The Bournemouth Weekend of Worship and Orthodox Spirituality is scheduled for Friday evening 24th to Sunday 26th September 2010. The weekend will introduce and explore various aspects of Orthodox Christian spirituality such as the Jesus Prayer, fasting, humility, using a variety of approaches including talks, handouts and even watching a movie! (Don’t panic though – it’s a thoroughly Orthodox Christian film). We will also spend time in worship and prayer together as a congregation, praying several of the monastic hours of prayer together and also Morning and Evening Incense and the Divine Liturgy.

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The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, gathered on 8 June 2010 at the Papal residence and chaired by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III along with the attendance of eighty-one Metropolitans and Bishops and the endorsement of nine fathers who did not attend, declares that the Coptic Church respects the law, yet it cannot approve rulings that are against the Bible and against the religious freedom that is promised to us by the Constitution. The church also declares that for us Matrimony is a holy sacrament and a purely religious matter, not a mere administrative procedure.

The Islamic Sharia declares “govern them according to their beliefs”, likewise, the word “according to their tenet” appears in all legislation pertaining to the Personal Statute. Law 462/1955, rulings of the Court of Cassation, the Supreme Constitutional Court and the Criminal Court, all mentioned that the Patriarch is not a public official.

As for imposing on the Church, religious matters that are against our laws, i.e. against the Bible and the church canons, this is something that our consciences cannot approve and we definitely cannot execute.

For the re-marriage of divorced people, it is a strictly religious matter that is governed by the Bible.

Bishoy
Metropolitan of Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh and Barary
Secretary of the Holy Synod

Pope Shenouda III
Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark

An emergency meeting of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church has been called in Cairo for 8 June 2010 to discuss the recent judgement of Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court concerning the remarriage in church of divorced persons.

Writing to H.E. Metropolitan Bishoy, the General Secretary of the Holy Synod, Abba Seraphim, who is unable to attend, has asked that he should convey to His Holiness Pope Shenouda his assurance that “the British Orthodox clergy and people are in complete agreement with his statements concerning the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony and his fidelity to the scriptural injunctions concerning its indissolubility. Whilst we respect the rights of governments to legislate in matters civil, it belongs to the Church alone to administer or withhold the holy sacraments.”

Background

On 29 May 2010 Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) rejected an appeal by His Holiness Pope Shenouda against a ruling requiring the Coptic Orthodox Church to allow its faithful to remarry following a divorce. The judgement stated, “By law, a Christian can remarry and the constitution guarantees his rights to have a (new) family. “The right of every Egyptian to form a family is enshrined in the Egyptian constitution,” said Judge Mohamed El-Husseini. “The appeal made by Pope Shenouda III to prevent Copts from remarrying is therefore rejected.” Pope Shenouda III’s Sunday sermon contained a response to the SAC ruling. “We respect the judicial system,” he said. “However, it is not binding on the church. Marriage is not only a religious matter, it is one of the Orthodox Church’s seven sacraments. Nothing on earth will force us to abide by anything that contradicts Biblical teaching.”

In 1955, however, Family Status Law 462 was adopted and applied to all Egyptians. Accordingly, the various community courts were abolished and were replaced by civil courts (personal status courts). Article 7 of the law stipulates the application of the religious basis for divorce (Shari’a for Muslims, and the corresponding religious principles or regulations for each of the non-Muslim communities), provided that both spouses belong to the same denomination. Unfortunately the Egyptian courts have applied a personal status code issued by the Coptic Orthodox Maglis Melli (Community) Council, composed of laymen, in 1938. For the Coptic Orthodox, Articles 50 to 58 of Law 462 stipulates  that a plaintiff may be granted divorce if his or her spouse commits or falls under one of the following categories stipulated in the 1938 personal status code: adultery; conversion to another religion; absence for a period of five consecutive years with no news of whereabouts; being judged and sentenced to seven years imprisonment; mental illness, a contagious illness, or impotence (with no recovery for at least three years); serious domestic violence; debauchery or immoral behaviour; separation for at least three years as a result of untenable marital life and joining a monastic order.

This code was issued at a time widely regarded as an era of weakness in the Coptic Church which nevertheless consistently opposed the code on grounds that it went against the teachings of the Bible. Christian couples who sought a quick divorce had the option of filing for divorce according to Islamic shar’ia where a man may single-handedly divorce his wife for any reason. All it took was for one of the spouses to change his or her denomination and the man to declare his wish for divorce and take the matter to court. Since the couple would then belong to two different denominations, and there being no unified law for Christians, the court would apply Islamic shar’ia and divorce would be instantly granted. In October 1962 Pope Kyrillos VI demanded the amendment of the 1938 code. In 1971 Pope Shenouda III, as one of the first acts of his papacy, issued Papal Decree No. 7. This ordered the Clerical Council for Family Affairs (CCFA) to make the rules stricter and to only grant permission to remarry in cases in which a court’s divorce ruling was essentially based on adultery and denying remarriage permits for couples who divorced through the civil courts, unless the divorce was based on adultery.

In 1978 Christian leaders met together and proposed an act unifying the personal status law for Christians. All the heads of the various Churches in Egypt signed the act. In 1980 the act was submitted to the Justice Ministry for presentation to Parliament as new legislation. Nothing further was done about it, however, and when, in 1998, Pope Shenouda III drew the attention of then Justice Minister Farouq Seif al-Nasr, the latter asked for the act to be again officially presented to the ministry, which the Church accordingly did. Yet again the act was shelved.

Pope Shenouda III has repeatedly stated that no power on earth can force the church to go contrary to the teachings of the Bible, and these clearly state that there can be no divorce except in case of adultery, a principle which is non-existent in civil law. The administrative court ruling was based upon the Egyptian Constitution which stipulates that every citizen has the right to marry and form a family. Munssif Naguib, the pope’s lawyer, has commented that the number of divorcees reportedly seeking remarriage is exaggerated; some claim they are anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 while the actual number of cases before the Coptic patriarchate does not exceed a few thousand. However, in October 2006 a report issued by the commissioners of the Supreme Administrative Court demanded that it should issue a final ruling to annul the primary ruling. The report explained that marriage is a sacrament in the Church, can only be contracted according to religious rites and rituals which must be conducted through a priest, and thus the Church alone had the right to grant marriage annulments and remarriage permits. Nothing, the report declared, should force the Church to go against its beliefs.

On 23 February, 2007, the High Administrative Court, presided by Judge Mohamed El-Husseini and including five other member judges (all Muslims), ruled in the case no. 13719/59 that following a divorce ruling by a civil family status court, the Coptic Orthodox Church was required to issue permission to remarry in the Church. Beyond the paradox of the seeming interference in the Church’s teachings and rituals, the ruling stated that it was “based on Shari’a–considering that it was the general and public legal order whose application is obligatory.” The ruling came after two Egyptian Copts, Hani Wasfi and Magdi William, began a case contesting the Pope’s refusal to issue marriage permits that would allow them to remarry after their first marriages ended in divorce. In March 2008 it was against this ruling that Pope Shenouda appealed.

Specifically civil marriage alone, without a religious ceremony, is not recognized in Egypt.  Under Egypt’s personal laws, marriage and divorce proceedings are based on the couple’s religion. The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt does not recognise civil marriages nor does it recognise the second marriages of Copts whose initial divorce was granted in civil courts without its prior approval.

In a televised interview following the latest court ruling, Pope Shenouda said, “In family affairs, we don’t consider court verdicts, but biblical rules. Therefore, it isn’t the first time, I said before, we don’t allow marriage for the divorced, save according to the church teaching based upon the Bible and Church laws. Moreover, I read in newspapers, ‘The Pope prevents second marriages.’ I don’t do so. For example, widowers whose wives died can remarry. Someone who is divorced according to the Church laws, the innocent party can remarry. We only prevent it for those divorced against Biblical teachings. That’s the issue. If a person is a Christian, then he should behave according to the Christian laws. How can a person commit sin and ask us to marry him ? We cannot marry him. Therefore, we won’t marry those who want to marry by force. No to marriage by force. ….. If a person want a civil permit from a civil authority to get married, he can get married civilly if he wishes since he chose this way. But if he chose the Church he should abide by the Church laws. In such issues we are very serious.  What does this mean ? We can never relent. If we relent we disobey our religion, which is impossible. If someone wants to marry he can marry freely, but away from us. Again, if someone tries to deceive any clergyman to marry him, the priest will be unfrocked and the married person won’t be allowed in the Church. Is it clear ? If anyone has an ear, let him hear.”

A Prayer Vigil was held outside the Eritrean Embassy in Islington, London, on 3 June 2010 to protest at the treatment of Christians in Eritrea. It was called to mark the eighth anniversary of the closure of minority churches in Eritrea, after which even main-stream churches, like the majority Eritrean Orthodox Church have suffered systematic persecution.

The vigil was organised through the collaboration of a number of groups, including Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Release Eritrea, Church in Chains, Release (voice of persecuted Christians), Open Doors (serving persecuted Christians Worldwide) and the British Orthodox Church. For an hour on a sunny afternoon in London, a committed group of concerned Christians stood on the pavement opposite the Eritrean Embassy – as cars and buses with intrigued spectators passed by – and prayed, read from the scriptures, sang spiritual songs and heard meditative addresses from those working with and for the suffering Christians in Eritrea, regardless of their religious affiliation. Unlike political demonstrations the tone was calm, reflective and prayerful and there was no hint of invective against the oppressors. Both the Eritrean President and the Ambassador in London were spoken of courteously and prayed for fervently. His Eminence Abba Seraphim spoke of his concerns about His Holiness Abune Antonios, the elderly Eritrean Orthodox Patriarch, who had refused to bow to pressure from the government when the persecuition began and because of his stand for truth and justice found himself deposed from office and placed under house arrest. His position of national importance and his unswerving integity made him a symbol of all who were suffering for their Christian faith. At the conclusion of the vigil Abba Seraphim, supported by The Right Rev’d Christopher Chessun, (Anglican) Bishop of Woolwich and Dr. Berhane Asmelash of Release Eritrea, called at the Embassy to deliver a letter addressed to the Ambassador expressing their concerns and asking for the release of prisoners of conscience.

Daniel Malyon (BOC Portsmouth), who was present at the vigil, writes:

Yesterday, in protest of the continuing persecution of our Christian brethren in Eritrea, a number of Human Rights groups and Church representatives attended a vigil outside  the Eritrean embassy in London. It was great to see an event attended by such a variety of people from different cultures and Christian groups. We had people from the Eritrean Orthodox, the British Orthodox, the Anglican Church and independent Churches, all united in prayer and concern for the Christian community in Eritrea.

To have all these groups together representing a single cause is a rarity these days, but was certainly significant. Everyone was involved in the prayer and the speeches, rejoicing in the gifts we recieve through faith, and in the knowledge of our protection, and to show concern for those that are not given the opportunity to rejoice in their faith, for fear that it will cost them their lives.

The readings from Romans certainly set the tone for the vigil, reminding us that whatever we suffer for Christ in life will be repaid in joy after we die. We are reminded that though the Eritrean Christians suffer needlessly and for no real legal reason, they are the martyrs of the modern day, just as Justin Martyr, St Paul and other early Christians suffered for their faith. As Romans 8:18 says “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

There was much media coverage on the day from the respresented charity groups, and a lot of focus on Church representation, such as  the support of an Anglican Bishop and HE Metropolitan Seraphim, as to know that the church establishments are supporting them is vital for the people of Eritrea of whom 90% belong to the Eritrean Orthodox Church, a sister Church of the British Orthodox. The Evangelical representatives also spoke of the need for more to be done by the world to prevent single party governments such as Eritrea from arresting political opponents or those that speak for the rights of the persecuted, as freedom of worship and conscience are vital in society.

The vigil continued with  “praise songs” from the Evangelical Church representatives, as well as prayers for both those suffering in Eritrea, and for her government. Some may not understand why we would pray for the opressors of our Eritrean brothers and sisters, but if we do not pray for those  who cause suffering, we are no better than they are, as we would be as uncaring as their actions. At 4pm, after the Charities had finished speaking of the Eritrean situation Abba Seraphim led a deputation to deliver a letter to the Embassy across the road. This was given to one of the staff of the Ambassador, informing him of the reaction of the British public, church organisations and Human Rights groups to the continued opression and imprisonment of Christians in Eritrea.

This event happens yearly in London, and though it has not ended the persecutions in Eritrea, I feel that it is a moral duty to continue to stand beside the people of Eritrea, and let them know that they are still in our prayers and thoughts, for if we lose hope, so wil they.

On Sunday morning, 30 May, Abba Seraphim attended the funeral, following the Divine Liturgy, of the late Father Hailemariam F. Mariam, priest of the Debre Madhanit Kidane Mehret Tewahdo Eritrean Orthodox congregation in Shepherd’s Bush, London. The service was held at St. John the Baptist Church, Holland Road, London W14 and presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Antonios of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church (shown with Abba Seraphim above).

Father Hailemariam was professed as a monk of the Waldiba monastery when he was twenty-five and came to London in January 1992 at the suggestion of H.H. Pope Shenouda III to minister to the increasing number of Eritrean refugees. He was a humble and devout priest and when the Eritrean government exiled Patriarch Antonios, Father Hailemariam was horrified by such a sacrilegious act. He visited Abba Seraphim at the Church Secretariat in Charlton in 2007 to thank him for his support for the Patriarch and to affirm his own loyalty. Father Hailemariam died on 25 May 2010 aged 75 after a long battle with cancer. He was a greatly loved pastor and the church was packed for the funeral as well as having a large number of both Eritrean and Ethiopian priests and deacons  assisting in the funeral rites. Abba Seraphim paid respect to his loyalty and integrity, “He had deep affection for both Pope Shenouda and Abune Antonios because he loved truth and justice. He is a symbol of the deep spirituality of both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Churches and those who were touched by his ministry should follow his example of fidelity to their last breath.”