The Archbishop in a theological seminar: Pain occupied a great place in the thought of the Church Fathers

Dr. Samy Fawzy, Archbishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria, gave a lesson in the Bible in a theological seminar organized by St. George Episcopal Church in Madrid, Spain. The title was “Pain in the Thought of the Early Church Fathers.” Church fathers, including Tertullian, the scholar Clement of Alexandria, and Irenaeus.

The archbishop said that the issue of suffering occupied a large space in the thought of the early church fathers, where Tertullian, for example, links death and sin and sees that death does not come to humanity as a natural result, but as a result of sin, which was not in itself a natural thing.

The Archbishop pointed out that the scholar Clement of Alexandria confirmed that death and pain entered the world because of sin, and then humans became in a new environment in which pain and suffering abound, while the scholar Irenaeus stresses that God created humans in his image and likeness, that is, in two stages. The second requires people to grow and evolve to be like God.

The Archbishop considered that the issue of pain and suffering is a question that has been re-introduced during the past two years due to the pain, wounds, and suffering left by the Coronavirus that has engulfed all of humanity, which led to the opening of the discussion about disease and death once again

The Archbishop indicated that the seminar provided an opportunity for exchanging theological views among the members of the general church, whether in Egypt or Europe, which allows learning about the experiences of the pastors of different churches and their ideas about what we are going through in the world today.

The seminar was attended by participants from Spain, Norway, Morocco, England, Egypt, and the Canary Islands, while Medhat Sabry, pastor of St. George’s Church in Madrid, spoke about the difference between suffering and pain in the presence of the Corona pandemic. Dr. Claire Amos, Head of Training in the Diocese of Europe for the Episcopal Church, presented a topic on pain and suffering in the Old Testament.