EPIPHANY - MOTHER OF CHURCHES   In his encyclical, ORIENTALE LUMEN, issued on May 2, 1995, the liturgical memory of St. Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the Church and patron saint of Christians in Egypt, His Holiness John Paul II recalled the apostolic letter of his predecessor, Pope Leo XIII, calling for the safeguard of the Eastern tradition of the whole Church, stated in pertinent part as follows: On the centenary of that event and the initiatives intended at that time as an aid to restoring unity with all the Christians of the East, I wish to send to the Catholic Church a similar appeal which has been enriched by the knowledge and interchange which took place over the last century. Since, in fact, we believe that the venerable and ancient tradition of the Eastern churches is an integral part of the heritage of Christ's church, the first need for Catholics is to be familiar with that tradition, so as to be nourished by it and to encourage the process of unity in the best way possible for each. ST. ATHANASIUS I believe that one important way to grow in mutual understanding and unity consists precisely in improving our knowledge of one another. The children of the Catholic Church already know the ways indicated by the Holy See for achieving this: to know the liturgy of the Eastern churches; to deepen their knowledge of the spiritual traditions of the fathers and doctors of the Christian East; to follow the example of the Eastern churches for the inculturation of the Gospel message; to combat tensions between Latins and Orientals and to encourage dialogue between Catholics and the Orthodox; to train in specialized institutions, theologians, liturgists, historians and canonists of the Christian East, who in turn can spread knowledge of the Eastern churches; to offer appropriate teaching on these subjects in seminaries and theological facilities, especially to future priests. These remain very sound recommendations on which I intend to insist with particular force. ...The Eastern Catholic bishops will not neglect any means of encouraging an atmosphere of brotherhood sincere mutual esteem and cooperation with their brothers in the churches with which we are not yet in full communion, especially with those who belong to the same ecclesial tradition. A complete text of ORIENTALE LUMEN may be seen at: http://www.cin.org/jp2ency/orielume.html In obedience to the Holy Father's wishes as stated above, Epiphany Byzantine Catholic Church, with the approval of Bishop Michael Dudick and his successor, Bishop Andrew Pataki, and encouraged by its pastor, Fr. Philip Scott, has opened its doors in brotherly affection to our brethren of the East to assist them in establishing religious missions and churches of their own tradition offering them the use of the church premises for celebration of the liturgy other religious services and social events until such time as they are able to establish church facilities of their own. Epiphany first hosted the immigrant faithful of the Christian Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt who met in the church on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the liturgy. The Egyptian Coptic Church is one of the ancient apostolic churches, having been founded by its first bishop, the Apostle St. Mark. The Coptic Church was renown in early Christendom as a staunch defender of orthodoxy, contributing several eminent theologians to the resolution of early heretical challenges, most notable the Arian heresy. POPE SHENOUDA III In 451 AD, bishops of the entire Church assembled at Chalcedon to resolve the Christological dispute over the nature of Christ, acknowledging that Christ has two natures, one human and the other divine, existing in the one person of Jesus Christ. The Church of Alexandria, along with the Copts of Ethiopea, the Jacobites in Syria and the Armenians rejected the resolutions of the Council of Chalcedon and were henceforth out of communion with the Churches of Rome and Constantinople and were referred to as the non-Chalcedonian or Monophyisite churches. (In 1973 Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III signed a Common Christological Declaration in which both affirmed the Christological dogma of Chalcedon). As a result of the original breach in the unity of the Universal Church, the Patriarchate of Alexandria, then second only to the Patriarchate of Rome in dignity, was replaced by the Church of Constantinople. As a consequence of this and the subsequent Islamic invasion and conquest of Egypt in the 7th century, the Coptic church declined in numbers and influence and today represents about 10% to 15% of Egypt's population. The Coptic Church is currently under the spiritual leadership of His Holiness, Pope Shenouda III, Patriarch of Alexandria, who along with other Coptic hierarchs, met on February 25, 2000, with Pope John Paul II during the latter's visit to Egypt during which the Pope's hopes for unity of the churches were discussed. Readers interested in learning more about the Coptic Church may visit the following Web sites: http://www.stathanasius.miss.on.coptorthodox.ca and http://www.copticpope.org. See also OUR LADY OF THE SACKCLOTH at: http://www.byzantines.net/byzcathculture/sackcloth.html As for the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox mission in Atlanta, it now has its own church called St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church located in Roswell not far from Epiphany. Epiphany has also hosted on its premises the Catholic mission which became St. Benedict's Roman Catholic Church of Duluth, GA. ST. GREGORY THE ILLUMINATOR In addition to the above, Epiphany is now hosting the Atlanta mission of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church which meets in the church on Sunday afternoons about once a month to celebrate the liturgy followed by a dinner of savory Armenian foods. The Armenian nation was converted to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminator in the year 301 (1) a few decades before Roman Emperor Constantine liberated the ancient Church and established it throughout the Greek and Latin speaking parts of the Empire. Like the Copts, the Armenians contributed much to the progress of the early Church but fell out of union with the Churches of Rome and Constantinople at the Council of Chalcedon. Throughout the history of the Armenian nation, the people and church have suffered much at the hands of others who sought to convert them to other religions, most notable the Persian Zorastorians and the Turkish Muslims. The Turks particularly have been unrelenting in their persecution of the Armenian Christians. These comments about the Armenians would not be complete without mentioning the genocide carried out by the Turks late in the 19th century and continuing into the 20th, culminating in the great massacre of April, 1915. One and a half million Armenians were martyred by the Turks and the survivors scattered in exile throughout the Middle East, Europe, Australia and North and South America. The Armenian mission at Epiphany consists largely of descendants of those who fled abroad. As stated above, the Armenians are considered non-Chalcedonian. The extent of their divergence from orthodox Christology, if any at all, was resolved by the Common Statement of Pope John Paul II and Armenian Catholicos (Patriarch) Karekin I during the latter's visit to Rome in December, 1996. Hereinafter follows the pertinent parts of that Statement: CATHOLICOS KAREKIN II Pope John Paul II and Catholicos Karekin I recognize the deep spiritual communion which already united them and the bishops, clergy and lay faithful of their Churches. It is a communion which finds its roots in the common faith in the holy and life-giving Trinity proclaimed by the apostles and transmitted down the centuries by the many Church Fathers, Church doctors, bishops, priests and martyrs who have followed them. They rejoice in the fact that recent developments of ecumenical relationships and theological discussions carried out in the spirit of Christian love and fellowship have dispelled many misunderstandings inherited from the controversies and dissentions of the past. Such dialogues and encounters have prepared a healthy situation of mutual understanding and recovery of the deeper spiritual communion based on common faith in the Holy Trinity that they have been given through the Gospel of Christ and in the Holy Tradition of the Church. They particularly welcome the great advance that their Churches have registered in their common search for their unity in Christ, the word of God made flesh. Perfect God as to His divinity, perfect man as to His humanity, His divinity is united in Him to His humanity in the Person of the Only-begotten Son of God in a union which is real, perfect, without confusion, without alteration, without division, without any form of separation. The reality of this common faith in Jesus Christ and in the same succession of apostolic ministry has at times been obscured or ignored. Linguistic, cultural and political factors have immensely contributed towards the theological divergences that have found expression in their terminology of formulating their doctrines. His Holiness John Paul II and His Holiness Karekin I have expressed their determined conviction that because of the fundamental common faith in God and in Jesus Christ, the controversies and unhappy divisions which sometimes have followed upon the divergent ways of expressing it as a result of the present declaration should not continue to influence the life and witness of the Church today. For the full text of the Common Declaration, the reader is invited to view: http://www.stleon.org. Other Armenian Web sites of interest are found at http://www.etchmiadzin.com, http://www.cilicia.com/armo_church.html and http://www.sain.org/Armenian.Church/Index.htm. In hosting three church missions in the Atlanta area, Epiphany is proud to acknowledge its reputation as Mother of Churches. FOOTNOTES: The priest and parishioners of Epiphany join their Armenian brethren in celebrating the 1700th anniversary of the conversion of Armenia by St. John the Illuminator including herein the Special Commemorative 1700th Anniversary Prayer which reads as follows: O Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, You are the Light of the World. You shined Your life-giving light on the people of Armenia 1700 years ago through the preaching of St. Gregory the Illuminator. Shine Your loving, sanctifying, healing light also on me, and on my family and loved ones. Give me the faith and strength to commit myself to You today more fully than yesterday and make me a worthy stewart of Your chosen vessel, our Holy Church. Forgive my wrongdoing, help me to live a Christian life worthy of Your love. Bless the Armenian Church, her leaders and faithful, and let Your light of salvation shine in her, through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and St. Gregory the Illuminator. Glory to You now and always and forever. Amen   Our Church:  Our Identity  |   Parish History  |  Our Temple  |  Byzantine Metropolia Instruction-Canon Law  |  Greek Catholic Union  |  Four Hierarchs-Four Martyrs Garden of All Saints  |  Parishioners in Iraq Our Traditions: Theophany-Epiphany  |  The Diaconate  |  Our Lady of the Willow Frankincense  |  Water  |  Iconostasis  |  Hagia Sophia  |  St.Nicholas of Myra Pentecost  |  Theotokos  |  Cosmology  |  Ordination of Married Men The Orthodox Brethren: Eternal Memory  |  Mother of Churches  |  Christ the Savior Miscellanous: Islam-Jihad  |  The Chaldean Church  |  Other Sites Home Copyright © 1999 - 2005 by Epiphany Byzantine Catholic Church. All Rights Reserved.