Coptic and Melkite
Patriarchs of Alexandria

The influence of the Egyptian Church on the Church in general then becomes considerable. Monasticism really began in Egypt, apparently with St. Antony (d.356). The most important doctrinal influence, however, came from the Patriarch St. Athanasius, who attended the Council of Nicaea in 325, strongly opposing the doctrine of Arius (Arianism) that Christ was perfect Man but not perfect God. Since Arianism enjoyed considerable Imperial favor until Theodosius I, Athanasius experienced a good deal of trouble. He was exiled to Trier (335-337) and then to Rome (339-346). Constantius II tried to arrest him in 356, but he escaped into the desert until the Emperor died in 361. He was not actually unmolested until from 366 to his death in 373. Several opposing Patriarchs will be noted in the list. Athanasian Orthodoxy, that Christ was God of God, was established at the Second Ecumenical Council in 381. But even centuries later, we find a Unitarian like Thomas Jefferson complaining that Athanasius was the one who had ruined Christianity, turning it from a moral teaching into magical superstition. However, what could be more Egyptian than the idea that the King is God!

The next great doctrinal controversy involving Egypt had grave and enduring consequences for the Egyptian Church. At the Fourth Ecumenical Council at Chalcedon in 451 the doctrine was condemned, Monophysitism, that Christ had only one Nature, divine. Greek and Latin Orthodoxy would be that Christ had two Natures, human and divine. One Nature, however, was the position of the Patriarch Dioscorus of Alexandria, who was then deposed. But that was nowhere near the end of the matter. The Egyptians supported Dioscorus and Monophysitism, and their support soon translated into a national revival and a cultural, at least, revolt against the Imperial (the Roman Catholic) Church. The Egyptian Church now began using the spoken language of Egypt, later called Coptic, as its liturgical language, writing it in an adaptation of the Greek alphabet. This now preserved complete the latest stage of the Ancient Egyptian language, which in the 19th century became one of the keys to the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Church then began appointing its own Patriarch. We thus get a Schism represented by the Monophysite Patriarch, the Coptic Patriarch, often called the Coptic Pope, opposed by the appointee of the Imperial Church, called the "Greek" or "Melkite" Patriarch.
 

When I was in Egypt in 1969, my tour group from Beirut was met at the El-Moallaka Church in Old Cairo by the Priest, Shenouda Hanna. I bought a book he had written, Who Are The Copts?, which he autographed. The Coptic Patriarch at the time was Kirellos VI. Now, since 1971, the Patriarch is Shenouda III, and I find myself wondering if this is Shenouda Hanna. There are many Coptic websites about the Patriarch, but I have not been able to find the biographical information that would clarify the issue.

Finding complete lists of these Patriarchs has not been easy. Fortunately, Bruce R. Gordon's Regnal Chronologies came through, as it often has, even though the Patriarchs are not really "regnal." Gordon has lists of Patriarchs for many other Eastern Churches, but they don't always seem to be clearly identified with their doctrinal and institutional affiliation.

One tradtional duty of the Patriarchs of Alexandria was appointing the Archbishop and Primate of Ethiopia, the Abune or Abuna (Arabic for "Our Father"). The first such appointee was Frumentius, a Syrian who had been living at the Ethiopian court for some time and journeyed to Alexandria in order to ask for a Bishop to be appointed. Traditionally, it is supposed to have been St. Athanasius himself who then appointed Frumentius to the post. However, the known dates of Athanasius are a bit late for the likely date of Frumentius's trip. After the advent of Islam, communication between the (now Coptic) Patriarch and Ethiopia was interrupted; but in the 12th century, appointments were resumed. It was always an Egyptian Coptic monk who was appointed; and by the 20th century, Ethiopians were beginning to think that maybe it was time for an Ethiopian to be Primate of Ethiopia. Negotiations over this in 1929 still resulted in an Egyptian monk as Archbishop and Primate, but with four Ethiopians consecrated as Bishops. After World War II, an Ethiopian, Basilos, had already been elected Primate, and in 1950 the Coptic Patriarch recognized him. In 1959 the Coptic Patriarch recognized the Ethiopian Church as an autocephalous Patriarchate, although in communion, of course, with Alexandria.

Since this was published in 1967, my guess would be that it antedates the introduction of the term "miaphysite." This term itself doesn't help in understanding the doctrine. "Monophysite" combines monos, "one, sole," with physis, while "miaphysite" combines the independent word for "one" in the feminine gender (to agree with physis), mia. Between monos and mia there is a distinction that doesn't make a difference, though certainly such a terminological difference can be used to represent conceptual differences. For example, "monotheism" means belief in one God, while "henotheism," using the independent word for "one" in the masculine gender, henos, has been used to mean belief in many gods, where one in particular is superior to the others (e.g. Zeus in Greek religion). Thus, "miaphysite" could be used, by definition, to mean absolutely anything.