Deification within the Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Context: Fr Matta Al-Miskin and Pope Shenouda III - Ramsey Andrews PDF
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Deification within the Contemporary Coptic Orthodox Context: Fr Matta Al-Miskin and Pope Shenouda III – Ramsey Andrews PDF

$15.00

The AIOCS “Beginnings” Series

ISBN 978-0-6484401-7-8 (ebook)

Available for purchase in PDF format

Abstract:

The Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Church is currently shaken by a debate regarding divine participation, which began as a disagreement between Pope Shenouda III (1923–2012) and Fr Matta Al-Miskin (1919–2006). In short, Fr Matta used the terminology of deification, whereas Pope Shenouda maintained that no church father had ever condoned this doctrine. The present study analyses and compares their views in critical manner, against the backdrop of their respective sources. Specifically, while Fr Matta’s teaching on deification draws upon late antique Alexandrian theology, Pope Shenouda’s views echo the Coptic-Arabic literature of medieval times and modernity, especially its controversies with Muslim scholars. This study argues that, although the concept of deification could complicate the relations between Christians and Muslims in Egypt, many Coptic Orthodox Christians live now in friendlier environments abroad, where this traditional concept is not controversial. Orthodox Christianity should express itself by the traditional concept of deification where possible—and without it where its use proves to be counterproductive. As such, this study proposes implementing a plurivocal Orthodox approach that avoids theological reductionism in favour of either of the two views, aiming to seek unity of faith rather than uniformity of expressions.

Author’s bio:

Ramsey Andrews is a registered practising psychologist based in Sydney, Australia, with academic training in theology, holding a Master of Theological Studies. His approach integrates psychological insight and theological depth. Drawing from his professional experience, Ramsey brings a thoughtful and measured approach to areas where belief, identity, and community intersect. His theological focus is anchored in the patristic tradition, with a growing engagement in Arabic Christian authors within the Coptic Orthodox heritage. This short book is written for believers who seek clarity amid confusion, aiming to address theological misunderstandings that caused tension and division within the Coptic Church. Written with scholarly rigour but in an accessible style, this study aims to inform and to foster unity, understanding, and faithfulness to the church’s theological foundations.

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Description

Ramsey Andrews writes about a sensitive yet highly consequential dispute within the Coptic Church. Drawing on contemporary studies on deification, which have proliferated since Norman Russell’s groundbreaking work from 2004, Andrews begins with a helpful summary of early patristic teaching. He goes on to present how the deification was taught and understood by Matta Al-Miskin and Pope Shenouda III, accounting for a number of factors including how the patristic texts reached the 20th-century Coptic leaders, often in Arabic translation. Rather than side decisively with either of the two masters, he advocates finding ways to retain helpful emphases within each. This little study may, by God’s grace, contribute to the healing of a rift within the Coptic world; it may also help address one of the obstacles in the relationship between the Coptic Church and the Eastern Orthodox, for whom deification is a crucial doctrine. It will in any case help others better to understand and learn from contemporary Coptic Christianity.
Professor Peter C. Bouteneff
St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary

This little debut work impresses by the courage with which it addresses a central topic of Orthodox soteriology—deification—against the backdrop of polemical stances within the Coptic Orthodox world of today. Andrews identifies two strands of the tradition, one originating in early Christian Alexandria, represented in modern times by Fr Matta Al-Miskin, and the other drawing on the Copto-Arabic appropriation of patristic theology in medieval Islamic Egypt, represented by Pope Shenouda III. These schools of thought consider deification differently but, the author contends, their stances are not irreconcilable. In fact, he proposes a “plurivocal” sense of the tradition as the specific Orthodox way of tackling matters, including deification. In so doing, his work sketches the portrait of a generous Orthodox Christianity, able to embrace diversity within its traditionally recognisable contours.
Very Rev. Professor Doru Costache
Nisibis Assyrian Theological College

The abstract of this book