DOCSLIB.ORG

The Greek Orthodox Church in Interwar Egypt: Between Lay Constitutionalism and Diaspora Politics

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Greek Orthodox Church in Interwar Egypt: Between Lay Constitutionalism and Diaspora Politics Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 63(1-2), 127-142. doi: 10.2143/JECS.63.1.2149617 © 2011 by Journal of Eastern Christian Studies. All rights reserved. THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN INTERWAR EGYPT: BETWEEN LAY CONSTITUTIONALISM AND DIASPORA POLITICS SOTIRIS ROUSSOS* THE CHURCH AND THE COMMUNITIES The long controversy over the control of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate of Alexandria, between the Greek state and the Greek communities on the one hand, and the Syrian Greek Orthodox communities on the other, shaped in considerable measure the role and the position of this religious institution. The Syrian Christians in Egypt were predominantly Catholic, however a large minority of them belonged to the Greek Orthodox Church. By the end of the 19th century most Syrians in Egypt (Christians and Muslims) had acquired Egyptian nationality, under the Nationality Law of 1892. The Syr- ian Greek Orthodox faithful in Egypt were under the guidance and jurisdic- tion of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate of Alexandria. They constituted, nonetheless, a minority amid the faithful of the patriarchate. The vast major- ity, by a ratio of almost ten to one, belonged to the Greek communities made up of Greeks immigrants from the Greek mainland and the islands, established in Egypt in the second half of the 19th century. Unlike the Syr- ians, the majority of the Greeks retained their Greek citizenship and enjoyed the privileges of the Capitulations. Moreover, the patriarch and the senior clergy of the patriarchate were also Greeks, mostly chosen from among the prelates of the patriarchates of Constantinople and Jerusalem. For as long as long the character of the patriarchate remained predomi- nantly Greek and its sole preoccupation was the Greeks and their welfare, the patriarchate remained a cause of discord between the Greek and the * Sotiris Roussos is Associate Professor at the Department of Political Science and Inter- national Relations of the University of the Peloponnese and Head of the Centre for Med- iterranean, Middle East and Islamic Studies (CEMMIS). He is author and co-author of books and articles on Orthodox Christians in the Near and Middle East, on regional security in the Middle East, political Islam, and the Arab-Israeli conflict. 995069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd5069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd 112727 227/02/127/02/12 110:540:54 128 SOTIRIS ROUSSOS Syrian Greek Orthodox communities. The Syrian Greek Orthodox1 notables claimed a considerable share not only in the educational and welfare institu- tions but also, and most importantly, in the election of the patriarch. The Syrian Greek Orthodox faithful challenged Greek domination of this institution, and in the period 1919-1940 the conflict between the two communities intensified, involving the governments of Greece and Egypt as well as Britain. This controversy was further complicated by the internal strife among the members of the Greek clergy and laity which derived from three main factors: the conflict between the two political groups in Greece, Royalists (the supporters of King Constantine I) and Venizelists (the supporters of Prime Minister Eleutherios Venizelos), the struggle for control between the clergy and the laity, and last but not least, the personal interests and ambi- tions of the individuals concerned. The main problem of the patriarch and the Church was how to maintain their autonomy towards the laity, that is, the Greek community, and the Greek state as represented by the Greek Legation in Egypt. This struggle for power between the clergy and the laity was not a phenomenon solely of the inter-war period. It had begun from the late nineteenth century and it affected the whole Eastern Church. It is understandable that the case of the Greek Orthodox patriarchate is similar to the controversy surrounding the ‘democratisation’ of the Orthodox Churches in the nineteenth century. During the Ottoman period, the Church not only acted as a religious institution but also as the representative of the Greek Orthodox religious, but not ethnic, communities in the Ottoman state. It also held judicial authority in matters of personal law through the patriarchal tribunals. It is clear, therefore, that the laity would demand a significant role in the admin- istration and particularly in the election of the patriarch, the supreme author- ity of the patriarchate. According to the Regulations of 1899, the General Assembly, consisting of both lay and ecclesiastical members, elected the patriarch from a list of bishops. There were two main bodies of administra- tion in the Greek Orthodox community, the Holy Synod consisting of 1 We refer here to the Greek Orthodox Syrians and not members of the Syrian Orthodox Church. 995069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd5069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd 112828 227/02/127/02/12 110:540:54 THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN INTERWAR EGYPT 129 bishops, and the Mixed Council, which was composed of lay and clerical members. The lay members formed the majority in this latter body, which had no jurisdiction over religious matters. The patriarchal courts had juris- diction over Greek Orthodox (Ottoman and later Egyptian) subjects in matters of marriage, divorce, alimony, succession and guardianship.2 The Greek community in Egypt flourished during the second half of the nineteenth century, mainly because of the privileges to which the Greeks were entitled through the Capitulations and also because of the European presence in Egypt and the large profit from the cotton trade. In 1820, the Greeks of Alexandria numbered only one thousand people,3 and the first Greek community was established in the city in 1843. It was a secular com- munity, which took responsibility for both the Greek hospital and school in the same year.4 The Greek population in Egypt increased from 6,000 people in 1846 to 29,963 in 1873 and to 37,301 in 1884.5 By 1927 the Greeks numbered 99,793 of which 76,264 had acquired Greek citizenship.6 In the same year the Greeks formed the largest foreign community in Egypt. By 1937 there were twenty-eight Greek communities scattered in all the cities and towns of Egypt. The Italians came second with 51,175, the British third with 33,668 and the French came fourth with 23,579 people.7 The Greeks were prominent in the cotton sector, tobacco manufacturing, industry, the retail trade and industrial labour.8 The notables of the com- munity exerted their influence on the economy and the politics of Greece, through investments, benefaction and support for politicians. George Averoff, who financially assisted projects such as the Athens stadium for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and Athens Technical University, the Polytechneion, and the Benaki family who had close connections with Venizelos, were prominent members of the Alexandria community. 2 J.H. Scott, The Law Affecting Foreigners in Egypt (Edinburgh, 1907), p. 261. 3 R. Ilbert, ‘Qui est Grec? La nationalité comme enjeu en Egypte (1830-1930)’, Relations Internationales, 54 (1988), pp. 139-160, see p. 142. 4 A. Politis, L’ Hellénisme et l’ Egypte moderne, vol. I (Paris, 1929), p. 265. 5 Ilbert, ‘Qui est Grec’, p. 147. 6 A. Kitroeff, The Greeks in Egypt. 1919-1937. Ethnicity and Class (London, 1989), p. 13. 7 Ibid., p. 21. 8 Ibid., p. 73. 995069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd5069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd 112929 227/02/127/02/12 110:540:54 130 SOTIRIS ROUSSOS During the nineteenth century there was a serious conflict between the Greek consulate in Alexandria and the Greek Orthodox patriarchate over the control of the communities. The Greek state won the struggle and, conse- quently, the communities became Greek institutions, legally registered by royal decree in Athens. The communities maintained schools, hospitals, orphanages and hostels without the financial aid of the Greek state. The schools had a Greek curriculum and were closely supervised by the Greek Ministry of Education. The Greek communities in Egypt functioned as if they were genuine state mechanisms. They provided a wide range of func- tions and services from social welfare to professional bodies such as the Greek Chamber of Commerce. Through their network they managed to sustain a powerful communal consensus.9 Another important reason for the ‘hellenisa- tion’ of the communities was that the Greek diaspora saw the Greek state and its irredentism as a base for their economic expansion into the Eastern Mediterranean.10 Syrian Christian emigration to Egypt started in the mid-eighteenth cen- tury. The growth in the trade of silk and in the trade with Europe in the Eastern Mediterranean was the main reason for Syrian, predominantly Greek Catholic, emigration. The reign of Mohammed Ali benefited the Syrians only to a limited extent but from the middle of the nineteenth century there was a considerable increase in the number of Syrians in Egypt.11 At the end of the nineteenth century the Greco-Russian conflict over the control of the Orthodox Churches in the Middle East affected also the patri- archate of Alexandria. Photios was a member of the Patriarchate of Jerusalem and had strongly opposed Russian influence in the Holy Places before becom- ing Patriarch of Alexandria, in 1900.12 Russian influence in the Tsarist era contributed to the intensification of the conflict between the Syrian and the Greek communities by favouring the Syrian element. The collapse of Tsarist Russia, however, diminished the influence of Russian diplomatic agents. 9 K. Tsoukalas, Exartese kai anaparagoge: o koinonikos rolos ton ekpaideutikon mehanismon sten Ellada (1830-1922), (Athens, 1977), p. 346. 10 Ibid., p. 364. 11 A. Hourani, ‘Lebanese and Syrians in Egypt’, in The Lebanese in the World, eds. A. Hourani & N. Shehadi (London, 1992), pp. 498, 501. 12 A. Arberry (ed.), Religion in the Middle East (Cambridge, 1969), vol. 2, p. 477. 995069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd5069_JECS_2011_1-2_08_Roussos.indd 113030 227/02/127/02/12 110:540:54 THE GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH IN INTERWAR EGYPT 131 During the era of patriarch Photios, from 1900 to 1925, the patriarchate of Alexandria showed considerable enterprise in persuading many benefac- tors to assist in the various needs of the Church.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • (In Spirit): Wealth and Poverty in the Writings of the Greek Christian Fathers of the Second Century
    Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2021 Blessed Are the Poor (in Spirit): Wealth and Poverty in the Writings of the Greek Christian Fathers of the Second Century Jacob D. Hayden Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons Recommended Citation Hayden, Jacob D., "Blessed Are the Poor (in Spirit): Wealth and Poverty in the Writings of the Greek Christian Fathers of the Second Century" (2021). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 8181. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/8181 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@usu.edu. BLESSED ARE THE POOR (IN SPIRIT): WEALTH AND POVERTY IN THE WRITINGS OF THE GREEK CHRISTIAN FATHERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY by Jacob D. Hayden A thesis submitted in partiaL fuLfiLLment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Ancient Languages and CuLtures Approved: _______________________ _____________________ Mark Damen, Ph.D. Norman Jones, Ph.D. Major Professor Committee Member _______________________ ______________________ Eliza Rosenberg, Ph.D. Patrick Q. Mason, Ph.D. Committee Member Committee Member ________________________________ D. Richard CutLer, Ph.D. Interim Vice Provost of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2021 ii Copyright © Jacob D. Hayden 2021 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT Blessed Are the Poor (in Spirit): Wealthy and Poverty in the Writings of the Greek Christian Fathers of the Second Century by Jacob D.
    [Show full text]
  • 4. Spread and Diversity of Christianity
    1 Spread of Christianity outside Greco-Roman world Matthew 28:16-20 The Great Commission 16 Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” We should aware of the widespread of the Gospel beyond places we thought it may have gone. 2 Late Roman Empire, A. D. 117 3 Christianity Spread: Copts to Africa, Nestorians Asia, Irish to Germans Irish monks à Copts Coptic Christians in Egypt 5 Christ & disciples. Painted panel in Coptic museum, Cairo Coptic Christians today: c.16 million: c.12 million Egypt + c.3-4 million abroad (Diaspora) 6 Origin & Spread of Copts “Coptic”= Afroasiatic language 1st Christians in Egypt mainly Alexandrian Jews (ex. Theophilus, whom Saint Luke the Evangelist addresses in introductory chapter of his gospel. Church of Alexandria founded by Saint Mark: native Egyptians (not Greeks or Jews) embraced Christian faith. Christianity spread throughout Egypt within half a century. Fragments of New Testament found in Middle Egypt, dating from 200 AD, Gospel of John in Coptic, found in Upper Egypt dating to 1st half- 2nd century.
    [Show full text]
  • The Concept of “Sister Churches” in Catholic-Orthodox Relations Since
    THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA The Concept of “Sister Churches” In Catholic-Orthodox Relations since Vatican II A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Will T. Cohen Washington, D.C. 2010 The Concept of “Sister Churches” In Catholic-Orthodox Relations since Vatican II Will T. Cohen, Ph.D. Director: Paul McPartlan, D.Phil. Closely associated with Catholic-Orthodox rapprochement in the latter half of the 20 th century was the emergence of the expression “sister churches” used in various ways across the confessional division. Patriarch Athenagoras first employed it in this context in a letter in 1962 to Cardinal Bea of the Vatican Secretariat for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and soon it had become standard currency in the bilateral dialogue. Yet today the expression is rarely invoked by Catholic or Orthodox officials in their ecclesial communications. As the Polish Catholic theologian Waclaw Hryniewicz was led to say in 2002, “This term…has now fallen into disgrace.” This dissertation traces the rise and fall of the expression “sister churches” in modern Catholic-Orthodox relations and argues for its rehabilitation as a means by which both Catholic West and Orthodox East may avoid certain ecclesiological imbalances toward which each respectively tends in its separation from the other. Catholics who oppose saying that the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church are sisters, or that the church of Rome is one among several patriarchal sister churches, generally fear that if either of those things were true, the unicity of the Church would be compromised and the Roman primacy rendered ineffective.
    [Show full text]
  • SEIA NEWSLETTER on the Eastern Churches and Ecumenism ______Number 196: January 31, 2012 Washington, DC
    SEIA NEWSLETTER On the Eastern Churches and Ecumenism _______________________________________________________________________________________ Number 196: January 31, 2012 Washington, DC The International Catholic-Oriental attended the meal. turies, currently undertaken by the com- Orthodox Dialogue The Joint Commission held plenary mission since January 2010, is perhaps sessions on January 18, 19, and 21. Each expected to establish good historical un- day began with Morning Prayer. At the derstanding of our churches. We think HE NINTH MEETING OF THE INTER- beginning of the meeting Metropolitan such technical and scholarly selection of NATIONAL JOINT COMMISSION FOR Bishoy congratulated one of the Catholic items for discussion will bring many more THEOLOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN T members, Rev. Fr. Paul Rouhana, on his outstanding results beyond the initially THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE recent election as General Secretary of the expected purpose of the Joint Commis- ORIENTAL ORTHODOX CHURCHES TOOK Middle East Council of Churches. sion. Therefore, this theological and spir- PLACE IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, FROM The meeting was formally opened on itual contemplation will not only unveil JANUARY 17 TO 21, 2012. The meeting was hosted by His Holiness Abuna Paulos the morning of January 18 by His Holi- the historical and theological facts that I, Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox ness Patriarch Paulos. In his address to exist in common but also will show us the Tewahedo Church. It was chaired jointly the members, the Patriarch said, “It is with direction for the future. The ninth meeting by His Eminence Cardinal Kurt Koch, great pleasure and gratitude we welcome of the Joint Commission in Addis Ababa President of the Pontifical Council for you, the Co-chairs, co-secretaries and is expected to bring much more progress Promoting Christian Unity, and by His members of the Joint International Com- in your theological examinations of enor- Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy of Dami- mission for Theological Dialogue between mous ecclesiastical issues.
    [Show full text]
  • Pope Peter of Alexandria
    THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA THE DEANS OF THE SCHOOL OF ALEXANDRIA POPE PETER OF ALEXANDRIA preparatory edition 2005 FR. TADROS Y. MALATY St. George Coptic Orthodox Church Alexandria - Egypt 4 1 HIS LIFE “Love is strong as death” Song 8:6. Love is neither a verbal action, nor a sentiment, rather is a positive action of self-giving, and self- sacrificing on behalf of the beloved one! Accordingly our father, the blessed Peter who acknowledged God as the true Love, he loved men, suffering many troubles from both the inside and outside church for the sake of the salvation of his people. St. Peter was tortured because of the persecution that befell his children, first under Diocletian and, later, under Maximin Daia. He suffered death every day for the sake of Christ. His spirit was bitter for the schism of the church that occurred by Melitius of Lycopolis (Asyout). He was in agony because of the heresies, especially of the Arians who denied the divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ. He wrote to the emperor while he was in prison expecting his execution, not to flatter him, but to ask him not to submit to his own thoughts, as he gave himself over to the demons. Finally, when almost all the Alexandrian believers went out to prison to die for their Pope (Archbishop), he gave his life secretly, asking God that his blood would be the last that is shed in Egypt under the Roman rule. In the “Encomium1,” attributed to his disciple Pope Alexander of Alexandria, he was likened to the prophets, high-priests, apostles, and the evangelists: “O glorious, excellent one, you who were born as a consequence of a vow as was John the Baptist! O, you who were given as a gift from God like the prophet Samuel, being worthy like that one of the gift of prophecy and wondrous revelations from the time of your childhood! O you who were called to the high priesthood like the priest Aaron - or rather (you who) have been exalted above Aaron, for he was (a priest) figuratively, while you are one in truth.
    [Show full text]
  • The True Story of Christianity in Egypt
    THE STORY OF THE COPTS THE TRUE STORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN EGYPT by Iris Habib el Masri BOOK 1 FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH BY SAINT MARK TO THE ARAB CONQUEST 2 Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ King of Kings and Lord of lords 3 H.H. Pope Shenouda III, 117th Pope of Alexandria and the See of St. Mark 4 St. Anthony, Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Southern California, U.S.A., introduces "The Story of the Copts" by IRIS HABIB EL MASRI to all Christians and non-Christians; to old and young; men and women; ... to everyone, with or without an interest in studying religion; and to the public in general. Also, the Copts in Egypt and all over the world. May God grant that the reader gain a true knowledge of the Copts and of the history of Christianity of Egypt. ST. ANMNY MONASTERY P.O. BOX 369 MMERRY SPRINGS, CA 923$5 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT It is with deep gratitude that I offer my thanks to our Heavenly Father whose aid and guidance have been my lodestar throughout the years. My thankful homage to the Spirit of my Father Pishoi Kamil whose encouragement by prayer, words and continued endeavour added to my zeal and fervour, and strengthened me to persevere on the path towards fulfilment. My thanks are extended also to all my family circle and friends, with special appreciation to the budding artist Habib Amin el Masri, my nephew, for giving me some of his paintings to adorn this volume. As for my sister Eva el Masri Sidhom, I consider he my co-writer; she and her husband Youssef did their best in editing and typing this work.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction to the Oriental Orthodox Churches
    Introduction to the Oriental Orthodox Churches Society of St. John Chrysostom - Western Region November 14, 2015 Fr. Kyrillos Ibrahim Outline • Introduction to the Six Oriental Orthodox Churches: • The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria • The Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch and All the East • The Armenian Apostolic Church • The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church • The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church • The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India • Christology and the "Non-Chalcedonian" Churches • Theological Dialogue with the Eastern Orthodox Who are the Oriental Churches? The Oriental Orthodox churches are ancient churches which were founded in apostolic times, by apostles or by the apostles' earliest disciples. They are heirs to some of the richest and most ancient traditions in the Christian world.The majority of the members of these churches live in Ethiopia, Egypt, Eritrea, Armenia, India, Syria and Lebanon. There are also large diaspora communities in parts of the Middle East, Europe, Asia, North and South America, and Australia. Who are the Oriental Churches? The Oriental Orthodox Churches were united with Rome and Byzantium in a common profession of faith until the fifth century Council of Chalcedon (451). While the Roman and Byzantine Churches came to accept Chalcedon as the Fourth Ecumenical Council, the Oriental Orthodox Churches acknowledge only the first three. Who are the Oriental Churches? The history of the Oriental Orthodox churches has been marked by ceaseless persecutions under the Byzantine, Persian, Muslim and Ottoman powers. The sufferings have had a profound impact on their life, witness, theology and spirituality. In spite of their continuous suffering, these churches have sustained themselves through constant efforts of renewal.
    [Show full text]
  • Draft of Subclass KBT (Canon Law of Eastern Rite
    KB - KBX Religious Legal Systems Law of Christian Denominations KBR History of Canon Law KBS Canon Law of Eastern Churches KBT Canon law of Eastern Rite Churches in Communion with the Holy See of Rome Class here works on the canon law of sui juris Eastern Churches with autonomous powers limited by the authority of the Bishop of Rome (Pope) Also known as Oriental Catholic Churches or Catholic Churches of the Eastern Rite. Earlier called also Uniate Churches For the Congregation for the Eastern Churches (Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), see KBU2517+ Cf. BX4710-4715.95 Eastern Rite Churches in Communion with the Holy See of Rome Bibliography 3 General bibliography 7 Personal bibliography. Writers on canon law. Canonists (Collective or individual) Periodicals, see KB46-67 (Christian legal periodicals) For periodicals (Collective and general), see BX4710 For periodicals of a particular church, see that church in BX e.g. BX4715, Church of the Armenian rite For periodicals of the local government of a church, see that church in KBT Official gazettes, see the particular church in KBT Official acts. Documents Collections. Compilations. Selections For sources before 1054 (Great Schism), see KBR195+ For sources of the Orthodox Eastern Church from ca.1054 on, see KBS270-300 For canonical collections of early councils and synods, both ecumenical/general and provincial, see KBR205+ For document collections of episcopal councils/synods and diocesan councils and synods (collected and individual), see the church in KBT For acts and documents of a particular church, see that church in KBT 30.5 Indexes. Registers. Digests 31 General Including councils and synods For decrees of the Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus (Congregation for the Eastern Churches), see KBU40.28 Cf.
    [Show full text]
  • ST. MARK in EARLY TRADITION. 1. ONE of the Oldest and Most Trustworthy of Christian Traditions Attributes to Mark, St. Peter's
    2G8 ST. MARK IN EARLY TRADITION. 1. ONE of the oldest and most trustworthy of Christian traditions attributes to Mark, St. Peter's "son," a collec­ tion of memoirs of St. Peter's teaching, which was iden­ tified with the canonical Gospel Kan' MapKov. In its earliest form the story comes from the Churches of Asia Minor, but it is confirmed by the witness of the Church of Rome and the Church of Alexandria. The Asiatic tradition describes Mark as St. Peter's "in­ terpreter." 1 The word is ambiguous ; the €pJ.I,'Jveur; or €pp;qveuT~r; (interpres) may be either the expositor who brings to light the veiled meaning of his master's words/ or the translator who renders them into another tongue. But the literal sense prevails in later and Biblical Greek, 3 and it suits the manner of Papias and agrees with his con­ text. As Link has recently shewn,4 the phrase €pp,qveuT~r; ITE'Tpou "f€VOJLevor; points to an office which Mark had ful­ filled at a time previous to the writing of the Memoirs. He had once been Peter's interpreter or dragoman, and Papias mentions the circumstance in order to shew that he was qualified to report accurately the teaching which he had not only heard, but had at the time translated from Aramaic into Greek.5 That St. Peter had employed 1 Papias ap. Eus., H. E., iii. 39. 2 E.g., Eur. jragm., <TLW71'~ ll' li1ropos EPfl'I'JV€VS Mywv. Plat. Ion, 534 E, ol M 71'0L'I'}Ta! OUOeV (i"}.."}..' ;j EPfl'I'JV€Ls 8€WV, 3 Cf.
    [Show full text]
  • The Pilgrimage of the Orthodox Through History
    McGuckin/The Orthodox Church 9781405150668_4_001 Final Proof page 5 31.8.2010 5:31pm Chapter 1 The Pilgrimage of the Orthodox through History ABRIEF HISTORY OF THE ORTHODOX FROM THE APOSTOLIC ERA TO THE MIDDLE AGES Perspectives of history It is a basic premise of Orthodox theology that the history of Orthodoxy is synonymous with the history of the church. Historians may puzzle over that, thinking of all the concerns, developments, and controversies that constitute church history that seem to have no bearing on the history of the Orthodox (the Avignon Papacy, the Inquisition, the Reformation, the Oxford Movement, the ordination of women, to name only a few), but Orthodox generally regard the church world-wide up to the Middle Ages as ‘their church’, with divisions and separations only becoming a chronic and permanent state of affairs as the high medieval West introduced more and more patterns of behaviour that were in conflict with the ancient procedures, and doctrines, established in patristic times. The Orthodox, at large, see the Latin church of the first millennium to be substantially in harmony with the Orthodox tradition, so that there was one church only in its validly distinct Eastern and Western forms. Accordingly, the Orthodox to this day in countries such as England, Italy, or France honour the ancient saints of the local churches there as entirely Orthodox. The Orthodox, when they find Anglican or Catholic churches in Europe that contain the relics of the ancient saints, will usually make a point of going to venerate them (sometimes having some confusion when they find the holy reliquaries of fathers and martyrs set up in glass museum-cases in sacristies rather than upon the altars).
    [Show full text]
  • Dr Emmanouil G. Chalkiadakis Patriarchal University Ecclesiastical Academy of Crete Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge
    https://doi.org/10.26262/syn.v5i1.5631 Dr Emmanouil G. Chalkiadakis Patriarchal University Ecclesiastical Academy of Crete Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge The Patriarch of Alexandria Meletios Metaxakis and the Greek – Orthodox migration and mission in Africa1 Abstract This paper aims to present the role of Meletios Metaxakis as patriarch of Alexandria in relation to the Greek – Orthodox Migration and Mission in Africa. Former Ecumenical Patriarch Meletios reorganized the Patriarchate of Alexandria and founded new bishoprics in Africa, especially where there were Greek communities established by Greek immigrants. Introduction Meletios (Meletius) Metaxakis was an eminent prelate of the Orthodox Church of the 20th century, born in 1871 in the island of Crete. He was Bishop of Kition in Cyprus (1910-1918), Metropolitan of Athens and All Greece (1918-1920), Ecumenical Patriarch (1921-1923), and Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa (1926- 1935)2. In 1926, he was elected as Patriarch of Alexandria under the episcopal name Meletios II and, until his death in 1935, Meletios was the first patriarch who used the title “and All Africa” instead of just “all Egypt ", extending thus the jurisdiction of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria3. This act is in close 1 This paper was presented at the joint ASCH (American Society of Church History)/ EHS (Ecclesiastical History Society) Conference in Migration and Mission in Christian History, Oxford, 3-5 April 2014. 2 Ανδρέας Νανάκης, Μητροπολίτης Αρκαλοχωρίου, Καστελλίου και Βιάννου [Andreas Nanakis Metropolitan of Arkalochori, Kastelli and Viannos, in Crete], Η χηρεία του Οικουμενικού Θρόνου και η εκλογή του Μελετίου Μεταξάκη [The vacancy of the Ecumenical Throne and the election of Meletios Metaxakis, 1918-1922], PhD Thesis, Department of Theology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 1983; Θρησκευτική και Ηθική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια [Religious and Moral Encyclopedia], vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Pious and Impious Christian Rulers According to Egyptian Historiography 111
    Alberto Camplani Pious and Impious Christian RulersAccording to Egyptian Historiography and Hagiography: AFirst Survey of the Evidence An effective waytostudythe evolving attitude of the Alexandrian patriarchateto- wards the political power is to trace the imageofthe good Christian emperorin the multiplicity of its historicalrepresentations. In this regard,wide-rangingresearch is needed on how the see of Alexandria presents itself on the religious and political level over the centuries in the histories and the hagiographicaltexts produced within the bishopric or in the circles close to it,deeplyconnected to the institutional and collective dimension of the church.¹ In this context the process should be highlighted that leads from the archivalactivity of the patriarchatetothe production of tales, tra- ditions, stories,which are based on the documentation preserved in the archives,² but are also provided with their own life, theirown images, their own grammar. The patriarchateproducedhistoriographical works conceivedofasasequence of documents and polemical narratives, here and there provided with shortanecdotes. It also created histories of martyrs and saints, normallyconnected to this same doc- umentation, but marked by amore pronounced tendencytorelate episodes or to ex- press ahistorical assessment through images and symbols. The permanence and the reworking of the samemotifs and images through the ages served the function of em- phasizing the sense of continuity and eternal orthodoxy of Alexandria.³ The texts selected in the present contribution are the expression not simplyofan individual author,but rather of anetwork of church relations, in which multiple voi- ces try to emerge – the voices of different groups defending theirinterests, their tra- ditions, and their contribution to the life of the Egyptian church, such as the clergy, the monks, and engaged laity.Irecentlyinvestigated⁴ the changingrole of historical Forapresentationofthe historiographyofthe episcopateofAlexandria see A.
    [Show full text]