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Why is our Church right?

CopticJono09CopticJono09
edited June 2007 in Coptic Orthodox Church
So the other day at school, In Religion Class (I go to a Catholic High School), we talked about the history of the church and how our church (coptic) split from the catholics as the first real split in the council of chalcedon...and etc.

I started thinking. What makes our church right?

I know we say that our church has never had a split within itself. Well neither has the Roman Catholic Church. All these different sects of Christianity, including ours, originated in the Catholic church. All these religions today that say they are the  "right" christians came out of the catholic church. But their church never really had a split within itself.

So what makes us right and them wrong if we originally where one church? Is it because of the belief that St. Mark established us without recognizing the church of St. Peter?

And also...DO u think in the near future the churches around the world are going to unify? I mean how amazing would that be that u can walk into any curch and pray and that the biggest religion in the world would be unified in one.

I asked my neighbor who is muslim why they do not like christianity, and they said christianity is supose to be one body and there are so many sects, where as in islam, we have the least with 3.

I know this might be "bad" to put on this website since most of you guys are very faith rooted. And i am not leaning to either side. I was just looking at this very objectively.

Please voice your opinions too. I want to hear what you guys think so I can talk to my class about it.

Thanks
-Jono :)

Comments

  • spr418spr418
    In the near future no one knows if they churches are guna unify or not..if God wants to then so be it..it will be one church.
    We can't really say our church is right and their church isn't cuz everyone has diff. believes and everyone thinks they are they right religion..we can only know that on judment day..but some stuff are just straight out wrong that other ppl do and we all know that..just like the group that said we can have devorce, its more than obvious in the bible when it explains that whatever is unified by God no one can ever split..how do you marry in God's house then get devorced..see what i mean? i really hope i make sense

    GBU
    sandra
  • minatasgeelminatasgeel
    [quote author=CopticJono09 link=topic=5393.msg71781#msg71781 date=1180829513]
    I know we say that our church has never had a split within itself. Well neither has the Roman Catholic Church. All these different sects of Christianity, including ours, originated in the Catholic church. All these religions today that say they are the  "right" christians came out of the catholic church. But their church never really had a split within itself.


    i have to disagree. this did not happend. according to this diogram:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ChristianityBranches.svg

    our coptic church did not split from the orginal Holy universla church. we have always kept and defended the faith of the 3 official counsils. they, as other churchs that are not with us, have changed that faith and have gone far away from it. as a result, they are they one who saparated from the church not us. than they saparated to catholics and eastern orthodox. and than from catholics came protestants due to all the political views and the additions of dogmas in the catholic faith.


    So what makes us right and them wrong if we originally where one church? Is it because of the belief that St. Mark established us without recognizing the church of St. Peter?

    that is not true. we have the same faith until the split that i mentioned above.


    And also...DO u think in the near future the churches around the world are going to unify? I mean how amazing would that be that u can walk into any curch and pray and that the biggest religion in the world would be unified in one.

    we will not leave this earth except we are one true church. now to us as copts, we are very close to unite with the greek church who is one main member of the eastern orthodox churchs.

    I asked my neighbor who is muslim why they do not like christianity, and they said christianity is supose to be one body and there are so many sects, where as in islam, we have the least with 3.

    lol, this is a big discussion about Islam and christianty. this answer is just a fake veiw of christianity.
  • torabtorab

    where as in islam, we have the least with 3.

    thats not true...there are three main islamic organisationen...sunnits shiits and the black moslems in the us....and of course there are more then those....so thats not true what he said...

    acording to the other things minagir said i agree with him...
    we lived the "true way"...see whats happening in the catholic church...everything is reduced and not a lot of catholics care if they are in the church or not....
    protestantiism came from the catholic church as the catholic church didnt allowed that anything in there church translated form the latin into the german language...so martin luther translated the bible to whom cannot speak or read latin..so he was excumunicated...and was so to say the founder of the protestant church...so the catholic split...another example...her in austria there are old catholics and roman catholics....two seperated churches from one catholic church....

    there is mor to say but maybe somone else shoul write the facts...

    pp4m

    aripsalin
  • gregorytheSinnergregorytheSinner
    Well in the Past (pre-451) the Roman Church was regarded as the strongest church among the others, what I have to say is that I guess this mentality stuck. Even though there are clearly many splits with in it, not only that but if someone searches "antipopes" in wikipedia, you'll find a good 6 "antipopes" to the Catholic Pope Benedict XVI

  • Anglican
    Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

    An interesting question, which could have several long answers, and which I am sure is covered elsewhere on this site. I wonder if I might add this as one who has converted into the Coptic Orthodox Church from Anglicanism?

    I am uneasy with the 'is our Church right' way of putting this; but in the end that is what it comes down to, I guess. The less confrontational way of putting this to others is that our Church has retained the fulness of the Faith once given by Our Lord to the Apostles and transmitted by them through the Fathers to the Church. To use language beloved of those into things organic - we have added nothing and subtracted nothing from the fulness of the Faith.

    Chalcedon, in 451, occasioned a most unfortunate split, but over the next century and a half many attempts were made to mend it, some almost succeeding; these came to an end only because of the Arab conquests. Once our Church could, once again, talk freely to the Chalcedonian Orthodox, it became clear just how much of the Faith we held in common despite 1500 years apart; that is remarkable. There are, it is true, those who hold to the older view that we are Monophysites and they are Nestorian; in my humble opinion there is no ground for either belief; these are historical prejudices. If you look at this site http://www.orthodoxunity.org/ you'll find the documents backing up what I have just written.

    By 1054 the Chalcedonians had come to blows with each other and the Great Schism was formally pronounced, with Constantinople repudiating Rome after Rome excommunicated its Patriarch. In 1453, with the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans, the Greek Church passed into captivity, rather as our own Church had much earlier. There are those who see in these events God's punishment on sinful man; they are wiser than I am if they see this, but which of us knows for sure?

    This left the Russian Orthodox Church as the only Orthodox Church able to operate freely outside of Muslim domination - which, with the growth of the Russian Empire, is why it became so important.

    In the West, Rome became the dominant power. But in the 1500s its abuses became too much for some, and a German Monk called Luther began the protest against it, calling for a reformation. He ended up founding his own, 'Protestant' Church. The struggle between Protestantism and Catholicism helped plunge Europe into what became known as the 30 Years' War; at the end of it Catholicism predominated in Poland and southern Europe, Protestantism elsewhere. From the start, the Protestants tended to divide from each other, as every party claimed to be able to read the scriptures more accurately than others; that is one reason we have so many Protestant denominations.

    The ancient Churches: our own, the other Oriental Orthodox and the Eastern Orthodox, have almost everything in common doctrinally and Christologically; but we have a long history of repression (by Islam and communism) and persecution, and of self-created division. It will take much time and love, the work of the Spirit, to bring us together; but if it is His will, it shall be so; and for that I pray everyday.

    The differences with the Catholics are greater, but the Roman Church is one of the greatest forces for good in the world at large, and although we have real disagreements with some of what it teaches (Papal Infallibility and the filioque), it obviously has Grace - even if, from our viewpoint, it has some things that need to cleared away. It would be good if, in the fulness of God's will, we could come together.

    The Protestant Churches are more difficult. Some do not have the sacraments, and with some, the differences are huge. The Anglicans, for example, do have the sacraments and they have bishops; but since they decided to have women and gay priests, it is hard to see they are in line with the Apostolic tradition any more; there are those who see it otherwise, of course.

    This is a much simplified explanatory history, and I would welcome correction; but I do hope it is of some assistance to CopticJono09.

    In Christ,

    John
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