The Seven Last Words of a Dying Church

As part of my ecumenical ministry, I meet church leaders from a variety of backgrounds and traditions.  Many of them are usually curious about the history and traditions of the Coptic Orthodox Church which gives me a chance to witness to the glories of my beloved Church.  One common question that almost always arises concerns youth ministry in the Church and if there were any youth still actively involved in the Church life.  To this question I always respond with thankfulness that while there are certainly some challenges to the youth ministry, yet the church is fertile with the active participation of not only the youth but also children, young adults, young couples, baby boomer generation, grandparents, and even great-grand parents.  The inter-generational nature of our Church is a point of strength and pride which is both cherished and celebrated. 

On one occasion, a prominent church leader asked me with wonder in his eyes about how the Coptic Church can maintain such an efficient ministry which satisfies the spiritual needs of all these generations in a changing world of modern thought and technology.  I responded by giving God the glory first and foremost, then, attributed the success to strong family ties, and to the respect and honour of the Holy Scriptures.  Yet, one thing that really stood out in my mind which I mentioned was the leadership and paternal care of our Pope H. H. Pope Shenouda III who has transformed the Coptic Church in a manner of a few decades into a bee hive where every individual is proud to belong and participate in its life and ministry.  During the papacy of H. H. Pope Shenouda III, the Church has flourished and changed from a local into a global Church, from an ethnic into a multicultural church, and from virtually being unknown into a world leader in theological, missiological, and pastoral education. 

With almost teary eyes, the church leader pondered at his Church, which was one day flourishing but in the past four decades has lost most of its members worldwide, and asked me, “Do you know what the last seven words of a dying church are?”  He continued by saying, they are “We never did it this way before.” Upon further examination of the meaning of this phrase, he explained that he attributed the decline in their membership to a few reasons linked to the resistance of their Church to change and the lack of strong flexibility to understand the underlying cultural challenges and shifts which have occurred in present times. He said that Church life became irrelevant to the younger generations as certain members insisted on some older traditions which were linked to their culture and not their faith.  As culture became more prominent in their eyes and overshadowed faith, the younger generations quietly left the church never to return.

After being engaged in this conversation, I stood back and reflected on the challenges facing western churches and how they have lost their future in losing their youth.  It became more pressing for me to think about the future of my Church so that one day I wouldn’t have to speak with someone and say, “One day in the past, my church was…”  I pondered at the Coptic Church today and saw apparent changes as compared with several decades ago; but what were the changes which occurred?  Not changes in theology, doctrine, or faith but rather an enthusiasm for evangelism, mission and outreach.  As the Church begins to spread and to be known across the globe, it is faced with the challenges of culture, customs, languages, and traditions.  A key challenge for the Church is to differentiate between orthodox faith, doctrine, and theology versus culture, customs, and traditions of the adopted homelands.
 
Let us consider some of the challenges that faced the early Church and how, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the apostles were able to maintain unity while addressing the need to adapt to their new adopted cultures.  On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the holy disciples and all those who were gathered in the upper room and made them speak in many different languages (Acts 2:6).  The early Church had proceeded out of the synagogue and all its believers came from a Jewish background.  It wasn’t until St. Peter saw a vision to accept the Gentiles into the faith that a door was opened for Cornelius, his household, and anyone else who would believe in the Lord Christ (Acts 10: 44-48).  A huge discussion then arose between the apostles on the acceptance of the Gentiles in the Church and how much of the Law of Moses was required to be fulfilled by the new Gentile converts before they were fully assimilated into the faith.  This led to the first Council of Jerusalem where the apostles concluded that the Gentiles coming into the Christian faith would not have any greater burden laid upon them, such as the necessity to be circumcised, but rather that they should “abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality” (Acts 15: 28, 29).  This was a major shift from Judaism to Christianity and a clear indication of the first century Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to recognize and accept the Gentiles into the faith with different terms than their Jewish counterparts. The fact that they were not circumcised or kept certain tenets of the Law did not put them at a disadvantage but in this case it was their faith in Jesus Christ that was more important. They were still required to abstain from certain sinful behaviours and partaking of sacrifices offered to idols.  

After the conversion of Cornelius and his household, it was clear that the early Church was starting to spread from a Jewish world into a Hellenic (Greek speaking) culture.  The tensions continued in the early Church as some Judaizers (Jewish teachers coming from Jerusalem and claiming that new converts should uphold the Mosaic Law and traditions) came to Galatia and started teaching against the gospel of grace that St. Paul had previously preached (Gal 1:6).  St. Paul called them “false brethren…who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus that they might bring us into bondage” (Gal 2:4).  It was also apparent in St. Paul’s preaching in Athens how he was extremely familiar with their culture which enabled him to easily translate the message of the Hebrew God to the Greek culture.  In Acts 17, St. Paul had a philosophical discussion with the Epicureans and the stoics (18), identified the pagan altar to the “Unknown God” and made the connection with the God whom he was coming to preach (23), and quoted their own poets so that his preaching would be relevant to their ears (29). There is no doubt also that the early Church’s use of the Greek language, rather than Hebrew or Aramaic, to proclaim the message, made it that much easier and more relevant to the hearers to understand, accept, and live by.

It is amazing to hear the story of preaching Christianity to Ethiopia in the fourth century and how St. Athanasius the Apostolic (20th Pope of Alexandria enthroned from 328A.D. – 373 A.D.) had a vision which was both theologically and culturally sound to propagate the faith in this land. When Frumentius and Aedesius were washed to shore after their shipwreck on the Ethiopian coast, they were taken to the royal palace where they became the king’s private secretary and cupbearer respectively . Frumentius became the private teacher of the child prince Ezan, the son of King Ella Amida, and had the opportunity to teach Prince Ezan basic tenants of Christianity. After a while, the two brothers Frumentius and Aedesius were permitted to travel back to their homeland, Tyre in Phoenicia (modern Lebanon), went through the Nile and stopped in Egypt to meet with St. Athanasius the Apostolic. There, they requested of the saint to send missionaries to Ethiopia where the ground was fertile for the indigenous peoples to accept the faith. St. Athanasius in his wisdom wanted to ordain someone who would know the true Orthodox faith, be familiar with the language, culture, and traditions of the land. Through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, he ordained St. Frumentius, who became known as Bishop Salama, as the first bishop and missionary to Ethiopia. The newly ordained bishop preached the Orthodox faith, theology, and dogma but permitted the people to express them in a way which was culturally relevant.  It is still refreshing to witness an Ethiopian service that is embedded with their native cultural signs, musical instruments, and language while being assured that they are one with us in the faith and we can both share in the most holy sacraments.

In the past thirty years, the Coptic Church has had a revolutionary expansion in sub-Sahara Africa, in South America, Asia, and in the Far East. I have witnessed the amazing revival that is occurring in the Coptic churches in Africa which is being conducted in their native languages, with their indigenous priests, and with their own native musical instruments. In some cases, I saw parishioners using a tin can and a copper wire to make a musical rhythm while others used empty Coca-Cola bottles with some stones in them as shakers. In all, I could witness to the authenticity in worship of these people as I was sure that the Lord was looking at them with a smile.

Recently, we have also witnessed the increasing role that women played in edifying the community of believers such as being members on the church Board of Deacons, in their ordination as deaconesses, and in leadership and training for various responsibilities. We are also encouraged by the ecumenical movement that is occurring within the Church and the understanding that denominations and religions should have mutual respect and love in discussing their differences while stressing on their common goals and finding solutions for their common struggles. Finally, it is enlightening to see our Church move from an ethnocentric community into a multicultural church where people of all nations, cultures, and tongues are welcomed, loved, and respected. Along with this embracing attitude, comes the challenge of reviewing our cultural biases, practices, and traditions. In doing so, a new vision will emerge for the future Church which is theologically as well as culturally relevant to its parishioners and to its adopted homeland.

In all truth, I am extremely optimistic about the prospects of our Church moving towards a bright future. All this would not have been possible without the vision and love of its strong leader, H.H. Pope Shenouda III. We pray for the Pope’s life and health through the intercession of the holy Theotokos St. Mary, St. Maurice, and St. Verena. Amen.

Fr. Pishoy Salama