An interview with Abba Seraphim

Q. How do you view the current demonstrations in Egypt ?

A. History shows us that all repressive regimes can only maintain a grip on power for a limited period of time. Like a volcano waiting to explode, the underlying tensions seeks a crack in the surface and then everything suddenly comes bursting out. No country can be totally isolated from its neighbours and the unrest we saw in Tunisia has spread to Egypt and its effect is already having an impact on other countries. I was impressed, however, by the calmness of the protesters in the early stages but the escalating violence and injury to people and property is now very alarming.

Q. Do you think that President Mubarak should go ?

A. I have already expressed my view that I believe the present government has lost its moral authority and retains power by electoral fraud and military repression. However, Tony Blair was right to remind us that President Mubarak is not Saddam Hussein, although he has presided over a corrupt and stagnant administration for three decades and a new generation of educated Egyptians have grown up who want to control their own destiny. It is not uncommon for political leaders to believe themselves indispensible and to try to hang on to power for too long but in truly democratic countries their term of office is limited by statute or they can be voted out. Egypt’s constitution provided for this but President Mubarak changed it and has now outstayed his welcome. Recent tragic instances have showed us that the Egyptian government was not ensuring the security of all its citizens and this has been a serious failure to fulfil a primary responsibility of government.

Q. Do you believe that America is still influencing events ?

A. Egypt has suffered from foreign interference for too much of its modern history and I am very conscious of Britain’s role in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which sadly did not put Egypt’s interests first. However, Egypt is a proud nation and they did manage to reassert their independence before American influence and patronage tied them into a rather too close alliance. America and its Western allies have been complicit in winking at the totalitarian nature of the Egyptian government and the human rights abuses in Egypt and by so doing they have also lost some moral stature. Efforts to push for greater democratisation have been too half-hearted and now seem to be an afterthought.

Q. Is there a danger that if Mubarak goes now things will descend into chaos ?

A. There are signs of that chaos already appearing with vicious street battles between warring factions, the absence of proper policing with widespread reports of looting and rape as well as the serious damage being done to businesses and the economy in general. All parties profess a devotion to national unity and to achieve this there must be give and take. I would hope that President Mubarak will complete his term and be allowed to go into honourable retirement. He has served his country for many years and is not without some achievements and by going peacefully he may regain some respect from his opponents. We may justly criticise him for his failures but I dislike the crude abuse coming from some quarters. If he goes early, then the Vice-President will assume power in an orderly way and he should invite representatives of all the leading opposition groups to play some part in the reconstruction which must immediately follow and to pave the way for constitutional change and free and fair elections before the end of the year.

Q. Is there a danger that the Muslim Brotherhood or other religious fundamentalists will be the principal beneficiaries of these changes ?

A. Although the Muslim Brotherhood has been a banned party, it nevertheless managed to field “independent” candidates and to gain 88 seats (20% of the total) in the 2005 elections. In the latest, 2010 rigged elections, they gained only one seat (0.2% of the total). Obviously, support is still there and it is something which needs to be faced. Currently the Muslim Brotherhood professes a commitment to greater democratisation and if a new Constitution can be brought in before the elections we have to trust that the majority of Egyptians will back that and it will serve as a safeguard against any form of extremism.

Q. Do you have any views about what form that Constitution should take ?

A. The 1980 amendment introduced by President Sadat, which states “Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation” is discriminatory and contradicts the aspirations of non-Muslim citizens. The rights of all Egyptians to practise their religion must be respected but no faith should be preferred over another if there is to be true equality. National unity cannot be achieved by preferring one section of society over another and this is the soundest way to ensure that religious extremists do not gain control.

Q. How should Coptic Orthodox Christians react ?

A. In all societies there will be diversity of opinions, so Copts do not form a monolithic block vote. We have seen instances of Copts standing guard over mosques during these demonstrations and I know of very encouraging reports of Christians and Muslims working harmoniously to protect their local communities. The Coptic Church has always encouraged national unity and that vision is symbolised in the old motif of the conjoined cross and crescent expressing that sense of Egyptian unity which was so strong in the early twentieth century. Copts have been participating in peaceful demonstrations and Pope Shenouda has always condemned any resort to violence.  I feel sure that Copts will be at the forefront of support for the wounded and the vulnerable during these difficult days. The shameful and degrading violence of the past two days is something which cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Q. What can those of us do who are not living in Egypt ?

A.  As Christians we know the power of prayer and it is always our first resort. We not only pray for our friends and relations caught up in events, but we pray for the victims of the violence and that the politicians and leading figures in Egyptian society will be given wisdom and guidance in their judgements and actions. At the present, most Coptic Churches in the diaspora are observing a time of prayer and fasting. It is encouraging also how many Christians of other traditions are telling us that they too are earnestly praying for a peaceful and just outcome. Egypt is a great nation and they are a proud people. We pray that out of these troubled times a long and lasting peace may result so that freedom, justice and tolerance may flourish.

On Saturday, 29 January, an ecumenical service was held at St. Mary’s, Bryanston Square, Wyndham Place, London, W1H 1PQ, as an “Egypt  Day of Prayer”. The service had been organised by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) in co-operation with other concerned groups  before the current turmoil, to highlight the current problems of Christians in Egypt following the Alexandrian bombing. Over five hundred worshippers from all Christian traditions came together to express their commitment and solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Christ and to witness to the transforming power of prayer in the face of the abuse of power and disregard for justice in Egypt.

The proceedings opened with traditional Coptic Orthodox prayers led by His Grace Bishop Angaelos and Metropolitan Seraphim, during which Deacon Meliton Oakes of the Archdiocese of Thyateira chanted the Gospel and Archbishop Kevin McDonald, formerly of Southwark, recited prayers. There were also Evangelical prayers with rousing choruses and reflective meditations on events, notably from Dr. Raafat Girguis, an international Coptic Christian broadcaster. The Orthodox Church was well represented: from the Coptic Orthodox Church were HG Bishop Angaelos and Father Moussa Roshdy of Rotherham; from the British Orthodox were Metropolitan Seraphim with Fathers Sergius Scott, Simon Smyth and Peter Farrington; from the Syric Orthodox Church was Archbishop Athanasios and one of his priests and from the Greek Orthodox Church (representing HE Archbishop Gregorios) was Deacon Meliton Oakes.

On 26 January Abba Seraphim, accompanied by Father Simon Smyth, attended the funeral of the late Dr. Kenneth Stevenson, who died on 12 January, in Portsmouth Cathedral.

Dr. Stevenson was born in 1949 near Edinburgh, of Scottish and Danish descent. He was ordained deacon in 1973 and priest in 1974, he served curacies at Grantham with Manthorpe in Lincolnshire 1973-76 and Boston 1976-1980 before becoming Chaplain of the University of Manchester, where he also lectured: 1980-1986. He was visiting Professor at Notre Dame University, Indiana, USA in 1983. From there he became Rector of Holy Trinity, Guildford before his consecration as eighth bishop of Portsmouth in 1995. He resigned his see in 2009 following a long period of illness, battling with leukaemia.

He collaborated with the Bishop in Europe, Geoffrey Rowell, and the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, in editing Love’s Redeeming Work, an anthology of Anglican spirituality and theology which has become a best-seller.  His latest books are Rooted in Detachment: Living the Transfiguration (2007), and an Advent book entitled Watching and Waiting (2007).

He welcomed the use by the British Orthodox Church of St. Peter & Paul at Wymering and more recently St. Faith’s Portsmouth. As literary executor to Geoffrey J. Cuming (1917-1988) he was responsible for the publication in 1990 of Cuming’s Liturgy of St. Mark and had great respect for the Alexandrian tradition. He also shared with Abba Seraphim a family history in the Catholic Apostolic Church and his doctoral thesis at the University of Southampton (1973) was on the Catholic Apostolic Eucharist. He gladly joined the council of the Albury Society, of which  Abba Seraphim is the chairman. He and Abba Seraphim also corresponded on liturgical matters, notably the Coptic devotion to the Four Living Creatures. Shortly before his retirement he passed to Abba Seraphim the stewardship of three cherished items: the nineteenth century tabernacle from the Catholic Apostolic Church in Southwark; an original oil painting (1875) of the Catholic Apostolic Liturgy being celebrated at the church in Edinburgh and a nineteenth century brass Ethiopian censer which had been brought from Egypt by General Sir Reginald Wingate, Sirdar of the Egyptian Army.

The Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum met for its half-yearly meeting on 24 January at the Syrian Orthodox Church in Acton. It was c0-chaired by Bishop Geoffrey Rowell of Gibraltar in Europe and Bishop Angaelos. Hosting the meeting was Archbishop Athanasios Thoma Dawood and the Anglican representatives were joined for the first time by Bishop Christopher Chessum, the newly appointed Bishop of Southwark. Abba Seraphim was unable to attend as he had another pastoral commitment. The meeting made good progress in refining the Forum’s aims and objectives  which include  encouraging opportunities for common prayer and worship within the discipline of the respective churches; the discussion of current pastoral, social and political issues; and discovering and educating one another, the clergy and laity about the traditions  of each church tradition. The Forum is the result of international dialogue between the churches but does not seek to duplicate the theological work of those diagues but rather to receive and consider the documents issued by those dialogues and to take note of, diuscuss and explore relevent developments between both communions and to explore their local relevance and implications. The Forum plans to produxce a booklet containing all the relevant common statements between the Churches.

“Prophet, Priest and King: The High Calling of the Baptised” – Sermon by Father Peter Farrington in two parts.