Coptic (and Oriental Orthodox) view of reunion with the Roman Catholics?

Mercurius19

I’m curious as to what the Coptic Church overall and what the Oriental Orthodox communion thinks about reunion with the Roman Catholic Church?

I have seen from Eastern Greek Orthodox blogs that their Ecumenical Patriarch is wanting reunion with Rome, and the Easterns are not happy about it.

I am personally against reunion with Rome for various doctrinal reasons as I think it would be detrimental not only to the Coptic Church but to the Oriental Communion. There are also other non doctrinal reasons I am against reunion.

What are the overall thoughts?

Zoxsasi

Hi Mercurius,

Thanks for your reflexion. 

I find it very very wise people posting their concerns about unity. Its not a bad thing. Most ignorant people, like myself, would jump on the idea for union. 

I am not so bothered about unity with the catholics. What aches my heart a lot is disunity with the Eastern Orthodox. 

Should we unite with the catholics? Well, I'm sure if we were to unite fully with the EO, then the Catholic Church would follow suit. They have already this rite called the Byzantine Catholic Church which looks Orthodox, behaves in an orthodox fashion, and sounds orthodox, but they are under Rome. No doubt I see unity with them in sporadic fashion with Orthodox catholic rites leading the procession. 

The RC Church bothers me a bit. I'm not sure whether these people even believe in God. I find them more into cultural christianity than spirituality. I cannot generalise. But that's my personal opinion. Then again, look at us. Do Copts really understand their faith? I just that we are a congregation of fat women wearing scarfs walking like ducks, singing in a language they do not understand and praying in another language they barely can even pronounce, and why? Because for them, someone told them that it is the absolute truth. There's nothing to understand. Its the truth, so let's just do it, even if we don't understand a word we are praying. 

We are a people praying in a language that is dead to our senses. Yet we keep on doing it. 

We need to find a way to either revive Coptic and Ancient Greek, or to make our Church a house of prayer and spirituality - not an Egyptian Cultural Center. 

ophadece

I didn't expect to hear that from you dear @zoxsasi.. By the way your nickname is dead and you should not follow the Egyptian cultural traditions blindly..
Ⲟⲩϫⲁⲓ ϧⲉⲛ Ⲡϭⲥ

Daniel_Kyrillos

If the EO church reunites with Rome, this means that they share/do not disapprove of the other's doctrine.

This to me seems unacceptable.

RC doctrine has so many unorthodox rules and customs (including filioque) that EITHER:

1) Rome has changed their rites and customs and returned to Orthodoxy

2) EO has strayed from Orthodoxy and accepts unorthodox Catholicism

Rome shows no signs of changing and I have heard no plans to return to Orthodoxy,so the latter must be true.

diakon101

The Roman Catholic Church must repent of the many heresies they have created over the centuries. I'd like to think that our church would be focusing on unity with our Eastern Orthodox brothers. Then and only then should the church consider speaking about potential unity with the Roman Catholics. 

Marwan

I as a Christian, will support unity at any proper opportunity, after all Christ wasn’t crucified 3 or 4 or 60 times for each individual denomination, but once for all of us. To restore the communion is to restore Christ’s body that we’ve all divided. But to do so, the Vatican needs to look back to history objectively and express its desire to learn

Zoxsasi

Its very hard, especially for religious people, especially those in authority, to say sorry. No one will admit doing anything wrong. 

If they say sorry, they are basically saying to 1.3Billion catholics: we taught you the wrong faith. 

But catholics need to get wise a bit too. Do they really accept indulgence certificates? Their church, approved by their Pope, sold certificates that could reduce someone's time in purgatory. 

Then the dogma of Limbo. They erased it. It was like a TV series that was cancelled. Just when we were having fun enjoying the show, they cancel the best part: Limbo. 

Then there's the Filioque. I can forgive them for that.. I really could. They didn't mean it. They only came out with this nonsense to correct another heresy - and they found themselves unwittingly in another heresy. How unfortunate. 

Just look at their behaviour. Seriously,. They had married priests... great. Then they did away with that. That's because they wanted to control the priest's wife too and they couldn't. 

And now the church is full of weak christians... no where to go, nothing to believe in..

If they change ONE thing in their dogma and they say it was incorrect, what else is incorrect? What else did they lie about?? Christmas?? Easter??!! Are these also things we should look at with suspicion? That's how a catholic would see this.

ophadece

@zoxsasi
This time, very well said
Ⲟⲩϫⲁⲓ ϧⲉⲛ Ⲡϭⲥ