Coptic Orthodox Church

And we've seen this happen over and over.

Egypt was a Christian nation for 600 years, and now it's only 10% Christian, and the Coptic Christian lifestyle has diminished significantly.

They are driven underfoot as a second-class citizen, and they don't have their equal set of rights.

In your lifetime, we've seen the same thing happening with Lebanon.

of people that don't know, St.

Mark from the Gospel, from the New Testament, the one who wrote the chapter of Mark, he traveled to Egypt within 10 years of the crucifix and he brought Christianity to Alexandria.

And that's when Coptic Christianity was born.

So St.

Mark is the forefather of Coptic Christianity in Egypt.

This was about 42 AD, like within 10 years of Christ and the crucifixion.

And because of that timeline, that's why a lot of people say that at that time, when there was there was still like a lineage of the ancient Egyptians, one of the first religions that came to the country was called the Christian.

was within 10 years of creation.

They might more easily bear it.

It's a tough thing to be a Christian.

It's even tougher to be a disciple, a successor of the apostle.

But nonetheless, grace is given.

And instead, we're backing off from that and backing off from that to the point that it's like, what's the point of the church then? What is the church for? It's just go, go do your thing.

Be Muslim, be Buddhist, be atheist, I guess.

Be, you know, nominally Christian, be non-denominational.

And we shouldn't bother any of them.

[gentle music] I didn't see the faith of my dad making him a better person.

I, I saw people who were Coptic Christian who were better people than the Muslims.

But then when I was in Canada, I'd see atheists who were better than both the Copts and the Muslims.

What my faith told me was if you are Muslim, you'd be better than everyone else, and at the very least, the people who are other monotheistic, Coptics, and Jews, and all those people, will be better than the atheists.

There's Bibles everywhere.

And then people think that's a good thing.

I th- and it could be a good thing- But not everyone is a Christian.

Not everyone believes the same thing.

It does not seem possible to assign a date.

The Paradosis of Pilate It has been well remarked by the author of the article in the Quarterly Review above referred to that the early church looked on Pilate with no unfavorable eye, that he is favorably shown in the catacombs, that the early fathers interpreted him as a figure of the early church and held him to be guiltless of Christ's death, that the creeds do not condemn him, and the Coptic church has even made him a saint.

He remarks also that Dante finds punishments for Caiphus and Annas, but not for Pilate.

The text was first edited by Burch and afterwards by Thilo.

Chapter 30 Now a certain Jewish schoolmaster named Zacchaeus heard Jesus thus speaking, and seeing that he could not be overcome, for knowing the power that was in him, he became angry and began rudely and foolishly and without fear to speak against Joseph.

And he said, Dost thou not wish to entrust me with thy son, that he may be instructed in human learning and in reverence? But I see that Mary and thyself have more regard for your son than for what the elders of the people of Israel say against him.

You should have given more honor to us, the elders of the whole church of Israel, both that he might be on terms of mutual affection with the children, and that among us he might be instructed in Jewish learning.

Joseph, on the other hand, said to him, And is there anyone who can keep this child and teach him? But if thou canst keep him and teach him, we by no means hinder him from being taught by thee those things which are learned by all.

I'm Ahab.

We're in St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in London.

And I can't believe we're in chapter 20 of Exodus.

How are we going to talk about this? This is so

Obviously, we're not worshipping the icon itself.

We're worshipping who it presents.

I know the same principle applies, but in the Orthodox Church we don't generally have statues.

We have icons, as they are almost a keyhole into the eternal, a keyhole into a different reality.

So if they had not done that, then Christianity would have died in its cradle.

For those people who don't know, what is the Coptic religion? What were Coptic Christianity?

Coptic religion is the religion of Egypt.

10% of the people are Christians.