Establishment of the Church/Ecumenical Council
Where did the Coptic Church start? Who started the Church?
Great city of Alexandria, Egypt
St. Mark
What was the Earliest Christian School in the World?
School of Alexandria
Who was the first “Monk”? What inspired him?
Saint Anthony the Great
He entered the church, and it happened the Gospel was being read, and he heard the Lord saying to the rich man Matthew 19:21, 'If you would be perfect, go and sell that you have and give to the poor; and come follow Me and you shall have treasure in heaven.'
How many major and minor Lord feasts are there?
7 major and 7 minor
How long is the Nativity Fast? What is the significance of that number?
we fast 43 days for nativity
40 days; moses received the 10 commandments. and 3 days for mokattam mountain
What happened to St. Mark’s sandal? What did the shoemaker say that started the conversation?
St. Mark entered the city of Alexandria, from the east from the five-western cities. St. Mark began wandering in the streets and roads of Alexandria; he kept walking all day until the straps of his sandals were torn. He went to a shoemaker named Ananias, to mend them for him → Suddenly the awl pricked the shoemaker’s hand and he screamed in pain saying “O One God”. When Ananias suddenly said “O One God”, At this moment, he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Mark felt that the divine providence had caused this incident to happen. He spat on the ground and made a piece of mud and rubbed Ananias’ hand with it saying, “In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ this hand would return whole”. Ananias invited him to visit his house so that he might give his family his blessings.
According to tradition, who started the school? Who was the dean?
Instituted by St. Mark and assigned St. Justus as the Dean
What are the 3 principles of monasticism?
Obedience
Poverty reveals the power of God, “Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have” (Hebrews 13: 5).
Chastity
List the major Feasts of the Lord in the Coptic Orthodox Church?
The Annunciation
The Nativity of Christ
The Epiphany or the Baptism of Christ
Palm Sunday
Easter
Ascension
Pentecost
Why do we fast on Wednesdays and fridays?
Wednesday: commemoration of Christ's betrayal by Judas Iscariot
Friday: commemoration of Christ’s crucifixion.
Name the 3 ecumenical councils, identify their dates, and how many representatives attended each of them
Council of Nicea, 325 AD, 318 representative bishops
Council of Constantinople, 381 AD, 150 representative bishops
Council of Ephesus, 431 AD, 200 representative bishops
What are the disciplines of the school of Alexandria?
Christian Theology
Secular Science
Moral Philosophy
Religious Philosophy
What are the garments of the monks and nuns? And what does it symbolize?
Black color garment, bonnet with 12 crosses on it and and cross in the back
Black color- died of this world and going to their eternal life
12 crosses - for the disciples
Cross in the back- so christ controls their thoughts
List the minor Feasts of the Lord in the Coptic Orthodox Church?
The Circumcision of our Lord
The Entrance of our Lord into the Temple
The Escape of the Holy family to Egypt
The First Miracle of our Lord Jesus at Cana
The Transfiguration of Christ
Thursday of the Holy week. In it we commemorate the establishment of the Sacrament of Eucharist
Thomas’s Sunday
Why do we fast for 55 during the great lent?
1 week for preparation in the beginning
40 days for the days the lord Jesus Christ fasted himself- when Satan was trying to tempt him.
1 week for Holy week
What did the Arius say? Who defends the faith against Arius?
Arius: Arius denied the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ; regarding our Lord Jesus Christ as not consubstantial with the Father but that He was created. He said Jesus is not God; He is something more than human but He can’t be completely God. He thought if we say Jesus is fully God and the father is fully God then that means we worship two Gods and that can’t be true because we worship one God, therefore Jesus in human form must not be fully God. He also thought that God has no beginning, so how come the Son has a beginning and he is God
St. Athanasius
Which Archdeacon led the school of Alexandria in modern times? And who was the pope at that time?
Archdeacon Habib Guirguis
Pope Kyrillos V
What is the oldest monastery in the world?
Saint Anthony Monastery in the Red Sea
n/a
n/a
Why are icons put in the church?
They allow us to surround ourselves with all that is heavenly, reminding us that God has come down among us and His kingdom is truly at hand and is accessible to us.
What are the two heresies at the Council of Constantinople? What was the heresy address at the Council of Ephesus?
Constantinople:
Macedonius Heresy: Denial of the divinity of the Holy Spirit [the Holy spirit is not God]
Apollinarius Heresy: The Son was not fully human, he believed that Christ was without a soul
Ephesus:
The heresy of Nestorius who proclaimed that Christ was two persons and two hypostases, separating the divine and human natures. He believed that St. Mary gave birth to a mere human and that Divinity descended and filled this human; Thus the Virgin Mary would be called the "Mother of Jesus" (Christokos), and not the "Mother of God" (Theotokos).
Which well-known leader graduated from the Clerical School of Alexandria in modern times?
Archdeacon Habib Guirguis
What are the 3 forms of monasticism? and What is the difference?
Monarchism:
The anchorites or hermits lived in complete seclusion, only visiting the abbot when they needed counsel,
Each hermit organized his own prayer, clothing, food and work.
- The Coenobitic System:
The monks lived in a community inside the walls of the monastery, in association with each other, governed by an abbot and by rules.
The Communal System or Semi-eremitic Life:
This form of monasticism is mid-way between monarchism and the coenobitic system. The mode of Saint Anthony’s life. In essence, for the monks lived in separate caves or cells and assembled occasionally for the Divine Liturgy or spiritual meetings.
How many feasts of the cross are there? Mention the dates of each? And what do we celebrate?
Two feasts of the cross
The first feast is on Tout 17, (c. September 27). It commemorates the dedication of the Church of the Holy Cross which was built by Queen Helen, the mother of Emperor Constantine.
The second feast is on Barmahat 10 (c. March 19) and commemorates the discovery of the Holy Cross on the hands of the same empress in A.D 326.
Explain how iconography is not idolatry. Protestants do not believe in the pictures and icons in the Orthodox Church or in the statues in the Catholic Church. They consider them against the second commandment, in which the Lord says: “You shall not make for yourself any carved image."
the veneration of religious artifacts is not a sin. Worship is reserved to the Holy Trinity alone. We do not honor the material from which icons are manufactured but rather the honor pertains to whatever the icon represent (Lord Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary, The cross, saints etc.). Icons are not meant to be worshipped or venerated as something holy in themselves, in the way that idols were; the reverence shown to an icon is not to the artwork, but rather to the person or event which it portrays. An icon is meant to be a window into the spiritual world, used to help the believer to contemplate spiritual matters and to put him into a prayerful frame of mind, as a reminder of events in the Bible, and of the life of Christ and the saints. The centre of the Christian Faith is that “the Word became flesh” (John 1:1), and thus it is not surprising that the loving and merciful face of our Lord Jesus Christ is the subject of many icons.