If you're near LA, check out St. Mary's Coptic Catholic Church.
2701 Newell St.
Los Angeles, California 90039
And if you aren't close by, check them out online: http://stmaryccc.com/
Video transcript as translated by Free Translation and modified slightly by Catherine Alexander.
The Coptic Catholic Church
The
biblical sources (Actions and Letters) do not speak of the
evangelization of Egypt. Tradition attributes the foundation of this
Church to the Evangelist Mark. But the Coptic Church has
also the merit of having given life, in the 4th Century, to the monastic
tradition. An impressive phenomenon that spread itself from Egypt
first to the East (Palestine, Syria, Cappadocia) and then to all of the
west. The statistics relating to the Copts in Egypt say that from a
population of about 75 million residents, the Coptic number of
Christians changes to second if to supply the is the Muslim government
or the church. The Coptic Orthodox are estimated to be between 6 and 9
million. The faithful Coptic Catholic are about 250,000, subdivided in
seven diocese in Egypt and 13 parishes in foreign countries. They are
served from nine bishops, beneficiaries from 200 priests and Franciscan
monks, in 174 parishes in Egypt, but also in Europe, North America,
Australia and the Middle East. Since the 7th Century, the Coptic tongue
was often replaced by the Arabic tongue, and today the liturgical books
present a bilingual text, Coptic and Arabic, mixed here and there with
Greek formulas, restive of the original tongue. The Catholic formation
of a Coptic community in Egypt derives from the work carried out of
preaching first from the Franciscan, that in 1630 were based on a
mission to the Cairo, and later on, post 1675, also from the Jesuits.
"The Church of Egypt is passed across periods a lot more difficult and
harder. You make sentences of true persecution". To affirm the S. B
Mons. Antonio Naguib, Coptic Patriarch Catholic - that continues: "But
it is gone out of it stronger and more dynamic. As for the future,
once again, we put ourselves between the hands of God, with much trust
and hope."
I went there. It was an interesting experience. I want to go to a coptic orthodox church for comparison because there a few things that seemed like they were carry overs from the novus ordo.
ReplyDeleteThe pastor also seemed a bit gruff... = /
Thank you for sharing your experiences, Carlos! I wonder how much was cultural or just that priest/parish in comparison to the wider Coptic tradition. If you find out more, please let us know! I'll see what more I can find as well.
ReplyDeleteI am very interested in the coptic tradition, especially in light of Patriarch Naguib's new prominence. I also feel there is a fealty and closeness wit the coptic tradition that Byzantines have over the other orientals due to the heavy influence of the desert fathers and the Alexandrian theologians. I would greatly appreciate more posts on the small but significant coptic catholic church!
ReplyDeleteI'll make sure that's in one of the upcoming interview pitches, then. Thanks for letting me know about your interests!
ReplyDeleteI've just visited Coptic Orthodox Churches so far, but am happy to see the Coptic rite getting attention. The more I get to know it, especially being from a Byzantine background, the more I think it's an important key for understanding the Tradition for all of us. It's the most similar to the Byzantine of all the Oriental rites, but that very fact also makes the differences all the more instructive.
ReplyDeleteI also have the blessing of working with a Coptic organization that operates throughout Egypt, primarily through church-based volunteers who visit the homes of the fatherless and widow in their areas, and connect them to various resources to break the cycle of poverty.
I do so as a non-Egyptian because I want to strengthen the Body of Christ in Egypt, so that the local church is best able to “persevere in faith and witness to non-violence that comes from the Gospel" (as Pope Benedict XVI said) and continue to be salt and light in Egyptian society. Especially now in light of everything that has happened in Egypt this month.
Coptic Orphans is available to speak in churches about the situation in Egypt. I personally have chosen to sponsor a child in Egypt as a way to encourage and support the Egyptian Body of Christ through an individual family.