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Church History, Part 9

Servants Preparation Curriculum

Lecture 56, Servants Preparation Curriculum

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Church History, Part 9 – Catholic Persecution and Orthodox Teachers

Objectives:

  1. To study The Popes of the 6th century
  2. To learn about The Catholic Persecution of the Coptic Church
  3. To acknowledge some famous Orthodox Teachers – St. Severus and Jacob Baradaeus
  4. To understand the impact of the Persian invasion in The East and The Story of The Cross

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A Review of The 5th Century

  • Pope Leo The 1st of Rome decreed his tome

  • Leo’s Tome, that His Humanity and Divinity coexisted together, without Unity, at The Council of Chalcedon in 451 AD

  • The Church of Rome and Constantinople were at the top and The Alexandrian Church is at the bottom

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Pope Leo The 1st

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Schism/Division in The Church

  • The Western Church (Capital - Rome) follows The Chalcedonian laws and is known as The Catholic Church

  • The Eastern Church (Capital - Constantinople) follows The Chalcedonian laws

  • The Non-Caledonian Church (Oriental - Orthodoxy) does not follow The Chalcedonian laws
    • Egypt, Syria, Ethiopia, Eritrean, and Armenia

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Schism/Division in The Coptic Church

  • Now, Egypt has two different popes: one for The Coptic non-Chalcedonian Church and one for The Chalcedonian Church

  • A wave of persecution was led by The Chalcedonian Church and was supported by the Roman Emperors who swept Egypt and attacked monasteries, priests, and average citizens forcing them to agree on Leo’s tome and the decrees of The Chalcedonian Council

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Church History, Part 9 – Catholic Persecution and Orthodox Teachers

Objectives:

  1. To study The Popes of the 6th century
  2. To learn about The Catholic Persecution of the Coptic Church
  3. To acknowledge some famous Orthodox Teachers – St. Severus and Jacob Baradaeus
  4. To understand the impact of the Persian invasion in The East and The Story of The Cross

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Popes of The 6th Century

  1. John the 1st (9/496- 5/505)
  2. John the 2nd (5/505 - 6/516)
  3. Dioscorus 2nd (6/516 - 10/518)
  4. Timothy the 3rd (11/518 - 2/536)
  5. Theodosius the 1st (2/536 - 7/567)
  6. Peter the 5th (7/567 - 7/569)
  7. Damian (7/569 - 6/605)

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Peaceful Times (496-518)

  1. John the 1st (9/496- 5/505)
  2. John the 2nd (5/505 - 6/516)
  3. Dioscorus 2nd (6/516 - 10/518)
  4. Timothy the 3rd (11/518 - 2/536)
  5. Theodosius the 1st (2/536 - 7/567)
  6. Peter the 5th (7/567 - 7/569)
  7. Damian (7/569 - 6/605)

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Peaceful Time (496 AD - 518 AD)

  • The Coptic Church enjoyed a peaceful time free of dogmatic persecution because the Roman emperors supported the Orthodox Faith during papacy of popes:
    • John 1st
    • John 2nd
    • Dioscorus 2nd

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Forms of Persecution

  • Confiscating the Coptic Churches and handing them over to the Catholic/Roman followers

  • Stealing the altar, utensils (for example: the chalice, the paten), icons, etc.

  • Chasing the priests and the believers

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Persecution From The Chalcedonian Emperors

  • Timothy the 3rd was ousted for 3 years because he refused Pope Leo’s Tome and Rules

  • Pope Theodosius the 1st was ousted for 28 years and replaced by a fake pope: his own archdeacon
  • He spent the last 28 years of his life imprisoned in Upper Egypt (South Egypt)

  • They took Our Churches and gave them to Chalcedonian (Catholic/Melkites/Royal) followers

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Church History, Part 9 – Catholic Persecution and Orthodox Teachers

Objectives:

  1. To study The Popes of the 6th century
  2. To learn about The Catholic Persecution of the Coptic Church
  3. To acknowledge some famous Orthodox Teachers – St. Severus and Jacob Baradaeus
  4. To understand the impact of the Persian invasion in The East and The Story of The Cross

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St. Severus

  • Pope of Antioch/Syria
  • 512 AD - 538 AD

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St. Severus Cont.

  • St. Severus was elected on November 16th, 512 AD as the pope of Antioch/Syria
  • During the consecration ceremony, he affirmed The Councils of Nicaea, Constantinople, and Ephesus
  • He condemned The Chalcedon council as well as Pope Leo’s Tome, and Nestorius’ and Eutyches’ teachings
  • Emperor Justin demanded that St. Severus affirm The Council of Chalcedon, to which he refused
  • The emperor subsequently ordered Irenaeus - Count of The East - to arrest St. Severus and cut out off his tongue

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St. Severus Cont.

  • St. Severus fled Antioch by boat to Alexandria where he was well received by Pope Timothy the 3rd , the 32nd pope
  • He stayed at the Monastery of the Ennaton with Pope Timothy the 3rd
  • He issued many books defending The Orthodox Faith
  • Later, he was requested to attend The Council at Constantinople where they accused him of Nestorianism and banned his books

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El Zogag Monastery

  • He fled Constantinople with the aid of Empress Theodora and returned to Egypt
  • He resided at the residence of Dorotheus in the city of Sakha (Kafr El Sheikh) until his death on February 5th, 538 AD
  • Dorotheus had Severus' body moved to the Zogag (Glass) Monastery: located nine milestones southwest of Alexandria along the coastal road

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More (Catholic) Roman Persecution

  • Pope Peter the 4th, the 34th pope
  • He was ordained in secret and spent his time in the monastery
  • He never visited his people or ordained bishops/priests
    • The number of priests and deacons declined

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More (Catholic) Roman Persecution

  • Pope Damian the 1st, the 35th pope
  • He was Pope Peter’s disciple
  • He spent his time in the monastery (El Natroon region)
  • He never visited his people or ordained bishops/priests

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The Weakening Orthodox Faith

  • The Coptic Orthodox popes and the Antiochian popes were forced to exile
  • The Orthodox Churches were either closed or given away to The Catholic Congregations
  • Many Coptic citizens were murdered by the Roman guards who tried to arrest the pope
  • There is no pope available to ordain new bishops or priests

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A Glimpse of Hope

  • Jacob Baradaeus
  • He was born in Constantinople/Turkey and grew up in a monastery as his father wished
  • He was blessed by Queen Theodora, a non-Chalcedon emperor’s wife

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Jacob Baradaeus

  • He was ordained a general bishop by pope Theodosius for The Orthodox people all over the world

  • He went all over the world preaching The Orthodox Faith while The Orthodox pope and bishops were in exile

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Jacob Baradaeus Cont.

  • 544 AD - 578 AD

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Jacob Baradaeus Cont.

  • He revived The Orthodox Faith in the world
  • He ordained around 100,000 clergy:
    • Deacons, priests, bishops and 2 popes

  • The Catholic Church chased him all over the world and he went in disguise in a beggar’s garb
  • He died close to Alexandria around 578 AD

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The Church and The State

  • The state persecuted the church since the beginning in different forms:
    • St. Mark was martyred
    • Pope Peter the 1st was martyred

  • Many Christians were murdered by mobs, Jews, and atheists

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Attempted Resistance

  • The Coptic revolution against Governor Morris was started by 3 brothers
  • It ended with their hanging and confiscation of their land
  • The Copts were outnumbered by the well-equipped Roman soldiers

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Church History, Part 9 – Catholic Persecution and Orthodox Teachers

Objectives:

  1. To study The Popes of the 6th century
  2. To learn about The Catholic Persecution of the Coptic Church
  3. To acknowledge some famous Orthodox Teachers – St. Severus and Jacob Baradaeus
  4. To understand the impact of the Persian invasion in The East and The Story of The Cross

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The Persian invasion of Egypt�618 AD - 619 AD

  • The Persians/Iranians invaded Egypt and stole valuable treasures, robbed the churches, burned homes, and killed many Egyptians
  • On their way back they stole The Cross from Jerusalem
  • Emperor Heraclius (628 AD) waged a war to expel the Persians and restore The Cross

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Flavius Heraclius - Restored the Cross

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The Discovery of The Cross

  • The story goes back to Emperor Constantine who had a dream about the sign of The Cross and heard a sound telling him, “By this you will conquer”

  • He made The Sign of The Cross on all the military equipment and defeated his enemy
  • He announced Christianity as the empire’s main religion
  • Then, there was a period of peace over the world

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Emperor Constantine - 306 to 337 AD

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Emperor Constantine - 306 to 337 AD Cont.

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Queen Helen, Emperor Constantine’s Mother - 324 AD

  • Came with military troops to locate The Cross
  • The Jewish peoples dumped their trash at the location of The Cross for many years
  • An old Jewish man told her a location where she found 3 crosses; so, to be sure, she placed a dead person on each cross when The True Cross raised the dead person

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The Conclusion

  • Egypt is weak divided between many different religious groups
  • The Roman army in Egypt was weak and fragile
  • Egypt has no army to defend the country
  • No one sees the great danger coming from the desert…ISLAM

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The Muslim Arabs from Asia Invaded Egypt

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The Muslim Arabs from Asia Invaded Egypt Cont.

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Church History, Part 9 – Catholic Persecution and Orthodox Teachers

Objectives:

  1. To study The Popes of the 6th century
  2. To learn about The Catholic Persecution of the Coptic Church
  3. To acknowledge some famous Orthodox Teachers – St. Severus and Jacob Baradaeus
  4. To understand the impact of the Persian invasion in The East and The Story of The Cross

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Memorization Verses

  1. “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand” (Matthew 12:25)

  • “Now brother will betray brother to death” (Mark 13:12)

  • “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him” (Romans 10:12)

  • “the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18)

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