What We Believe
Our Mission
“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” Colossians 1:28
Our Beliefs
The Holy Scripture
We believe that the Holy Scripture is the divinely inspired Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the story in which God reveals His love for man throughout the history of mankind.
The Old Testament tells of the history of that revelation from Creation through the Age of the Prophets.
The New Testament records the birth and life of Jesus Christ, sets forth the writings and works of His Apostles, and documents the history of the early Church.
The Holy Tradition
Tradition, is the apostles doctrine, mentioned in Acts 2:42, which Paul and the other apostles taught and preached. It is the Tradition revealed by our Lord to the disciples during the fifty days after His Resurrection, which St. John refers to “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they should be written every one, is suppose even the world could not contain the books that should be written.” (John 21:20)
Sacraments
The Coptic Orthodox Church is a sacramental church. Sacraments or in Greek, “Mysterion” which means “Mysteries”, are considered to be sacred actions where believers receive an invisible grace through material or visible signs and elements. The Holy Spirit works in the church through the seven sacraments, giving us His gifts, blessings and comfort; teaching and guiding us to the way of truth.
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The Creed of Faith
The “Nicene Creed” was formulated by St. Athanasius the Apostolic (the 20th Pope of Alexandria), a hero of the first Ecumenical Council of Nicaea in the 4th century (325 AD). This Council of 318 bishops approved this creed under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to refute the false teaching of Arius and his followers, who denied the Divinity of Christ. The creed was completed in the second Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (381 AD) convened by 150 bishops against Macedonious’ heresy against the divinity of the Holy Spirit. The third Ecumenical Council at Ephesus (431 AD), convened by 200 bishops against the heresy of Nestorius, added the introduction to the Creed.
INTRODUCTION TO THE CREED
We magnify you, O Mother of the true Light. We glorify you, O holy Virgin, Mother of God, for you have borne for us the Saviour of the whole world; He came and saved our souls. Glory to Thee Christ, our Master and our King, the pride of the Apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the joy of the righteous, the firmness of the churches and the forgiveness of our sins. We proclaim the Holy Trinity, One God. We worship Him. We glorify Him. Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless us. Amen.
THE CREED
Truly we believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and all things, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all ages. Light of Light; true God of true God; begotten, not created; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made. Who, for us and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and of the Virgin Mary, and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate; suffered and was buried. And on the third day He rose from the dead, according to the scriptures. He ascended into the heavens; and sits at the right hand of His Father. He shall come again in His Glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose Kingdom shall have no end.
Truly, we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Life-Giver, Who proceeds from the Father; Who, with the Father and the Son, is worshipped and glorified; Who spoke by the prophets. And in One, Holy, Catholic (Universal) and Apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins.
We await the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the age to come. Amen.
The creed clearly shows that we believe in the Holy Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit), and that the three are One.