One day the disciples of Jesus Christ imagined they solely possess the keys to heaven, and told their Master that they saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us . “Do not stop him,” Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you. (Luke 9: 49,50).
The same concept is repeated today as some servants forget that the heavenly city of Jerusalem will dwell in its neighborhoods of all nations, of all tribes and of all peoples.
Saint John Chrysostom was found guilty and he died in exile, but the departure of Pope Theophilus, Pope Kyrollos, the pillar of religion, lifted the excommunication and canceled the ruling that the previous Pope had ruled on Saint John Chrysostom and placed his name in the Council of the Saints.
I remembered these historical events along with what the Coptic Church had recently done with Dr. George Habib Bebawy , the Coptic theologian, who was tried in a local council in 2007 without his presence or hearing his defense.
Bebawy has published several books, articles, and lectures in which he refuted all the accusations leveled against him and has repeatedly called for a public trial in which all his ideas are discussed. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II assigned the file of Dr. Babaoui to HG Bishop Raphael, the former secretary of the Holy Synod, and they communicated and Bishop Raphael demanded Dr. George to correct the image of the church in front of people since he had insulted the church and its leaders.
During these correspondences, Dr. George s health deteriorated and therefore, Pope Tawadros followed the rules of the church that permits taking communion even for those who have ecclesiastical punishment when they are approaching death. Thus, Pope Tawadros asked Anba Seraphim, Bishop of Indiana and Michigan, to take the confession of Dr. Bebawi and to allow him to take communion. It was a great humanitarian decision of Pope Tawadros who can be called the golden-hearted.
