Comparative Theology, book by H. H. Pope Shenouda III

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The Virgin Is the Gate of Life and the Gate of Salvation

In the Holy Bible the Virgin Mary is called ‘the gate’. It is written in the Book of Ezekiel that she is a gate that faces toward the East, and the Lord God entered by it and went out the same way (Ez.44: 2).
As the Lord is the Life, then the Virgin is the gate of Life. The Lord declares that He is the Life when He says: “I am the resurrection and the life” (John.11: 25). Since the Virgin is the gate through which Christ came, therefore she is the gate of Life.
In the same way, the Virgin Mary is the gate of Salvation because the Lord is the Saviour; He came to save the world; to save that which was lost (Lk.19: 10).
It is not surprising to call the Virgin ‘the gate’ because the Church was called ‘the gate’ a long time ago. Our father Jacob said of the holy place which he consecrated a church and named Bethel, that is, house of God: “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!” (Gen.28: 17).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

Is It Correct to Pray to the Virgin?

We do not pray to the Virgin but we address her when we pray and entreat her to intercede for us. Not only do we address the Virgin, but we also address the angels, nature, people, ourselves
and even the Devil. This is based on written texts from the Divine Inspiration and is not considered prayer. Why should we not address our mother the Virgin in particular?
(1) We address the angels when we pray, saying: “Bless the Lord, you His angels, who excel in strength, who do His word, heeding the voice of His word. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you ministers of His, who do His pleasure” (Ps.103: 20,21) and “Praise the Lord from the heavens; praise Him in the heights! Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His hosts!” (Ps.148: 1,2)

(2) We address nature in our prayer, saying: “Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him, all you stars of light! Praise Him you heavens of heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths; fire and hail, snow and clouds; stormy wind, fulfilling His word; mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars” (Ps.148: 3-9).

(3) We address the holy city of God and ask her to praise the Lord, saying: “Praise the Lord, 0 Jerusalem! Praise your God, 0 Zion! For He has strengthened the bars of your gates; He has blessed your children within you” (Ps.147: 12,13). In another psalm we say: “Glorious things are spoken of you, 0 city of God!” (Ps.87: 3)

(4) We address people in our prayer, saying: “Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!” (Ps.47: 1), “Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has made desolations in the earth” (Ps.46: 8), “Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man, in whom there is no help” (Ps.146: 3) and? “Bless the Lord, all His works, in all places of His dominion” (Ps.103: 22). In another psalm, we say: “Praise, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!” (Ps.113: 1). And we also say: “Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Ps.29: 1,2).
(5) Also, the worshipper addresses himself, saying: “Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy, name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (Ps.103: 1-5). In another psalm, the worshipper prays: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why, are you disquieted within me? Hope in God” (Ps.42: 5). In the Twelfth Hour Prayer, the worshipper addresses himself, saying: “Repent, O my soul, as long as you are still dwelling on earth.”

(6) Moreover, in our prayer we address the evil spirits and all their powers, saying: “Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping. The Lord has heard my supplication; the Lord will receive my prayer. Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled, let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly” (Ps.6: 8-10).
Do we pray to all these? Do we pray to angels? Do we pray to nature, people and devils? God forbid! We address them in our prayer,
. This is acceptable; it is a Biblical teaching and taken from the spirit of the Psalms which St. Paul the Apostle talked about, saying: “Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm” (1Cor.14: 26), “speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord” (Eph.5: 19) and “teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Col.3: 16).

As long as we address angels, nature, people, ourselves and devils in our prayers, according to the teaching of the Divine Inspiration, then it is not wrong to address our mother the Virgin whilst we pray and this is not considered prayer.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The Perpetual Virginity of the Virgin Mary



The perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is an old subject which was discussed by the Church Fathers of the second, third, fourth and fifth centuries.
In 1962, we translated a discourse written in 383 A.D. by St. Jerome, in which he defended the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary against the wrong teaching of a man called Helvidius. It appears that the arguments presented by our Protestant brethren resemble Helvidius’.
Summary of the opposing opinions attacking the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary

(1) The phrase ‘her firstborn Son’ (Lk.2: 7); (Matt.1: 25). Opposers think that the word ‘firstborn’ means the first of His siblings.
(2) The phrase ‘your wife’ which was said to Joseph of the Virgin (Matt.1: 20), and the word ‘woman’ in general wherever it refers to the Virgin Mary (Matt.1: 24).
(3) The sentences “...did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son” (Matt.1: 25) and “... before they came
together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit” (Matt.1: 18).(4) The verses in which the words ‘His brothers’ are mentioned, such as (Matt.12: 46; 13: 54-56); (Acts 1: 14); (Gal. 1: 18,19).
With God’s help, we will reply to all these objections in the following pages.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The phrase “her firstborn Son”



(1) The phrase “her firstborn Son”
The Holy Bible clearly defines the meaning of the word firstborn. Prior to the establishment of Aaronic priesthood, the Divine Inspiration had said: “Sanctify to Me all the firstborn, whatever opens the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of animal; it is Mine” (Ex.13: 2). Every firstborn was consecrated to God; dedicated to Him, whether or not a brother was born to him later. The parents did not wait until they begot him a brother, nor did the owner of the livestock wait until another offspring was born before offering and consecrating the firstborn to the Lord! But from his birth the firstborn was consecrated because he was the first offspring of the womb. Therefore there was a great possibility that any firstborn was an only son.
Thus the Lord Jesus Christ was the firstborn and the only Son. St. Jerome was right when he said: “Every only son is a firstborn but not every firstborn is an only son.” The expression ‘firstborn’ does not mean that another is born after him but it means that no sibling was born before him. That is why the firstborn of the unclean animals could be redeemed when they were one month old (Num. 18: 16,17), and the first offspring of the clean animals were to be offered as sacrifices to God without waiting until the birth of another offspring. He is the firstborn, whether or not one is born after him, because he is the first offspring of the womb.
In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the Virgin. For when the Virgin and Joseph offered a sacrifice forty days after His birth, the Holy Bible tells us: “Now when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, 'Every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord') and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, ‘A pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons’ ” (Lk.2: 22-24).
It is clear that the law of the firstborn was applied to the Lord Jesus Christ forty days after His birth,
. Of course, there is no relation at all between the firstborn and the birth of siblings.
Here St. Jerome asks: “When God struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians, did He strike only those who had siblings or every male who opened the womb whether he had siblings or not?”

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The phrase “your wife”
The word ‘wife’ or ‘woman’ was the title given to a betrothed maiden immediately after her betrothal. In interpreting the words of the angel to Joseph: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy, Spirit” (Matt.1: 20),

St. John Chrysostom says: “Here the angel calls the betrothed ‘wife’ because the Holy Bible always calls the betrothed couple
‘man and wife’ before their marriage. “He also says: “What is the meaning of ‘take her to you’? It means: ‘Keep her in your house, as she has been entrusted to you by God and not by her parents; because you are entrusted to take her, not to consummate the marriage but to be he guardian. ‘In the same way, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself entrusted the Virgin Mary to His disciple John" (Homilies on the Gospel of St. Matthew).
St. Jerome says that the title 'woman' or ‘wife’ was also given to the betrothed maiden. The Biblical text proofs are: "If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbour’s wife” (Deut.22: 23,24) and “...what man is there who is betrothed to a woman and has not yet married her?" (Deut.20: 7)
Thus the Holy Bible uses the words ‘woman’ and ‘wife’ to mean a pledged virgin. They are used to signify femininity and not the state of being wedded.


In fact, Eve was first called ‘woman’ because she was taken out of man (Gen.3: 20). So the word ‘woman’ signifies her creation and femininity and the word ‘Eve’ signifies her motherhood.
The proof that the word ‘wife’ attributed to the Virgin Mary meant pledged and not married, are the words of St. Luke the Evangelist: "And Joseph also went up from Galilee... to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child" (Lk.2: 4,5). Therefore the phrase 'your wife' means 'your betrothed one.
Therefore the Virgin Mary was called 'wife' not because she lost her virginity, God forbid, for the Holy Bible testifies that Joseph did not know her. But she was so called because the common Jewish expression for the pledged to be married was 'wife' and the expression for the unmarried girl was ‘woman’. A clear proof of this is that immediately after her creation, Eve was called ‘woman’ ; before the sin, the dismissal out of Paradise and the begetting of children.
We notice that the angel did not use the word ‘wife’ after the Virgin had given birth to the Lord Jesus, but said to Joseph: “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt” (Matt.2: 13),

And on Joseph's return from Egypt, the angel said to him: “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel” (Matt.2: 20). Joseph did as he was told on going to and returning from Egypt: “When he rose, he took the young Child and His mother” (Matt.2: 14,21). Here the Holy Bible does not use the phrase 'his wife'.
The phrase ‘his wife’ was used before and after the conception so that the Jews would not stone the Virgin Mary because she conceived a Child while she was not a man's wife. But after giving birth to Christ, the Divine Inspiration did not use that expression; not in the angel's words to Joseph, nor in describing what Joseph did, nor in talking about the Magi, of whom the Holy Bible says: “And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother” (Matt.2: 11), nor in talking about the shepherds who “found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger” (Lk.2: 16).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III


The sentence “before they came together, she was found with child”
St Luke the Evangelist aims at proving that Christ was
conceived of a virgin who did not know any man, for two reasons:
(a) The fact that Christ was not born through the natural way from two parents as all people are, but was born of a virgin, is proof of His Divinity; proof that He was born of the Holy Spirit as expressed by the angel: "...for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit" (Matt. 1: 20).

(b) His birth from a virgin convinces us that He did not inherit Adam's sin. Thus He would be able to save us since the One without sin is able to die for the sinners.

Therefore the Apostle concentrated on the Virgin not knowing any man before giving birth to Christ in order to prove the Lord's Virgin Birth. But the fact that the Virgin Mary did not know any man after giving birth to Christ is a self-evident truth.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III



The sentence “did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son”
The word ‘till’ refers only to the precedent clause, and does not imply that the subordinate clause it introduces is opposite in meaning to the precedent clause.
Some examples to illustrate this:

(a) The Holy Bible says that Michel, King Saul’s daughter, “had no children to (till) the day of her death” (2Sam.6: 23). Of course she did not bring forth children after her death.
(b) The Lord Jesus Christ says: “I am with you always, even to (till) the end of ages” (Matt.28: 20). Of course, and after the end of ages as well.
(c) The Lord says to Christ: "Sit at My right hand, till I
make Your enemies Your footstool" (Ps.110: 1). Of course Christ will continue to sit at the right hand of God the Father forever.There are numerous examples of this point. Therefore, the word ‘till’ does not necessarily imply the opposite meaning of what precedes it.
Joseph did not know the Virgin Mary till she gave birth to her firstborn Son, neither did he know her after she gave birth. If he withheld to touch her before she gave birth to Christ, how would he feel after she had given birth to Him; after he had seen the miraculous signs, the angels and the Magi, and after knowing that He is the Holy One, Emmanuel and the Saviour?
Joseph realised that the Child was Christ who completed the prophecy of Prophet Isaiah who said: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel” (Is.7: 14) and “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgement and justice from that time forward, even forever” (Is.9: 6,7). The angel must have quoted the last part of this verse when he appeared to the Virgin Mary (Lk.1: 31-33).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III

The phrase ‘His brothers’

In Hebrew expressions, the word ‘brother’ may signify near relations or step-brothers. There are numerous examples of this in the Holy Bible, such as:
(i) Jacob and his uncle Laban
The Holy Bible says about the meeting between Jacob and Rachel: “And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his mother’s brother, that Jacob went near and rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. Then Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice and wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother” (Gen.29: 10-12). Thus Jacob called Rachel’s father his brother although he was his mother's brother. The phrase ‘mother’s brother’ was repeated many times in this chapter. The word ‘brother’ was used to mean very near relations.
Laban talked to Jacob in the same manner, saying: "Because you are my brother, should you therefore serve me for nothing?” Tell me, what should your wages be?” (Gen.29: 15) Thus Laban called Jacob his brother although he was his nephew.
(ii) Abram and Lot
Lot was Abram's nephew, the son of his brother Haran (Gen.11: 31), yet the Holy Bible says: “Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants” (Gen.14: 14). Here Abram considered Lot his brother although he was his nephew, due to their near relationship.

In like manner, the phrase ‘brothers of Jesus’ was used in referring to the cousins of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who are the brothers of the Lord?

When the Lord went to His own country, the people were astonished and said: “Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?” (Matt.13: 55,56); (Mark.6: 1-3)
St. Peter the Apostle mentions that he saw James, the Lord's brother (Gal.1: 19). This James was called ‘the Less’ (Mark.15: 40) to distinguish him from James the son of Zebedee. He was also called the son of Alphaeus (Matt.10: 3) and was one of the Apostles (Gal.1: 19).
St. Matthew the Apostle says in his Gospel that at the cross “many women who followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to Him, were there looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons” (Matt.27: 55,56).
Who then was Mary, mother of James and Joses? Was she the Virgin Mary? Is it reasonable to assume that the Virgin Mary begot all those children?
The mother of James and Joses was Mary, the wife of Halfa or Clopas, of whom St. John the Apostle said: “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene” (John.19: 25). Compare this verse with verses 55 and 56 of chapter 27 of the Gospel according to St. Matthew.
Mary the mother of James and Joses was with Mary Magdalene at the cross of Christ (Matt.27: 55,56). They were the same two persons present at the Lord's burial and saw where He was laid, and it was they who brought spices to anoint His body when the Sabbath was over (Mark.16: 1). They were the same persons of whom St. John said in his Gospel: "Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene" (John.19: 25).
Therefore, the brothers of Jesus are His cousins, the sons of Mary, the Virgin's sister, the wife of Clopas or Halpha and mother of James, Joses and the rest of the brothers.
Regarding the difference between the names Clopas and Halfa, it may be a difference in pronunciation or, as St. Jerome said, it is not uncommon for the Holy Bible to give more than one name to a person,
Moses 'father-in-law was called Reuel (Ex.2: 18) and was also called Jethro (Ex.4: 18). Gideon was called Jerubbaal (Judg.6: 32), Peter was called Simon and Cephas, and Judas the Zeolot was called Thaddeaus (Matt.10: 3).
It is obvious that Mary the mother of James and Joses is not the Virgin Mary who was never called by that name in the Holy Bible.

Remarks:

(1) It is unreasonable that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded the Virgin Mary to His Apostle John when He was on the cross if she had all those sons and daughters. Undoubtedly her children, if she had any, should have been the ones to look after her.
(2) We notice that during the journey of St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary to and from Egypt, there is no mention of any other children of the Virgin Mary except the Lord Jesus (Matt.2: 14,20,21). Neither is there any mention of the sort during their journey to and from Jerusalem when the Lord Jesus was twelve years old (Lk.2: 43).
(3) It is unsound to hold, as some people do, that the ‘brothers of Jesus’ are the sons of Joseph whom he begot from another wife after whose death he became a widower, because the Holy Bible mentions that Mary the mother of James and Joses was present at the time of Christ's crucifixion and burial, as we have previously explained (M k.15: 47).
(4) There is a clear Biblical text confirming the perpetual virginity of the Virgin Mary. In his prophecy, Prophet Ezekiel saw a closed gate in the East and he was told: “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut” (Ez.44: 2). This gate is the Virgin’s womb through which the Lord entered; it remained shut and was not opened by another child.

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III







The disagreements between us Orthodox and the Protestants regarding Fasting

It is quite obvious that fasting was not a symbol but a commandment in the Old Testament and New Testament. Our Protestant brethren do not utterly deny fasting but they have practically cancelled it. Here, I will not discuss the subject of fasting in general with its importance, benefits and spirituality because all these can be read about in our book entitled The Spirituality of Fasting.
Points of variance:
(1) Our Protestant brethren say that fasting should be practised secretly between man and God, following the Lord's commandment in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt.6: 17,18).
(2) Our Protestant brethren do not have fixed fasts for all the believers at set times and on certain occasions, but most of their fasts are individual practices. The individual fasts whenever he likes, in the manner he likes, and the Church has no authority over him and does not interfere in his fast.
(3) Our Protestant brethren depend on a misinterpretation of the verse: "Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a
shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ" (Col.2: 16,17).
(4) Our Protestant brethren disagree with vegetarian fasting and with abstaining from foods of animal produce. They accuse us that in doing so, at least the second part of the following verse applies to us: "…. in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons... forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving" (ITim.4: 1,3).

[Mary Naeem]

Pope Shenouda III




Reply to the objection concerning fasting in secret

There are two kinds of worship: individual and communal.
(a) In prayer for example, there is individual prayer; you pray in your room, to your Father who sees in secret. This does not cancel the existence of communal prayer for all the groups of believers to pray in one spirit, in one soul and in one voice. Examples of such prayers are numerous in the New Testament. One of these examples is the prayer of the believers after the release of Peter and John from prison: "So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord and said..." (Acts 4: 24).
Of course the Lord's commandment regarding praying in secret (Matt.6: 6) does not apply to such prayer.
(b) Likewise in charity, there is a charitable deed done in secret as an individual act in which you do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing (Matt.6: 3). But this does not cancel the general charity collected from everyone, as when
King David collected donations to build the Temple. He mentioned in detail how much he contributed, and how much was contributed by the leaders of the fathers' houses, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and the officers over the king's work (1Chr.29: 3-9). Another example is when the rich people put their gifts in the Temple treasury and the poor widow put in two very small copper coins (Lk.21: 1,2).

(c) Likewise in fasting, there is individual fasting practised in secret that does not cancel the general fast shared by the whole community of believers.

Reply to the objection: Is communal fasting a Biblical doctrine or not?