Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Things to Straighten: Protestant Thought in Coptic Churches

Anyone who has been to St. Mark's in Washington D.C. or St. John in West Covina, CA knows what we're talking about.
  • You hear the sound of guitar strumming, and you see people waving their hands in the air.
  • You hear terms like "worship group" and your "favorite worship song"
  • You hear a supposedly Orthodox priest (We're looking straight at you, "Abouna" Anthony Messeh), calling Jesus "my homeboy"
  • You hear of groups called "Crazy 4 Christ High School Ministry"
  • You see scenes from "The Passion of the Christ" on Holy and Great Friday.
  • You hear a servant (now a priest - "Abouna" Paul Girguis) tell his audience that his "cross" that he has to bear on Holy and Great Friday is all those "Coptic hymns"

You are in a Protestant church veiled by a thin veneer of Coptic Orthodoxy.

Well, enough is enough. These churches have to be brought into line.

Instead of looking to a Western Christianity that is devoid of all the depth, the priests and servants of these churches must be taught how to convey the richness of the Orthodox faith to their congregations.

These churches need to hunker down, start readings some writings from the Fathers of the Church, and get back to being Orthodox churches for real, not just in name.
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7 comments:

  1. UnknownJune 30, 2013 at 6:27 PM

    I agree that this is an enormous problem. How can we best combat it? Dialogue with the bishops? Letters to the Pope?

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  2. OrthodoxBritJuly 20, 2013 at 8:49 AM

    Hi.
    I have just found this and there are many of us (Especially in the convert community) who feel the same.

    We have tried to confront the issue on pages such as Facebook and only find that we are called extremists and insulted for it.

    It is good to see others battling for the same cause.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownJuly 25, 2013 at 12:35 PM

      Let me know if you're interested in joining a fellowship of concerned Oriental Orthodox Christians who want to do something about it.

      Delete
  3. UnknownJuly 20, 2013 at 1:02 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. UnknownSeptember 11, 2013 at 5:35 PM

    Brothers & Sisters, you might find this encouraging:

    http://returntoorthodoxy.com/pope-tawadros-takes-stand-for-orthodoxy/

    Coptic Orthodox Pope Opens Investigation into Protestant-Influenced DC area Churches

    After receiving complaints from bishops, priests, and servants about a so-called “New Age Orthodoxy” movement in the Washington, DC area which incorporates Evangelical and Charismatic theology, materials and so-called “praise & worship” music into the life of the Coptic Orthodox Church, H.H. Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria has appointed a committee of three bishops to investigate the matter. Originally from the 5 April edition of the Coptic Orthodox Church’s official publication, el-Keraza magazine.

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  5. Antoun RezkSeptember 13, 2013 at 11:20 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. Antoun RezkSeptember 13, 2013 at 11:21 PM

    With all due respect, those statements above do NOT represent those priests! Have some respect, there is no need to call out priests like that online! If you have issues with them or their teachings, then you should reach out to them and email/phone etc. There are other ways of handling this in a respectful manner!

    ReplyDelete

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