the forming stages of the bioethical discussions within the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt. The research is based on Matthew the Poor´s articles and books. The first part presents his teachings about theosis as an key concept of his theology in general and bioethics in particular. The second part brings analysis of his birth control reflections and presents his observations about the role of the Church and the state in the decision making process of Christian believers.

COPTS AND THE MILLET PARTNERSHIP: THE INTRA-COMMUNAL DYNAMICS BEHIND EGYPTIAN SECTARIANISM

2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 491-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Sedra
Keyword(s):  
Political Leader ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Political Role ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
Modern Egypt ◽  
Point Of Departure ◽  
The Church ◽  
Egyptian Politics

AbstractThe sparse scholarship on the political role of Coptic Christians in modern Egypt almost always takes the Coptic Orthodox Church as a point of departure, assuming that the head of the church, the Coptic patriarch, is not only the spiritual leader of the community but its political leader as well. This article argues that the disproportionate attention afforded to the Coptic Orthodox Church in this scholarship has obscured intra-communal dynamics of the Copts that are essential to an understanding of their political role. Through an analysis of historical struggles between the Coptic clergy and the Coptic laity for influence in Egyptian politics, as well as a particular focus on how these struggles have played out in the arena of personal status law, the article demonstrates that Egyptian politics and Coptic communal dynamics are deeply intertwined, to a degree often disregarded both by Copts and by Egypt analysts.

Divorce and Remarriage of Orthodox Copts in Egypt: The 2008 State Council Ruling and the Amendment of the 1938 Personal Status Regulations

2011 ◽  
Vol 18 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 356-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Bernard-Maugiron
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
State Council ◽  
National Courts ◽  
Personal Status ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
The Church

AbstractIn June 2008, the 1938 Personal Status Regulations for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt were amended to limit the grounds for divorce to adultery and change of religion. This revision followed a ruling of the State Council requiring Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to grant a divorced Orthodox Copt a license to remarry. The amendments ended a long-standing conflict between the Egyptian national courts and the Coptic Orthodox Church regarding the effects of judicial divorce: prior to the revision, thousands of couples divorced before the courts were considered by the Church to be still married. However, by restricting the possibilities for Orthodox Copts to obtain a divorce, the 2008 amendments may lead to an increase in conversions to other religious faiths to escape application of the revised 1938 regulations. In this essay, I analyze the 2008 amendments, the State Council ruling, landmark decisions of the Court of Cassation, comments by legal scholars and articles in newspapers, in an effort to assess the current status of divorce and remarriage among Orthodox Copts in Egypt and the problems generated by the application of conflicts rules between non-Muslim personal status laws in case of inter-religious marriages. At the end of the essay, I mention developments that took place in June 2010 after the release of a new ruling by the State Council.

scholarly journals VICISSITUDES IN THE ENTENTE BETWEEN THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH AND THE STATE IN EGYPT (1952–2007)

2009 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 287a-287a
Author(s):  
Mariz Tadros
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Church And State ◽  
The State ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
Coptic Church ◽  
Egyptian Government ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Church

This paper asserts that in 1952 an entente was forged between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Egyptian government that provided the church with concessions in return for its political allegiance to the regime. The period prior to 1952 also witnessed the Coptic church leadership forging alliances with regimes in power; however, its ability to represent Copts vis-à-vis the state was rivaled by other Coptic voices in civil society such as the Majlis al-Milli. From 1952 on, the inhibition of Copts' voices in civil society increased the church's political power, and it developed into the undisputed voice representing the Coptic community. The relationship between church and state in the past fifty years has been volatile, affected not only by the nature of the relationship between leaders of the church and state but also by the emergence of other important players within and outside these two entities. Strains characteristic of the period leading up to the temporary dissolution of the entente in the 1970s are becoming visible today in the church–state relationship. This paper suggests that the current entente between the church and the state is being stretched to its limit although it is not likely to be dissolved.

scholarly journals Sacred Women in Coptic Cinema: Between Faith and Resistance

1970 ◽  
pp. 55-57
Author(s):  
Lise Paulse Galal
Keyword(s):  
Life Stories ◽  
Arab World ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Religious Revival ◽  
New Politics ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
Coptic Church ◽  
The Church

The present religious revival in the Arab world has not only initiated new politics or individual devotedness and piety, but has also resulted in a rise of mediated religious memories. Hence, as a promoter of a community revival, the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church has disseminated narratives about the Coptic saints to the members of the church. During my fieldwork among the Copts in Egypt in the nineties, I was continuously presented with these saint stories without really taking notice. But, as the storytellers seemed to insist on being heard, I started listening. Meanwhile, I had become aware of the Coptic cinema which since 1987 till today has produced and distributed more than thirty screen versions (in Arabic) about the life stories of sacred figures of the Coptic Church.

A State Institution

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Simaika ◽  
Nevine Henein
Keyword(s):  
State Institution ◽  
The State ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
State Museum ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
The Government

This chapter discusses Marcus Simaika's role in making the Coptic Museum a state institution of Egypt. In 1920, Fuad I, ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, visited the Coptic Museum. From that moment, the king conceived the idea of making the Coptic Museum a state museum and asked Simaika to cede the museum to the government. Simaika replied that he would submit the request to Cyril V. All objects in the museum belonged to the Coptic Orthodox Church, and Simaika would not have been able to transfer them from the different monasteries and churches without ecclesiastic approval and on the condition that they be exhibited in an annex to the Muʻallaqa Church and under the care of the priest of that church. The chapter describes the annexation of the Coptic Museum by the state and its nationalization, as well as its acquisitions and collections.

The Coptic and Ethiopian Dispute over Deir al-Sultan in Jerusalem

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Simaika ◽  
Nevine Henein
Keyword(s):  
Roman Catholic ◽  
Eastern Orthodox ◽  
Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox Church ◽  
Coptic Orthodox ◽  
Ethiopian Orthodox ◽  
Ethiopian Church

This chapter discusses Marcus Simaika's involvement in the dispute between the Copts and Ethiopians regarding what is known as Deir al-Sultan or the Imperial Monastery in Jerusalem. Ethiopia has long been acquainted with monotheism, and the Ethiopian Church is the largest of all the Oriental Orthodox churches. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has a longstanding relationship with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawahedo Church and the Eritrean Orthodox Tawahedo Church. Tawahedo means 'unified,' referring to the single unified nature of Christ, as opposed to the belief in the two natures of Christ held by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. The patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and many others had refused to accept the two-natures doctrine decreed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and these churches are sometimes referred to as monophysite. Simaika maintained that Deir al-Sultan belonged to the Coptic community from time immemorial.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document