Joint Catholic-Coptic Declaration - 1973

[PluniaZ]

For any Coptics or others who are interested, I found this joint declaration by Pope Paul VI of Rome and Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria in 1973 to be very interesting, particularly in its Christology:

“In accordance with our apostolic traditions transmitted to our Churches and preserved therein, and in conformity with the early three ecumenical councils, we confess one faith in the One Triune God, the divinity of the Only Begotten Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Word of God, the effulgence of His glory and the express image of His substance, who for us was incarnate, assuming for Himself a real body with a rational soul, and who shared with us our humanity but without sin. We confess that our Lord and God and Saviour and King of us all, Jesus Christ, is perfect God with respect to His divinity, perfect man with respect to His humanity. In Him His divinity is united with His humanity in a real, perfect union without mingling, without commixtion, without confusion, without alteration, without division, without separation. His divinity did not separate from His humanity for an instant, not for the twinkling of an eye. He who is God eternal and invisible became visible in the flesh, and took upon Himself the form of a servant. In Him are preserved all the properties of the divinity and all the properties of the humanity, together in a real, perfect, indivisible and inseparable union.”

w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1973/may/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19730510_dichiarazione-comune.html

 

[pablope]

For any Coptics or others who are interested, I found this joint declaration by Pope Paul VI of Rome and Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria in 1973 to be very interesting, particularly in its Christology:

“In accordance with our apostolic traditions transmitted to our Churches and preserved therein, and in conformity with the early three ecumenical councils, we confess one faith in the One Triune God, the divinity of the Only Begotten Son of God, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, the Word of God, the effulgence of His glory and the express image of His substance, who for us was incarnate, assuming for Himself a real body with a rational soul, and who shared with us our humanity but without sin. We confess that our Lord and God and Saviour and King of us all, Jesus Christ, is perfect God with respect to His divinity, perfect man with respect to His humanity. In Him His divinity is united with His humanity in a real, perfect union without mingling, without commixtion, without confusion, without alteration, without division, without separation. His divinity did not separate from His humanity for an instant, not for the twinkling of an eye. He who is God eternal and invisible became visible in the flesh, and took upon Himself the form of a servant. In Him are preserved all the properties of the divinity and all the properties of the humanity, together in a real, perfect, indivisible and inseparable union.”

w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/speeches/1973/may/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19730510_dichiarazione-comune.html

Ok, let us get to the main question…are these two Churches now not in schism anymore?

In communion now?

 

[PluniaZ]

Ok, let us get to the main question…are these two Churches now not in schism anymore?

In communion now?

Sadly no, the Coptic Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church have not returned to communion with each other. But this meeting between the Pope of Rome and the Pope of Alexandria was the first such meeting in 1500 years, so it’s a huge step in the right direction! Let us ask our Blessed Mother, Mary Ever Virgin, to pray that all of the original Apostolic churches can be one in full communion again.

 

[Augustine3]

Sadly no, the Coptic Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church have not returned to communion with each other. But this meeting between the Pope of Rome and the Pope of Alexandria was the first such meeting in 1500 years, so it’s a huge step in the right direction! Let us ask our Blessed Mother, Mary Ever Virgin, to pray that all of the original Apostolic churches can be one in full communion again.

1500 years? They’ve only been split for 1000 years lol sorry I had to do it!

 

[Kmon23]

1500 years? They’ve only been split for 1000 years lol sorry I had to do it!

The Oriental church (which the Coptic Church is a part of) split with the Chalcedonian Churches after the council of Chalcedonian in 451AD. So yes, it’s more like 1500 years.

You are thinking of the Great Schism which is the split of the Chalcedonian Churches (into Catholic and Eastern Orthodox).

 

[Peter_J]

But this meeting between the Pope of Rome and the Pope of Alexandria was the first such meeting in 1500 years, so it’s a huge step in the right direction!

Well, depends what you mean by “such meeting”. I believe there have been a few meetings since 451, but the difference nowadays is that we no longer have the old us vs them mentality. See the 1993 document “Uniatism method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion”:

vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930624_lebanon_en.html

 

[PluniaZ]

Well, depends what you mean by “such meeting”. I believe there have been a few meetings since 451, but the difference nowadays is that we no longer have the old us vs them mentality. See the 1993 document “Uniatism method of union of the past, and the present search for full communion”:

vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930624_lebanon_en.html

It was the first meeting between the Pope of Rome and the Pope of Alexandria since Alexandria broke communion in 451.

The link you gave refers to Catholic ecumenical efforts with the Eastern Orthodox. Alexandria is the see of the Coptic Orthodox, who belong to the Oriental Orthodox communion, not the Eastern Orthodox. I believe a more appropriate link for Catholic-Oriental dialogue would be this:

vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/sub-index/index_ancient-oriental-ch.htm