Hi

edited January 2019 in Introductions
Hi all, my name is Jonathan. I was born and live in Australia, however by blood I am fully Egyptian, and was born into the Coptic Catholic faith. I am 16 years old. My parents migrated here from Egypt with their parents, therefore making me the first generation in probably thousands, or millions of years to live in a country other than our motherland.

At my church, all of my generation are pretty much in the same situation as me; the first generation born in Australia, with English as a first language, rather than Arabic. Now that is not to say we can't speak Arabic, we are quite good at conversational Egyptian Arabic, however that is about as far as we go. Most cannot read Arabic, nor understand formal Arabic that we would use in the Arabic mass. (That is why we have an English mass)

Although I am only 16, I have served as a deacon since I was about 8. Over the years I have learnt much about the Coptic faith, however I am now looking to expand my knowledge by actually learning how to speak, read and write the Coptic language. This may seem as a surprise to some of you that I am only learning now, however in my Church it is not a requirement of becoming a deacon to learn the language. I am hoping to learn so that I can enjoy the faith more, and praise God with my heart, by actually knowing what I am singing. Then hopefully, if I am good enough, I can teach others, people and deacons alike, so that they too can be more spiritually involved in liturgies, hymns and sacraments.

So, it is likely that you will see me on these forums every now and then, asking a question from you guys, as you are obviously more experienced than me. Please do not let the fact that I am Catholic hinder any of you from interacting with me; we are all one in Christ. Also, there is a distinction between the Coptic Catholic and Latin/Roman Catholic faith. We are not a Latin church, and still have some differences in our rites. To give an example, we do not allow Eucharistic ministers (only abouna gives communion), and women are not allowed to be altar servers, nor are they allowed to be readers.

See you guys around!


Comments

  • Welcome to the forum!
    I am also 16 and I have learned so much already from this forum and much more to go, so you will definitely enjoy it.
    It is very aspiring that you are motivated in these spiritual matters and may God fill you more and more.
    Welcome!
  • And your Abouna does not wear a hat. That was pretty weird the first time I saw that!
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