dzheremi
Coptic Orthodox non-Egyptian
- Aug 27, 2014
- 13,565
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- Oriental Orthodox
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- Private
That's good to hear. I didn't mean to impugn the character of St. Mark's or anyone attending it or serving at it, only to bring it up because that tends to be a very high-profile church, but I'm not sure that it is always known for all the right reasons. I'm glad that your experience there was enriching and without any of the problems that have been manifest there at other times. Perhaps it is okay more generally and the problem was mostly limited to a few priests who either weren't around when you were there, or have since been dealt with. I don't know. I just think it's good to know that there can be these issues out there, but we are dealing with them.
Perhaps as a consequence of their very strong missionary zeal, the Coptic Orthodox Church seems to be confronting these sorts of issues more than others. There is some question among some Egyptians about whether or not "Americanizing" or otherwise adapting to a new homeland should necessarily involve a kind of openness to Western forms of Christianity, which of course in an American context means mostly Protestantism. Our leaders like H.E. Metropolitan Serapion and others are trying to help their flocks navigate these difficult times so as to fight any pernicious outside influences while still remaining open to the wider society. That's why we treat matters like mixed marriage, worship, and these other very important matters as we do, neither being completely closed off nor being so open as to let just anything in. We still have out standards, thanks be to God, even if sometimes we have to have a bit of internal struggling to recover them and/or defend them.
Perhaps as a consequence of their very strong missionary zeal, the Coptic Orthodox Church seems to be confronting these sorts of issues more than others. There is some question among some Egyptians about whether or not "Americanizing" or otherwise adapting to a new homeland should necessarily involve a kind of openness to Western forms of Christianity, which of course in an American context means mostly Protestantism. Our leaders like H.E. Metropolitan Serapion and others are trying to help their flocks navigate these difficult times so as to fight any pernicious outside influences while still remaining open to the wider society. That's why we treat matters like mixed marriage, worship, and these other very important matters as we do, neither being completely closed off nor being so open as to let just anything in. We still have out standards, thanks be to God, even if sometimes we have to have a bit of internal struggling to recover them and/or defend them.
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