- Aug 27, 2014
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(c. 7th century icon on the walls of the Red Monastery, near Sohag, est. 4th century)
Abba Shenouda ("the Great", "the Archmandrite", "of Atripe", "of the White Monastery") is one of the greatest saints of all time, and certainly one of the greatest of the Coptic Orthodox Church who I suspect is largely unknown to outsiders/Chalcedonians. He is technically pre-Chalcedonian, though if the traditional account of his life given in Church and supported by documents like his Vita written by his disciple St. Besa (a.k.a. Abba Wisa), he technically lived through that time, living from c. 347-465. He was in attendance at Ephesus, but is probably more famous as the abbot of the White Monastery near Tanta and Sohag, established by his uncle St. Pigol in 442 AD.
Outside of his Vita, which is widely available thanks to a translation published by Cistercian Publications in the early 1980s, there are several academic sources on his writings (which were all in Sahidic Coptic, his native language; he is considered the father of theology in Coptic, though he received classical Greek education as many of our early saints did), a few dealing with Shenoutian pseudographia, etc. More recently, there is the book Selected Discourses of Shenoute the Great: Community, Theology and Social Conflict in Late Antique Egypt by David Brakke and Andrew Crislip (Cambridge Uni. Press, 2015), from which I will quote here, retaining the headings as supplied by the authors. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to know Coptic Orthodox theology as it was expressed before, during, and after the Chalcedonian schism by a true son and father of the Egyptian Church.
Against Nestorius
[....] But as for him whom the world-ruler of the dark bound in his thoughts, Nestorius, this fox did not stand firmly at all against the council that took place in Ephesus through the blessed and God-fearing bishops, and did not prevail over them, saying about Christ, "He is a man in whom God dwells," and, "After he was born of Mary, the Word entered him." For he spoke in this way, "If you examine all the scriptures, both Old and Newe, you will not find the one who was crucified called 'God.'" And also, "Jesus said to his disciples, 'Touch me, and see; no ghost has bone or flesh, as you see that I have.' Thus were he God" -- he (Nestorius) said -- "he (Jesus) would say, 'Touch me and see that I am a spirit and I am God." But why did he not understand this, that he did not say, "Look at the hands and the feet simply of a man,", but he said, "My own feet and hands," not separating the body from the divinity? As also the one who touched him confessed, "My Lord and my God," in accordance with what has been said elsewhere, "What was since the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with [our] eyes and have perceived, and our hands have touched."
You see that it is the Word that has existed from the beginning whom they touched with the hand, and he is not simply a human like us. And also it was said about him, "They will look upon the one whom they have pierced," without the divinity having been separated at all from the body. This also, regarding "Eloi, Eloi, lema sabakhtanei,", he (Nestorius) said, "It is the flesh that cries out against the divinity 'Why have you abandoned me?' and, "The divinity ascended to the height and he left the flesh on the cross." For he said in his writings, "As for he who cries out, 'My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?' I worship him together with the divinity, because he was joined with it." But the word of the Apostle refutes his foolishness: "It is the Lord of glory whom they crucified"*, and, "You have killed the author of life." He did not say, "He is a man joined to a God." And also, "This one, being in the form of God, was obedient unto death", not because the nature of divinity died, but in the flesh he died, as it is written, "As for Christ, he suffered in the flesh." For also divinity was not separated from the body while it was on the cross. Understand this by a current example. When a person has been killed, do they say, "A body was killed?" Do they not say, "The whole person was killed," although the soul does not die, but rather it is only the body that dies? So for the Lord. He died in the flesh, but is immortal in his divinity. For in this way he said, "He shared in blood and flesh," as we have said many times, "The Word became flesh."
(* footnotes 109-114 at original, applying to scriptural quotes and allusions: cf. 1 Cor 2:8; cf. Acts 3:15; cf. Phil 2:6, 8; cf. 1 Pet 4:1; cf. Heb 2:14; cf. John 1:14)
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The Son's begetting from the Father
[....] For it is enough for the wise and the truly faithful to understand that the Son exists with the Father and the Holy Spirit prior to all creation, before the archangels and all the angels, and the powers, and the rulers, and the authorities, and the seraphim and the cherubim, and every spirit, and all the others, and heaven and earth and those in them. [....] As for words of this sort, the man of God in truth, Apa Athanasius the archbishop of Alexandria, also convicted disturbers because of them: "Why do you dare to perceive that which even the angels do not know? For creatures will not be able to describe the birth of the creator," and, "It is enough for you to know that the Father begat the Son before the ages, but to say how, no one knows. For it is written, 'Who will describe his generation?'* No one knows the Father except the Son, and no one knows the Son except the Father who begat him." And testifying further about the preexistent, he says, "If you give yourself over to these satanic words and inquiries, you will turn aside from God, like all heresies now, and everyone that the Church anathematizes."
(* footnote 153 at original: cf. Isa 53:8)
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Elsewhere in the same discourse, St. Shenouda quotes from the 16th festal letter of HH St. Theophilus (r. 384-412), though this is given as a parenthetical note (163) rather than provided in translation. Also the exact work of HH St. Athanasius quoted here is not cited. I provide what I can to show that the great saint was familiar with and following the teachings of the fathers who would have been among his contemporaries (HH St. Athanasius the Apostolic being pope in his childhood, and HH St. Theophilus later on).
Single nature of the Father and the Son
And lest I delay in these things, it is clear that when we say "Jesus," we name the Trinity of a single nature. But the heretics have said, "Show us this text where 'of a single nature' is written in the scriptures." You tell me from what scriptures have you come to know that the Son is different from the Father in his nature, as you describe him, "of a different nature," which is that which is different in his nature. But you have nothing to say. Therefore abandon your accursed and false words and take up the truth. For is the Gospel not the head of the scriptures? Listen to the Lord saying, "I and my Father are one." For when he says, "I and my Father," he reveals the essences. And when he says, "We are one," he signals the unity of his nature, that it is a single nature, which is homoousion. So even if he says, "My Father is greater than I, " let them not think impieties. For they proclaim this, arguing that no doubt he is greater in honor and glory, and he is different from him in his nature. Let them understand that it is this same glory; it is this same honor; it is this same nature of the Father and the Son, as we have shown from the scriptures.
(* footnotes for scriptural quotes in this section, #148 and 149: John 10:30 and John 14:28, respectively.)
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That is enough to consider for now. I hope this is edifying or at least interesting. St. Shenouda is my baptismal saint, and it is a shame that he is not better known outside of the Orthodox Churches of Egypt and perhaps Ethiopia and Eritrea...I would assume he is known there given the close historical connection of Egypt's Church and that of Axum, but I don't actually know if he is in their synaxarium or not; he is found in the Coptic Synaxarium on the 7th of Abib -- the date of his departure, July 14 -- and again in Pashons/Bashans 7 on April 2nd for his nativity (which is also the day we commemorate the passing of HH St. Athanasius the Apostolic), and I think once more for the consecration of a church bearing his name, the day and details of which I cannot remember or find.
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