Church History
- I am a Coptic Orthodox Christian, and in this series of blogs I will be writing about the history of the Church as one continuous story of faith, struggle, and perseverance.
- While I have read and studied many parts of Coptic Church history in depth, I realised that I have read much less about the history of the Church in the rest of the world, especially in Europe after the Council of Chalcedon.
- The Council of Chalcedon marked a major turning point in Church history, leading to the separation between the Coptic Church and the other Oriental Orthodox Churches on one side, and the Chalcedonian churches on the other.
- Because of this separation, much of the later history of the Church in Europe developed on a different path from that of the Coptic Church, and many Orthodox believers are not familiar with these developments.
- In this series, I will begin by studying the major heresies that appeared in the early centuries of Christianity, because heresies often shaped doctrine, councils, and church structure.
- Understanding heresies helps us see why the Church defended the faith so strongly and why clear doctrine was necessary to protect the truth about Christ.
- After covering heresies, I will move to the history of the Church in Europe, focusing first on the development of the Roman Catholic Church after Chalcedon.
- This will include how church authority, theology, and practice developed in the Western Church over time.
- I will then examine the Great Schism, which led to the division between the Eastern and Western churches, and explore the historical, theological, and political reasons behind it.
- Following this, I will study the Protestant Reformation, looking at why it happened, what it changed, and how it reshaped Christianity in Europe.
- Each topic will be presented in a clear and simple way, aiming to explain events rather than attack individuals or traditions.
- The goal is understanding, not controversy, and learning from history rather than judging it.
- These blogs will be written as connected studies, not isolated articles, so that readers can follow the flow of Church history step by step.
- Together, these blogs will form the foundation of my fourth book on church history, building on the previous works in this series.
- Throughout this journey, I will remain rooted in the faith and theology of the Coptic Orthodox Church while honestly engaging with the wider history of Christianity.
- My hope is that this series will help readers better understand where we came from, why divisions happened, and how the Church has continued to witness to Christ despite human weakness.
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