The Church of England is “established.” That means it’s the official religion of England, tied to the State and, to some degree, controlled by it. Americans find the concept of a “state religion” difficult to imagine; the so-called “separation of church and state” here has entered our national psyche so much that many are cautious about wishing people “Merry Christmas.” Among us, this notion of the separation of church and state is a bit of a cult in itself.
If we find the establishment of the English Church odd, consider that in many Middle Eastern countries, Islam is the “established” religion. Places like Egypt, until very recently a so-called “secular state,” looked to modern democracies for its ideals—if not day-to-day practices. Islam may not have been officially established but as the religion of the great majority of the population, it certainly enjoyed a favored status.
In an article I wrote for One magazine a few years ago (One focuses on the lives of Christians in the Middle East), I interviewed a Coptic priest who was visiting the United States. He agreed to the interview only on the condition that I not use his name, the name of his parish, or even its region. “Retribution against us is real and happens daily,” he explained matter-of-factly.
The priest, who’s been serving in his rural parish for more than 25 years, wanted to leave a legacy to his parish and people, something “they will have long after I am gone,” he told me. Since Coptic children, even under the recent “secular” regime, were discriminated against in state schools, he wanted to build a school for the young people of his parish. For ten years, he tirelessly raised money for his dream. Finally, cash in hand, he applied for the government permits. One of the requirements was that he appear before the Islamic town council and obtain their permission. The council agreed, with this stipulation: he must build an Islamic school first, to be larger than the Christian school he would someday build.
He’s a better man than I. At that point, I’ve have become angry, told them off and gone home to nurse a cup of bourbon. Fr X told me his story with a slight smile and shrug of his shoulders. “What did you do?” I asked. “I prayed,” he answered simply, “then I built their school.” He began raising money all over again for a Christian school, which he completed two years before he made his trip to America (not, incidentally, a fund-raising trip. When I suggested that, he chuckled. “Then the school wouldn’t be ours.”). It was built despite constant vandalism and theft of materials by the indignant Muslim neighbors for whom Fr X had built a school. He smiles as he tells his tale. “God has been kind to us,” he concludes.
The persecuted Church is the holy Church.
Copts have been Christians for 1800 years. Since the time of the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, any Muslim who converts to Christianity is subject to the death penalty. The Coptic Christians today (who make up 10% of the population of Egypt) are all descendants of the first generations of Copts who refused to convert to Islam so long ago.
I am proud to share the Catholic religion with such defenders of the Faith.
With the fall of the “secular” government there earlier this year, plans are afoot to implement Sharia Law, the religious law of Islam, over the Egyptian population—including the Copts. Under Sharia Law, Christians “will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church or sanctuary, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration.” Churches cannot display crosses, ring bells, or conduct religious activities in public. Already, since the fall of the “secular” government in January, three Coptic churches have been burned. Christian businesses are routinely attacked. It is a daily headline to read of the abduction of Christian teen-agers who are forced to convert to Islam, their captors knowing the penalties they'll face even for backing out of a forced conversion . Sharia Law isn’t yet in effect, but in all these instances, authorities respond by telling the Coptic community not to make more trouble lest they provoke more reprisals.
Hard to believe? Yeah. And all true.
And so what’s to be done?
I’m not suggesting we write our Congressman or email the White House. Instead, follow Fr X’s good example. Pray for the Copts, whose persecution is making holy the Church of God. And pray for those of us who rarely suffer even an inconvenience for our religion, that God will make us worthy of such companions in the Household of Faith.—Fr Gregory Wilcox
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