Coptic Christians

For those of us who have followed the struggle of Egypt’s Coptic Christians, particularly during the presidency of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, there’s been both good news and bad news.

Conventional manger scenes don’t show it, but besides the ox, the ass, the sheep, and the camels, there was another animal in the room at Christmas: an elephant. And the elephant in the room was the idea that Jesus’ mother was a virgin when He was born.

Here lies the main problem with the article by Candace Lukasik: outside of its wrong claims, the article shows a clear lack of knowledge of anything resembling Coptic culture or history.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Middle Eastern Christians like MP Neemat Frem and Dr. Issam Raad are living up to the best of their community’s tradition as healers of the sick.

Even as we remember that Jesus rose from the dead in Jerusalem, Christians in the Middle East and elsewhere experience some of the highest levels of persecution in the world.

For those worried about the Coptic Church’s future, the question is not that of a Christmas date or necessary adjustments for pastoral needs, but rather whether years from now we may look back at this decision as the first step in a painful schism that separates the Church in Egypt from its churches in the West, a separation of the daughter from the mother.

Egypt boasts the largest population of Christians in the Near East and thus offers the best chance to protect and empower them. A successful model here can be duplicated elsewhere.

In the fate of Egypt and its Christians, we should read one crucial fact: neither democratic nor authoritarian governance delivered anything resembling equal citizenship.

Last spring, in the 53rd minute of a hotly contested soccer match between two of the most famous soccer clubs…