When I hear the opinions of some fathers of the Coptic Church about Coronavirus, I realize why it was so easy for the Arab invasion to take over Egypt as well as the Coptic identity causing harm across history for the Copts.
The clergy preferred to surrender rather than to fight, and spread verses of the holy bible like ‘Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s. They made the congregation think that God’s wrath will be upon those who fight though many saints were soldiers like St. George, St. Philopatir and St. Murice who told Caesar: We are your soldiers, but we have greater God in heaven whom we worship. Here, he differentiated between his duty as soldier and his faith.
It is clear that soldiers fight and believers give sermons. The two roles shouldn’t be mixed. However, some people think that soldiers who die defining their country are not real martyrs! In fact, politicians and generals take the decision of war and not clergy just like doctors treat the patients and engineers design buildings. These are not a matter of faith since even clergy visit doctors for medical treatment.
I wish people don’t question my Coptic Christian faith, with all due respect to priesthood and my Coptic people.
