George Demianeg
19-09-2008, 05:11 AM
Here in Egypt there are many Coptic Saints who do miracles and are popular between the Christians including the Orthodox. Most of those Coptic saints (as the late Patriarch Cyrill VI) had no problems with the Orthodox faith or the Orthodox Church, and beleived that the Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox have one faith and must unite again.
My question is: Is it right or wrong to pray to the Coptic saints and visit their relics, of course I mean those who beleived in the Orthodox faith and church as Pope Cyrill VI who make many miracles before and after his departure and I dont mean by the coptic saints those who resisted the Orthodox faith or had any non orthodox beleifs (eg Dioskoros and sevirus), also I mean private prayers at homes and am not talking about public veneration in churches and liturgies. Am I doing wrong if I asked Pope Cyrill VI to pray for me?
Also in the 1960's there was famous apparitions of the Theotokos in a Coptic church in Zeitun district in Cairo, accompanied by many healings, these apparitions were not accompanied by any messages and sayings or any non-orthodox teachings as the Marian apparitions in the Roman Catholic Church.
What is the attitude of our church concerning these apparitions? are they divine or not? Is it right or wrong to beleive in them and visit the Zeitun church and pray to Our Lady in this church?
My question is: Is it right or wrong to pray to the Coptic saints and visit their relics, of course I mean those who beleived in the Orthodox faith and church as Pope Cyrill VI who make many miracles before and after his departure and I dont mean by the coptic saints those who resisted the Orthodox faith or had any non orthodox beleifs (eg Dioskoros and sevirus), also I mean private prayers at homes and am not talking about public veneration in churches and liturgies. Am I doing wrong if I asked Pope Cyrill VI to pray for me?
Also in the 1960's there was famous apparitions of the Theotokos in a Coptic church in Zeitun district in Cairo, accompanied by many healings, these apparitions were not accompanied by any messages and sayings or any non-orthodox teachings as the Marian apparitions in the Roman Catholic Church.
What is the attitude of our church concerning these apparitions? are they divine or not? Is it right or wrong to beleive in them and visit the Zeitun church and pray to Our Lady in this church?