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Pope formally welcomes new Coptic Catholic patriarch

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The election of retired Bishop Antonios Naguib as patriarch of the Cairo-based Coptic Catholic Church was sealed April 6 when Pope Benedict XVI formally accepted his request for "ecclesial communion." The bishops of the Coptic Catholic Church elected the 71-year-old March 30 to succeed 86-year-old Cardinal Stephanos II Ghattas, who led the church for almost 20 years. As is customary for the patriarchs of the Eastern churches in union with Rome, the newly elected head of the church formally requests communion with the pope. The Vatican published the exchange of letters between Patriarch Naguib and Pope Benedict April 8. Expressing his "fidelity, veneration and obedience" to the pope, the patriarch promised "to be faithful to Our Lord and to do everything I can to serve the flock he has entrusted to me to the best of my ability."

ICXC
NIKA

Dear Friends,

We were out at a Greek restaurant on Saturday and our waiter was a Copt who has just moved here from Egypt five months ago.

He said he was a civil engineer in Egypt but the discrimination against Coptic Christians is so strong that he could not find a job there - his ID card indicates his Coptic Orthodox Christian religion.

He said he and many like him will absolutely NOT change their faith to get a job and otherwise stop being discriminated against.

He is working here as a waiter and is happy to be able to practice his faith openly.

I told him about the Byzantine Forum and said that, on behalf of all of us here, I am proud to congratulate him and to wish him well in his new country as our brother in Christ!

I also told him we will pray for the Church of Egypt.

Alex

Both the Latin Code and the Eastern Code provide that the "Supreme Authority" in the Catholic communion of Churches is the Roman Pontiff, whose office resides in the Bishop of Rome, aka the Pope.

As such, he is the fulcrum in the Catholic Communion.

Patriarchs of the Catholic Patriarchal Churches are elected by their respective Synods, without the active participation of the Pope nor of any other chief hierarch of the other Eastern Catholic Churches.

The concern of Rome points to only the assurance that the canons of the Church (in this regard, the Eastern Code of Canons), as they susbsist, have been followed in the election of the Patriarch, including the rules leading to his election.

After the Patriarch's canonical election, I think the process becomes another level or "zone" altogether. The Eastern Code provides that the newly elected Patriarch should, within a reasonable period of time, issue a formal request for communion with Rome. (I have understood this to be not a mandatory provision, i.e., the newly elected Ptriarch may or may not request such a communion. He can exercise his own free will! But this could be another subject or discussion.)

Note that the newly elected Patriarch, or the Synod, only notifies the other Eastern Catholic Churches of his election.

Do the Coptics believe Pontius Pilate is a Saint?

There is some Eastern Christian Church which teaches that Pilate's wife was a secret follower of Jesus, pointing to Matthew 27:19. Pilate is said to have converted to Christianity after the Resurrection and was martyred in Rome or Spain.

This Eastern Christian Church celebrates the feast day of "Saint Pontius Pilate" on June 25.

I take no position on the issue, but am curious if it is the Coptic Church which teaches it. I know its not the Roman Catholic Church.

JP

"In the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, Pontius Pilate is commemorated as a saint. According to their tradition, he secretly converted to Christianity sometime after the death of Jesus Christ, through the influence of his wife Claudia Procula (see Saint Procula). Pilate and Claudia are both commemorated as saints on June 25. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Claudia Procula is commemorated as a saint, but not Pilate, because in the Gospel accounts Claudia urged Pilate to have nothing to do with Jesus. In some Eastern Orthodox traditions, Pilate committed suicide out of remorse for having sentenced Jesus to death."

I dont know if his feastday is kept in the Coptic Catholic calendar as well.

ICXC
NIKA

Given the very small size of the Coptic-Catholic Church is it useful and Ecumenicaly convenient for Catholics to have a Patriarchate for the Copts in Alexandra?

I mean, the Eastern Catholic Churches of Ukraine and India are much bigger in size and have enough importance to have their own Patriarch or Catholicos, and this has not been accepted.

On the other side, the Coptic Catholic Church seems to be a small latinized community, that looses many members because of marriage with Monophysite Copts or conversion. Why not creating an Archbishophric there?

Just wondering

Abolishing an existing Eastern Catholic Patriarchate is not even to be thought of. What would make excellent sense is to encourage the Coptic Catholic Church to do lots of missionary work in sub-Saharan Africa.

By the way, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (India) does have a Catholicos.

Incognitus

Dear John Patrick,

It is actually only the Ethiopian Orthodox Church that honours Pontius Pilate as a saint - the Coptic Church of Egypt does not.

As a matter of fact, when I met a Coptic Orthodox priest once and told him about this, he was utterly surprised and said, "I've worked with the Ethiopians for 30 years, and I never knew this."

When I spoke to an Ethiopian priest (at a blessing of an icon of the Russian New Martyrs in a private home), I asked him, "Do you actually venerate 'Saint Pontius Pilate?'"

And he smiled broadly and replied, "Yes, don't you?"

In fact, the wife of Pontius Pilate, Claudia Procla, IS venerated as a saint by the Churches of the East, including our UGCC.

I don't know if she is so venerated in the RC Church.

Alex

Incognitus, that'0s unlikely to happen unfortunately, even the Ethiopian Catholic Church (Gheez Rite) is prevented from doing missionary work with its own rite, in the southern part of their country. They must use the modern Roman Rite there.

Who's preventing them?

I think that those old rules have now gone. The problem would be changing the mentality of the Ethiopian & Egyptian Catholics to engage in this kind of work outside of the traditional area. All evangelisation was the preserve of the Latin Rite apart from recruiting from the Orthodox which was the preserve of the various Eastern Rites. This former policy has left the Churches very inward looking and that will take time to change.

ICXC
NIKA

The Syro-Malabar Church head is also Major Archbishop (Catholicos).

I note that neither of the 2 internet sites use the term Catholicos only Major Archbishop. It would be nice if they took it upon themselves to do it. The Malabars are big on the 'Cardinal' stuff and having 'Mass'.

ICXC
NIKA

[SIGH] I know.

Once, when I was trying to figure out whether an English Liturgy was a Mass or a Qurbana, I asked a priest, "Is in the Latin Holy Mass in English, or is it the Syro-Malabar Holy Qurbana in English?" He responded, "It's the Syro-Malabar Holy Mass in English."

And I don't mind that our Major Archbishop is a cardinal. (Many of you may disagree, but I, for one, would like more representation of the Eastern Catholic Churches among the electors of the Pope; I don't particularly care whether the Eastern Catholic electors are called "cardinal" or not.) I just wish my Church wouldn't give the impression that being a cardinal is a bigger deal than being a Major Archbishop.


Alex

The Syro-Malankaras refer to their Catholicos as such openly, their news site is called 'Catholicate News'.