Below is a translation I have done introducing the works and person of Fr. Athanasios Henein, a convert from Monophysitism. Although he spent many years in “captivity”, as he himself says, he responded to Christ when He called to him to enter into Life, Orthodoxy; he diligently sought Christ and found Him. For my part I was so impressed by his words that I had to share such a wonderful, if small, taste of his conversion story. I would translate more if I could find the whole account. Enjoy!
(Source)
An Introduction to the Works and Person of Fr. Athanasios Henein:
Given such a miraculous event, instead of writing a preface ourselves, it is better for Fr. Athanasios to speak for himself, in his own words, about his blessed conversion into Life, the Truth – which exists only in the One Catholic and Apostolic Church, our Orthodox Church.
We praise God for his wonderful work and wish Fr Athanasios, through the intercessions of the Theotokos and of all the saints, the blessing and mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ and His support for him and his family. We also thank him for his confidence and the texts he sends us. Eventually we will post both the Greek and Arabic versions to benefit souls and glorify the Lord.
Fr. Athanasios in his own words:
Many speak of heresy, many write about the condition, but few are those who have tasted the bitterness of heresy, and fewer still those who have lived and shed blood to free themselves from its captivity.
Heresy is a way of life, it is a great prison, it is a mental, as well as physical, illness. I, Athanasios Henein, lived these tragic events as the head of the Coptic community in Athens for fifteen years. Copts divide the person of Christ and abolish His inter-human reality and His realistic presence in the world and in the Church.
But the miracle of my healing and conversion to our Mother, the Orthodox Church, was by the grace of the Triune God and the practical love of His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Piraeus, the Cretan Elder Methodius, and the fathers of the Holy Monastery of the Resurrection.
The words you will read, dear readers, are a confession of faith, and gratitude. But they are also an appeal for us to work together to help ordinary Copts (of which 15 thousand live in Athens) to experience the beauty of Orthodoxy.
(To read Fr. Athanasios’ articles in English, French, Arabic or Greek see HERE.)
Christ is in our midst!
Dear beloved in Christ Matushka Constantina, what a joy it is to meet other zealous Christians over cyberspace, especially fellow Canadians! I pray that both your and the studies of Father Deacon will help edify the body of Christ, and bring others to true worship and union with the Trinity.
Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Paul and I am a reader in the Coptic Orthodox Church. I am also currently undertaking a Masters in Theological Studies in Orthodox at the University of Toronto. So humbly accept my thoughts as an informed Copt on the matters that divide our two Churches (not that I will focus of that topic).
First, let me say that I consider myself a son in Christ to Fr. Athanasios Henein. Without a doubt, Fr. Athanasios is an unparalleled first class erudite and genuine lover of Godly truth. I’ve benefited greatly from his articles, and I also find him rather inspiring. And I imagine by extension, that both you and Father Deacon are of the same caliber of people as Fr. Athanasios… making me have a huge sense of respect for your theological, spiritual insights, and undoubtedly the honour associated with the worthy service you and your husband have committed yourselves too.
I don’t want comment on what seems to be the perennial argument of EO misunderstanding of OO Church theology, though I will make two points on this issue and then I will discuss the crux of the issue behind your blog post as it can be seen from another perspective.
1) Using pejorative terms like ‘monophysite’ are a tragic misunderstanding of the Oriental Orthodox Church’s Christology, and in many ways reflects an uniformed opinion (a common and unfortunate misnomer which precipitates within Chalcedonian circles)… in a nut shell, the Coptic Orthodox Church affirms the union of Christ’s humanity (consubstantial to us) and divinity (consubstantial to the Godhead) in one hypostasis. We also affirm in the four famous negative adverb-statements which were included in the Chalcedonian definition of faith ‘without division, without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration” (Basically a condemnation of Nestorianism, Apollanarism, and Eutychian Monophsitism)… this isn’t a secret hidden in a dusty book, this is proclaimed every liturgy by the priest in the ‘confession’ which is said just before the faithful partake of the Holy Eucharist (it’s the very last prayer the priest prayers audibly before communion). So both families affirm one in the same Christological faith… not to mention that this has also been affirmed in the Documents of Reconciliation that were published a number of years ago.
2) It is a fact which can’t be denied, the Coptic Orthodox Church has been held “under water” theologically for centuries. Theological study suffered under Islamic repression, coupled with the pressure of the expansion of Western missionary activities in the East. This characteristic of spotty theological knowledge among many Copts (but certainly not all Copts) was not unknown in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Under the Ottoman captivity, many Eastern Orthodox countries under went the same sort of theological confusion. It is known that at certain moments in history, priests in Russia were so ill-equipped and unversed in theological study that they were unable to deliver sermons, because they were ignorant of the basic tenets of the faith. Thankfully, the Lord is gracious, and he has blessed the Orthodox Church with a theological revival during the past century. Theologically, the Coptic Orthodox Church might be downstream from their Eastern brethren, and through healthy dialogue, the Coptic Orthodox community will once again bear the same theological and spiritual fruit it once produced during the first few centuries of Christendom.
However, the crux of the problem is this; articles such as these are diversify, destructive, hurtful, and utterly void of any truth and love. (I am not saying you meant to publish such an article from these feelings. I know and wholeheartedly believe that you being a co-servant to the Church through the role of your husband, reveals without a doubt that you are a God-fearing and very loving person). Like the older son in the parable of the prodigal son, articles similar to these depict a Church/person who takes more pride in supposedly being in the father’s house, but from their fruits they prove that they don’t love him. Rather, they pride themselves on being more worthy of some sort of grace or honour because they see themselves as having never left the father. You’d imagine (if that were true), such a righteous older brother would eagerly watch with his father for the return of the younger brother. Or even better, perhaps the ideal older brother of the prodigal son would honour his father by not only taking a passive approach to receiving his brother, but perhaps even go as far as looking for him, and writing to him, discussing with him the beauty, truth, and love of their father’s house.
Articles like this one above one create hurt and strife more for its intended audience than for whom it might be attacking. Outside of myself, how many other OO people do you suppose are trolling the internet reading articles like these? And of the few that might… could those untrue and hurtful misrepresentations convince someone of the beauty of the Eastern Orthodox Church (which, might I add, is a Church with a beauty beyond words… truly no eye has seen, nor ear heard). The only people who might read and reflect on articles like these, are individuals in the EOC who have turned spirituality into a type of nationalistic convention… something to be patriotic about, but not something genuinely felt. A person who resonates with those sorts of feelings, would read the above and think “those heretics when will they learn” and perhaps their minds will percolate with other like thoughts. Rather than drawing them into great union with the divine, they indulge their scared humanity and read the ‘tabloid news’ of our Church. So in reading these things, a person swells with feelings of pride and resentment towards others, and rather than heap blessings upon its reader, it arouses the passions and plunges the reader into the abyss of ignorance. You can see how these feelings of pride and indifference towards ones brother is analogous to the ‘older brother,’ who in the end was found less faithful than the ‘younger prodigal brother.’ I humbly suggest as a younger brother that you consider removing this post out of your love of our Lord… desiring the higher things, and drawing all people unto Him.
Please forgive me if I’ve offended you in anyway, I throw myself at your feet asking for your forgiveness. I sincerely mean no harm, only to create understanding and to build bridges. Fr Athanasios is a worthy model for all people, Copts and Greeks alike… and without a doubt, the story of his amazing journey to the Eastern Orthodox Church was one made out of love! And surely the gravity of the story is nuanced in many ways; to simplify it would only leave a person with a partial picture. May God continue to guide and guard you and Father Deacon always.
With love, your younger brother in Christ
Paul
Thank for you comment, Paul.
First, I must say that I cannot take down this post. It is the experience of Fr. Athanasios. Out of love for his people, the Coptic people, he said the above. Out of my own love for our own flock – the Orthodox faithful – and out of a love for the Coptic church, I wanted to share a perspective that is rarely spoken of in our times.
Secondly, I am sorry if the word “monophysite” offends some. But the Holy Ecumenical Councils of the Orthodox Church label it a heresy with this title. I do obedience to my Church. I don’t believe the Fathers “got it wrong” and just didn’t have enough information to understand coptic theology. I believe the Holy Fathers were and are vessels of the Holy Spirit and make decisions only with His inspiration working.
May the God of all enlighten us to follow Him – the Truth, the Way, and the Life – even in the midst of the darkness of this world!
Matuskha, love does not cause dissention… intentionally posting skewed information can never come from love. As you of course know, Christ called Himself “the Truth,” and John the theologian described God as love. By distorting the truth you must also surely be distorting the concept of love. Posts like these promote a sense of condensing pride, indifference, and maintain the status-quo of ignorance on the part of some in the EO toward the OO. And to somehow claim amid all of this, that posting such an article on your blog is an action of “love” seems rather inaccurate.
I agree with you, we should follow the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils. Did Chalcedon depose Dioscorus for Christological errors? The answer is no, he was deposed on administrative grounds. Please refer to Anatolius of Constantinople who makes that abundantly clear in the minutes of the Council. (I can provide you with the citation if you’d like). It wasn’t till years later that the pejorative of ‘monophysite’ was later added to the Copts. Also, any book will inform you that the Fathers of the Coptic Orthodox Church condemned the Monophysite heresy of Eutyches well before that term ‘Monophysite’ was placed on the Church.
Thank God He has abounded us with understanding… rather than take something at face value, I encourage you to “come and see.” The OO is no more Eutychian than the EO is Nestorian, but like I said, don’t take me at my word, “come and see.”
Matuskha the term ‘monophysite’ isn’t offensive, just ignorant. If you want to maintain divisions continue doing what it is you’re doing, and assign labels to people willy-nilly. Nobody in Egypt is loosing sleep over what they are being called. But like I said in the previous post, you are teaching a new generation of children to divide rather than embrace. Rather than encouraging these young people to develop their spirituality based on a love of God, propaganda messages such as this one creates a foundation of pseudo-spirituality based on a type of patriotic love for their faith, rather than a genuine love of God.
Even if those accusations monophysite beliefs were indeed true, and that we (Copts) do worship a confused Christ whose humanity was dissolved into His divinity, and somehow the Godhead became passible in addition to with whatever other stuff you might claim we say; do you actually imagine your post will draw someone away from their ‘heresy’ by pointing out how bad their Church is? Highly unlikely. In fact, you’re doing two things 1) you’re placing a wedge between the persons you’re trying to reach out to and the Church so you clearly love and 2) you are also implictly making Eastern Orthodox tradition seem weak because its greatest strength is that “it isn’t like those other guys”… can you imagine Coke saying “Pepsi tastes bad that’s why you should drink Coke”? How silly! Isn’t the beauty of the EO good enough that it speaks to everyone without needing to bash? Whatever happened to “Taste and see the Lord is good”… and the communion hymn “Taste the fountain of immortality.”? God invites, He isn’t insecure and He certainly does not need to people to distort the truth about other Churches in order to draw people to Him. These sorts of ignorant mudslinging tactics are resevered for those who do not have God in their Church. (Again I’d like to point out that I can personally attest to the fact that the liturgical spirit of EO opens paradise on Earth, and your representation of the Church in the above post should not trip up any Copt from visiting a parish and benefiting from the theology, thought, and spirituality of the EO… I encourage it)
One final note perhaps we can all learn from, comes from Vladyka Anthony Bloom of blessed memory who used to turn away all converts to the Orthodox Church who were trying to flee the “bitterness” of their traditions, and he made it clear that he would only receive people into the Orthodox faith who loved God and desired union with Him, not people who reprised their former beliefs or Church structure. His Eminence clearly recognized the beauty of Orthodoxy… and I could never imagine he would endorse, or even see a need for such a blog post. Orthodoxy does not need to ‘score points’ by playing underhandedly, its magnificence speaks for itself!
Paul, I must insist on the point that the consensus of the Orthodox Church is to view Dioscorus and Severus as heretics, anathamized by the Orthodox Church. No matter what our modern logic tells us, the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men. So, there are only two choices: 1. I reject the teachings of the Holy Fathers and follow philosophical accounts, or 2. I state, together with generations of faithful, that we accept the teachings of the Fathers: “As the Prophets saw, as the Apostles taught, as the Church has received, as the Teachers express in dogma, as the inhabited world understands together with them, as grace illumines, as the truth makes clear, as error has been banished, as wisdom makes bold to declare, as Christ has assured, so we think, so we speak, so we preach, honouring Christ our true God, and his Saints, in words, in writings, in thoughts, in sacrifices, in churches, in icons, worshipping and revering the One as God and Lord, and honouring them because of their common Lord as those who are close to him and serve him, and making to them relative veneration” (from the Synodikion of Orthodoxy). I choose the latter.
Furthermore, one does not act in love when he keeps quiet while another is ill. It is love to direct him to seek treatment, just as Fr. Athanasios does in the above article. And yes, I do believe that the above could very well help someone come to Orthodoxy. I know more people who converted to Orthodoxy confronted with its hard truths (such as it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church), than from “bitterness” with their past religion, or even because Orthodoxy is “beautiful”.
Since you make a lot of assumptions and accusations about my motives I don’t think we have anymore to discuss on the topic. To finish I’d just like to point out Christ taught: “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matt. 10:34).
I am a Copt and I’d like to say that I am surprised to read that someone of the calibre of Fr. Athanasios would make such a false statement that “Copts divide the person of Christ and abolish His inter-human reality and His realistic presence in the world and in the Church.” This is simply not true. In fact it was St. Cyril of Alexandria who vehemently fought for the unity of Christ. Furthermore, the writings of our fathers emphasize the humanity of our Lord and His work in the world. I don’t know why Fr. Athansios would make such statements.
Finally, I’d like to say that such statements like “Monophysites do not think of themselves as members of the Orthodox Church in any way” serve no purpose but to give the author a sense of self satisfaction, which is contrary to the christian spirit.
Kyrrillos, thanks for your comment. I made the above statement because I was surprised to read what Fr. Athanasios said myself and thought that he spoke from experience and knowledge of the coptic faith. It was perhaps ignorant and naive of me to make the assumption that all Copts think that way. I have now removed that statement from the post. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.
I would encourage you, and anyone perplexed by Fr. Athanasios’ words, to contact him personally and ask him about his views.
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