Emperor Heraclius - Page 2 of 2

Dayr Matra

DAYR MATRA When the patriarch BENJAMIN I returned to Alexandria in 644 from his exile in Upper Egypt, he chose as the episcopal residence the monastery of Matra, because it was the only one in the region of Alexandria whose monks had resisted the pressure of the emperor Heraclius to accept the dogma of CHALCEDON …

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Roman And Byzantine Rule In Egypt

History / By Arsanious Adel

ROMAN AND BYZANTINE RULE IN EGYPT The victory of Octavian (Augustus since 27 B.C.) over Cleopatra VII, the last sovereig of Ptolemaic Egypt,and her protector Mark Antony first in Actium (2 September 31 B.C.), then in Alexandria (1 August 30 B.C.) brought Egypt under Roman rule. This new epoch, conveniently subdivided into the Roman and …

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Alexandria In Late Antiquity

History, Places / By Arsanious Adel

ALEXANDRIA IN LATE ANTIQUITY Founded at the western end of the Nile Delta in 331 B.C. by Alexander the Great, Alexandria soon replaced Memphis as capital of Egypt and the Ptolemaic empire, thus focusing Egypt more resolutely than ever on the eastern Mediterranean and the Greek world. Alexandria became a center of Hellenistic civilization as …

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Andronicus

Eminent / By Arsanious Adel

ANDRONICUS The thirty-seventh patriarch of the See of Saint Mark (616-622). Andronicus was unanimously elected by the clergy and the bishops of the Coptic church. His election was universally acclaimed by the people of Alexandria to whom he was well known not only for his piety but also for his charitable character, since he gave …

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Monophysitism

Events / By Armia FAYEZ

MONOPHYSITISM The doctrine that the incarnate Christ is one Person and has one divine nature as opposed to the orthodox doctrine that he is one Person and has two natures, one human and one divine. The rift between the Monophysites, including the Coptic, Syrian, Ethiopian, and Armenian churches, and the Orthodox Church has divided Eastern …

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Holy Cross Day

Events / By Armia FAYEZ

HOLY CROSS DAY The Coptic Church annually commemorates two events related to the Holy Cross on which Jesus was crucified: the finding of the cross at Jerusalem by the empress Helena, mother of Constantine, in A.D. 326, the feast day being 17 Tut; and the restoration of the cross in 628 from the hands of …

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Fast of Heraclius

Events / By Youssef Matta

Fast of Heraclius This seven-day fast is attributed to Emperor Heraclius (575-642), who rescued the holy cross from the Persians in 629 and restored it to Golgotha. It is erroneously linked with the Coptic church, and taken to account for the first seven of the fifty-five days forming the Coptic Great Lent. The misconception arises …

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Monenergism (Monergism)

History / By Armia FAYEZ

MONENERGISM (Monergism) A movement that developed in the early part of the seventh century from an attempt by Emperor Heraclius I (610-641) to find a formula that would reconcile the Monophysites with neo-Chalcedonian orthodoxy. The dramatic success of Heraclius against the Persians, culminating in the triumphant restoration of the True Cross to Jerusalem in 630, …

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Monothelitism

History / By Armia FAYEZ

MONOTHELITISM For Egypt and the Coptic church, monothelitism may be taken simply as a continuation of the monenergist crisis with which imperial power in Egypt ended. At CONSTANTINOPLE, two councils in 638 and 639 accepted the ECTHESIS of Emperor Heraclius (610-641). As in other efforts over the previous two centuries to find agreement on a …

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Ecthesis (Statement Of The Faith)

Culture / By Youssef Matta

ECTHESIS (statement of the faith) A formula issued by Emperor Heraclius in 638 as a substitute for “energies” (the Greek energiai), which had been prohibited from use in relation to the person of Jesus. According to this formula, the two natures, human and divine, are united in the Monothelete doctrine formerly accepted by Sergius, patriarch …

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