George Habib Bebawi
 | The topic of this article may not meet Wikitia's general notability guideline. |
George Habib Bebawi | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo | |
| Born | November 27, 1938 |
| Died | February 21, 2021 (aged 82) |
| Resting place | St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Indianapolis |
| Nationality | Egyptian-American |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Education |
|
| Alma mater |
|
| Occupation |
|
George Habib Bebawi (November 27, 1938 — February 4, 2021) was a Coptic Egyptian-American theologian, Biblical scholar and Patristics scholar.
Career
Bebawi studied at the Coptic Orthodox Theological College in Cairo and graduated in 1961, and went on a scholarship to United Kingdom where he studied Theology, Patristics, and Biblical criticism and received his MLitt and PhD in 1970 from University of Cambridge. He taught Theology, Patristics, Church history and Islamic studies in Egypt, Lebanon, England and United States. After serving as advisor for Christian Affairs to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat until his assassination in 1981, Bebawi served as director of the Red Cross in Beirut during the First Lebanon war in 1982. Bebawi taught at St John's College, Nottingham from 1984 to 2000, and held office of director of studies at Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies, Cambridge from 2000 to 2002, where he lectured on Islam and Judaism for Cambridge Theological Federation.[1]
Controversy and disputes with Pope Shenouda III
Bebawi was known for publicly criticizing Coptic Pope Shenouda III, who according to Bebawi attacked the theology of Theosis along with Bishop Bishoi (then Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church) during the unofficial dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church, claiming the theology to be heretical.[2] While it is seen by some Orthodox researchers that the dispute between Bebawi and Pope Shenouda was over Bebawi's criticizing then Coptic Pope's stand against then Egyptian president Anwar Sadat.[3] Bebawi was excommunicated following a ruling from the Coptic Orthodox Church that was issued after an emergency session held by the Holy Synod in 2007,[4] which was ruled against by the Egyptian Administrative Court in 2011.[5] In 2020, Pope Tawadros II annulled the excommunication of Bebawi despite protests from Anba Raphael, Bishop of Central Cairo, demanding Bebawi to write an official letter of apology for his teachings.[6]
Death
Bebawi died on February 4, 2021, at the age of 82 and his funeral ceremony was held in St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Indianapolis.[7]
In the media
References
- ↑ Dr. George Bebawi; Fr. Justin Sinaites; Bruce Petersen (September 26, 2017). "I". Road to Emmaus No. 38: A Journal of Orthodox Faith and Culture. Road to Emmaus Foundation. ISBN 9781635510393.
- ↑ Dr. George Bebawi. Road to Emmaus No. 38: A Journal of Orthodox Faith and Culture.
Although we've achieved a great deal in unofficial dialogue, the present Coptic patriarch, Shenouda III, has attacked deification (theosis) as a Byzantine heresy, partly out of his fear of Islam, so the official dialogue with the Orthodox Church has not progressed. I hoped very much that the ecumenical dialogue would ease things, but in the unofficial dialogue with the Russian Church, Bishoi, the Secretary of the Coptic Synod, said that any teaching on participation in the divine nature is a heresy. Metropolitan [now Patriarch] Kyrill of the Moscow Patriarchate stood up and silenced him, but the real solution is that the Coptic clergy needs to study the Church Fathers.
- ↑ بشارة, كيرلس (9 February 2021). "جورج بباوي "مهرطق القرن العشرين" المختلف عليه في الكنيسة المصرية". masr.masr360.net (in Arabic). Masr360. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ "The Holy Synod issued a ruling to isolate George Habib Bibawi". Watani. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ↑ "Court rules against Pope Shenouda's decree to dismiss priest". ahramonline. 11 Jan 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
- ↑ رحومة, مصطفى (4 February 2021). "عاجل.. وفاة جورج حبيب بباوي وغموض حول مصير الصلاة عليه داخل الكنيسة" (in Arabic). El Watan News. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ فارس, مايكل (8 February 2021). "اليوم.. الكنيسة القبطية تصلى على جثمان العلامة جورج حبيب بباوى بأمريكا" (in Arabic). Youm7.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
External links
This article "George Habib Bebawi" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.