text:
Talk:Catharism

Scholarly debate
Hello User:Epinoia, thank you for chiming in. With your revert you reply to my mention of  Moore in my edit summary. NB I only mentioned him in my edit summary which may have have caused some misunderstanding, because I neither mention him in the content nor reference him in the citations that you cut in good faith. Note (i) There are plenty of mainstream sources about the debate excluding Moore, e.g. "Whether or not a dualist Cathar heresy existed in medieval Europe has been widely debated among medieval historians over the past twenty years." (ii) the debate is mentioned in the French language intro of this article, and (iii) per WP:LEDE we not only summarize the article but are specifically required to mention any controversy at the top. So I stand by my position that the revisionist dispute about Catharism's existence ought to be included in the lead and I would like to reach an agreement with you somehow. Again, we can put it down to my mention of Moore being a distraction, so we can dump him in favor of other sources if you prefer. -Chumchum7 (talk) 11:09, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

 * — while the topic may have been debated it is not accepted as mainstream (see WP:MAINSTREAM, WP:CHOPSY). The view that the Cathars were not an institutionalized religion is included in the body of the article, but it is not mainstream and therefore does not belong in the lead. WP:LEAD states, "the emphasis given to material in the lead should roughly reflect its importance to the topic, according to reliable, published sources." The sources are not strong: an abstract from Wiley Online Library, an LA Times article which refers vaguely to a "number of scholars", and an article in French inaccessible to many English readers. I don't feel this is strong enough support for the theory to include it in the lead. Moore's book, The War on Heresy, is named in the body of the article and his position given adequate prominence there. - Epinoia (talk) 15:02, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

 * WP:LEAD states, "The lead should stand on its own as a concise overview of the article's topic. It should identify the topic, establish context, explain why the topic is notable, and summarize the most important points, including any prominent controversies." So perhaps our solution would be not to focus on the theory, but to focus on the controversy; if not with those three citations then there are more if necessary such as Sennis writing for Cambridge University Press in Cathars in Question (2016): "At the heart of this volume is the aspiration to tackle in a comparative perspective an issue which is highly controversial and hotly debated among scholars: the existence of a medieval phenomenon which we can legitimately call ‘Catharism’." The said scholars have contributed the chapters of the book. Even the blurb of that book states: "Cathars have long been regarded as posing the most organised challenge to orthodox Catholicism in the medieval West, even as a "counter-Church" to orthodoxy in southern France and northern Italy. Their beliefs, understood to be inspired by Balkan dualism, are often seen as the most radical among medieval heresies. However, recent work has fiercely challenged this paradigm, arguing instead that "Catharism" is a construct, mis-named and mis-represented by generations of scholars, and its supposedly radical views were a fantastical projection of the fears of orthodox commentators."  The subject of the controversy itself is clearly notable and the exact subject of a mainstream academic work; our guidelines require us to add more content on this to the article and specifically to include such controversy in the lede. -Chumchum7 (talk) 16:35, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

 * - I don't believe it is enough of a "prominent controversy" to be mentioned in the lead - but let's wait for some other editors to comment and reach consensus WP:CONS - Epinoia (talk) 17:09, 26 January 2021 (UTC)

 * As nobody else is commenting, then how about we take it up with an WP:RFC linked to WP:HISTORY? It's WP:V verifiable that the subject is "hotly debated among scholars". If you still don't believe it's a prominent controversy, that appears to be a contradiction of a verifiable source with your own personal opinion, i.e. WP:OR. Where is the burden of proof here now? Do you have a verifiable source that states it isn't hotly debated among scholars? -Chumchum7 (talk) 03:56, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

 * - a request for comment is fine with me - you might want to read WP:BURDEN - it's still not WP:MAINSTREAM - Epinoia (talk) 04:21, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

 * Am familiar with BURDEN, which is exactly why I raised it. We simply disagree about whether it is MAINSTREAM or not, so I'll start with a 3O. -Chumchum7 (talk) 04:25, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

 * - it's not up to me to provide a "verifiable source that states it isn't hotly debated" - WP:BURDEN states that burden "lies with the editor who adds or restores material" - this re-examination of sources on the Cathars is too new (WP:AGE MATTERS) - the subject is still under discussion and no firm conclusions have been reached - it is acceptable to add the new material to the body of the article, but it does not belong in the lead which has long-standing consensus - Epinoia (talk) 04:39, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

 * That's exactly the point I am making, that the addition of the reliable source (Sennis 2016) satisfies the burden of proof. You've chosen to disagree, and so we'll have a 3O for starters. -Chumchum7 (talk) 04:46, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
 * AGEMATTERS supports the rationale for inclusion and emphasis: "older sources may be inaccurate because new information has been brought to light" ... "newer secondary and tertiary sources may have done a better job of collecting more reports from primary sources and resolving conflicts, applying modern knowledge to correctly explain things that older sources could not have, or remaining free of bias that might affect sources written while any conflicts described were still active or strongly felt." -Chumchum7 (talk) 05:15, 27 January 2021 (UTC)
 * - Moore's book is from 2012, Sennis from 2016 - the theory hasn't gained much traction since then, so cannot be considered mainstream. - Epinoia (talk) 14:36, 27 January 2021 (UTC)

Talking at cross purposes now. This case is not to re-top the lede to say in Wikipedia's voice that there's a theory that Catharism didn't exist as a movement; this case - as my offer of compromise to you - is to include in the lede in Wikipedia's voice that there is a significant scholarly controversy about that theory, a controversy which is specifically stated as real by multiple verifiable, reliable sources. Whether the theory 'hasn't gained much traction' is your personal emphasis and may or may not be true; what matters here is that multiple verifiable reliable sources say there is a notable academic controversy around the theory itself, whether it has gained much traction or not. --Chumchum7 (talk) 06:29, 28 January 2021 (UTC)

- Epinoia (talk) 15:49, 28 January 2021 (UTC)
 * — ok, how about something like this as a suggestion for the lead — I tried to attain a neutral, encyclopedic voice, ""The lack of any central organization among Cathars, regional differences in beliefs and practices as well as the lack of unbiased sources has led some scholars, such as R.I. Moore, Mark Pegg and Antonio Senna, to question whether a dualist sect that could be called Catharism ever existed.""

 * Third opinion Howdy hello! I am a fan of this suggestion, I think it relevant to mention. However, including it in the first paragraph of the lede seems organizationally poor, such controversy often is better at the end of the lede. I support adding it to the end of the final paragraph. CaptainEek  Edits Ho Cap'n!⚓ 21:08, 29 January 2021 (UTC)
 * CaptainEek, thank you for the 3O. Happy sailing out there. --Chumchum7 (talk) 11:44, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

 * I'm not sure that Sennis comes down in either place in the debate, he seems to be more of a facilitator for it. I'm not sure that any scholars in particular deserve a mention in the lede at the expense of others. I would be happy with this as the final par of the lede:

 * "There is academic controversy about whether Catharism was an organized heretical movement or rather a construct of the medieval Church, which alleged the existence of a heretical group. The lack of any central organization among Cathars, regional differences in beliefs and practices as well as the lack of sources from the Cathars themselves has prompted some scholars to question whether Catharism existed. Other scholars say that there is evidence of the Cathar heresy, and also evidence that it was exaggerated by its persecutors in the Church."

 * Cheers, --Chumchum7 (talk) 12:11, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

 * — I think that is an excellent addition for the last sentence of the lead — I think the first sentence should be changed to "organized movement" rather than "organized heretical movement" as the Cathars did not consider themselves heretical and their heretical status in the eyes of the Church is mentioned at the end of the sentence — also, the last sentence could be amended to reomove "Cathar heresy" — perhaps, "there is evidence of the existence of Cathars" — we have to be careful about applying the label heretic per MOS:LABEL — it's fine to say the Church considered them heretics, but they should not be described as heretics otherwise — cheers, Epinoia (talk) 15:06, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

 * The addition prompts WP:NPOV grammatical qualifiers and caveats to the rest of the article. This is in keeping with the rest of Wikipedia's entries about medieval and ancient history, where sourcing is scarce or scholarly interpretation is varied. For comparison, I am looking at the interesting use of qualifiers used at Jesus Christ (from the start) and Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. So for example:

 * Catharism (/ˈkæθərɪzəm/; from the Greek: καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure [ones]")[1][2] was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly what is now northern Italy and southern France.

 * This would now fit better as:

 * Catharism (/ˈkæθərɪzəm/; from the Greek: καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure [ones]")[1][2] has been described as a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly what is now northern Italy and southern France.

 * And so on. --Chumchum7 (talk) 17:00, 30 January 2021 (UTC)

The lead, if it does mention the revisionist theory, should make it clear that the revisionist theory is, to put it mildly, a minority opinion. Rolf H Nelson (talk) 02:30, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

 * Is that true though? I've seen a lot of discussion in the past few years about this controversy, and it seems to me like the revisionist theory is actually more popular among relevant scholars than the old theory. I've only really read second-hand accounts of the controversy, so I could be wrong about that, but at least the very least, "the revisionist theory is, to put it mildly, a minority opinion" seems false. Bigrigg47 (talk) 01:05, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

I restored the agreed-upon paragraph to the lead. I concur with the consensus here that doubts about the Cathars deserve to be mentioned in the lead. However, I find the wikilinked word "construct" a little jargon-y. I propose:

"There is academic controversy about whether Catharism was a real and organized movement or if the medieval Church imagined or exaggerated it." Jno.skinner (talk) 21:27, 3 October 2022 (UTC)
 * Seeing no response here I have modified the opening sentence of the paragraph. Thanks to all who collaborated to put this information in the lead! Jno.skinner (talk) 18:31, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion: Participate in the deletion discussion at the. —Community Tech bot (talk) 07:32, 28 March 2021 (UTC)
 * Dame guiraude supplice.jpg

Virgin Birth is NOT Immaculate Conception!
I cannot speak to the reliability of the source, "The Lost Teachings of the Cathars" or the the scholarship of its author, Andrew Phillip Smith. So I really cannot say how likely it is to be accurate in reporting the beliefs of the Cathars. But the author/source does make a very common but serious error in terminology--which this article reproduces. Wikipedia should, of course, be accurate in relating a point made in a source it is citing. But that doesn't require perpetuating clear and demonstrable terminological errors the source commits in making its point. The source says:
 * Italian Cathars believed that Mary was born of woman alone, not man, a curious shift in the virgin birth that makes Mary herself the result of an immaculate conception.

The Wikipedia article reports this:
 * ... the Virgin Mary, ... possibly a human born from an immaculate conception herself.

THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH VIRGIN BIRTH. The term is often used, erroneously, to refer to the conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin named Mary (and by extension to any virgin birth). In fact, "Immaculate Conception" refers to the doctrine--also taught by the Catholic Church--that Mary was, by special grace, preserved free of the stain of Original Sin (the sin of Adam and Eve) from the first moment of her conception. Note that the term DOES refer to the conception of Mary in the womb of her own mother--but the Catholic Church, while teaching this doctrine, does not suggest that the conception of Mary, biologically speaking, happened in anything other than the usual way. I intend to edit that phrase as soon as I can settle on a phraseology. But I think it might be an edit that I should explain more than I could do in an Edit Summary. Uporządnicki (talk) 16:40, 24 August 2021 (UTC)

Children’s Crusade
There’s no mention here (I think) of the ensuing Children’s Crusade which was prompted by the number of orphans produced by the Albigensian Massacre. They were running riot in the streets and often had to resort to crime just to survive. Stephen of Cloyes (1212?) led the French arm of the Children’s Crusade while Nicholas(?) of Germany led the German arm. The French king at the time (?) was quite reluctant to approve the campaign because he clearly thought it was folly (he was right) but he caved to political pressure from the cities and towns where these children were running rampant and reluctantly approved it. They marched over the Alps to great acclaim and support from the citizens that they met along the way, the idea being that only children, with their pure hearts, could succeed in converting the Infidels whereas the previous crusades had failed. Some of the children made it to Marseille (the others were reviled on their return journey) and were promised free passage to the Holy Land by a ship owner named as William Porcellius (?) and were promptly sold into slavery upon the arrival in the Middle East. Only one or two made their way back to France to bear witness to the fiasco some decades after the original event. Somebody please edit this. It’s based on a research paper I wrote over 40 years ago and my memory isn’t that acute! 98.2.197.245 (talk) 06:13, 19 October 2022 (UTC)

Rest is History
I know Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook is not academically relevant as authorities for this article, but I found it interesting to hear Tom Holland reference this Wikipedia article, among other things, as reflecting the "old" view of "Catharism" in their podcast. He cites a couple of authors which I see is also cited here. It is interesting to hear and then try to square two so different views: Catharism was as alleged vs. "Cathars" was an imaginary bogeyman that reformist popes (ironically the "puritan" (as in cathar) ones) invented. Is it worth discussing further whether the article should be more ambiguous in what Cathars were in the lede, to reflect this "revisionist" scholarship? I note the discussion above, and see it is already mentioned in lede, yes, but only after a large amount of stuff is established in Wiki voice that very credential scholars find highly dubious. Obviously, as someone knowing very little, I have no authority to say who is more likely to be correct. I can only note the very heated debate, and it does appear that the article at first glance is not quite representative of the level of scholarly controversy. Euor (talk) 00:14, 16 February 2023 (UTC)

 * Per WP:NPOVFAQ we should "describe debates rather than engage in them." If the current article is effectively taking a side in a scholarly debate by overemphasizing one position, then yes, I think we should work toward balancing it. Do you know of an academic source that gives an overview of the state of the debate? Jno.skinner (talk) 17:20, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Quick search resulted in this. I do not have full access, but its description seem to reflect there being two highly different camps in the scholarship ATM. Dated 2018, the author is from Columbia University, apparently specializing in precisely this heresy question. The growing divide seems to have spawned this LA Times news article from 2018. A noteworthy quote: "[Alessia] Trivellone [a history professor at Paul-Valery University in Montpellier] is one of a growing number of early modern Europe scholars who have cast doubt on the Cathars' existence". But, of course, this is not an academic source in itself.--Euor (talk) 21:11, 16 February 2023 (UTC)
 * 6/7 paragraphs in the lead are written as if there is no controversy at all, and when the controversy is "was any of this real", that seems like a glaring absence to me. Bigrigg47 (talk) 01:15, 11 January 2024 (UTC)

"The massacre of the Cathars" listed at Redirects for discussion
The redirect [//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_massacre_of_the_Cathars&redirect=no The massacre of the Cathars] has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at until a consensus is reached. Veverve (talk) 15:46, 6 March 2023 (UTC)

widely [?] regarded as a genocide
I revised to "sometimes regarded as a genocide" because, with only one source to back up "widely," I think "sometimes" is more accurate. Brian Osgood (talk) 23:57, 16 August 2023 (UTC)

"violation of the Catholic Nicene Creed"
One has to ask why on earth this should be mentioned in the lead? Hence I undid this edit 149.50.160.90 (talk) 12:49, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

 * I was under the impression that the creed is what defines a heresy to the catholic church. I reverted your edit because I thought the statement was uncontroversial and I noticed you cited the Bible in your edit, which is improper use of a primary source. Now I see that I should find a source for the Nicene creed thing. HansVonStuttgart (talk) 13:16, 25 February 2024 (UTC)

 * I absolutely agree with you that according to the major mainstream churches anything which is out of step with one or other of the creeds (or indeed any of their other doctrines) will be considered heretical. But my question is why is the Catholic view important to mention in the opening paragraphs of this article. Why not mention it in a section which explains why the Catholic Church decided to persecute the Cathars instead? It seems to me as irrelevant in the lead as mentioning in the lead of an article on Catholicism how catholicism is considered heretical according to Islam, which might be important to note in an article about why Muslims persecuted Catholics but what would be its relevance in the opening paragraphs of an article about Catholicism? I hope i habe illustrated my point better. Best regards. 149.50.160.90 (talk) 16:11, 25 February 2024 (UTC)
 * The treatment of the Cathars in history is mostly because the Catholic church considers them heretics. This is why heresy comes up whenever Cathars are discussed. It's not supposed to be a badge of shame, but a highly relevant fact to their unfortunate position in society. In contrast, Catholics' experiences and the way people write about the religion are not usually defined by the fact that Islam considers them heretical. HansVonStuttgart (talk) 09:13, 26 February 2024 (UTC)
 * No problem just make sure it is mentioned in the appropriate section since it is as irrelevant in the lead as mentioning Catholicism in the lead of an article about Islam. I will be very happy to see how Catholicism portrayed Waldensian Cathars as heretical discussed in the appropriate sub-section as long as the recent apology from Pope Francis (2015) is also mentioned. 149.50.160.90 (talk) 17:29, 27 February 2024 (UTC)
 * Not remotely.

 * Outside voice here pointing out that random IP guy here should absolutely not be listened to and the treatment of the Cathars as heretics should specifically mention the Catholic authorities oppressed them as heretics as understood in Catholicism and Catholic canon law. (Assuming any of this existed, natch.) No, the discussion and links should not be ignoring the charges of heresy that 'justified' a war on the group, nor should the discussion and links be pointing to generic "interfaith disagreement" articles.

 * (That said, the title of this section is a bit bizarre. The Nicene Creed is nearly universal in organized Christianity. The tiny bit of it that's Catholic vs others is a feud with the Orthodox Church regarding the procession of the Holy Spirit and not anything that needs to be dwelt on in the Cathar article: they were heretics to specifically the Catholics inter alia because of issues with the Nicene Creed, not issues with specifically the Catholic Nicene Creed.) — Llywelyn II   09:12, 19 May 2024 (UTC)
 * This point is very poorly taken. Roman Catholicism became a thing after the Islamic Conquest and Islamic attitudes towards it specifically have never been a major concern for any large groups aside from Crusader states, Venetian colonies, etc. that knew what they were signing up for. Religions whose experiences have been profoundly shaped by Islamic persecution do mention it in their leads, just like this article does and should continue to. This would be true anyway, but it's even more needful since this article is focused on the medieval group massacred with Catholic approval and not really focused as much on the handful of modern dissenters who self-apply the term Cathar. — Llywelyn II   09:30, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

Poplicani &c.
Publicani, Poplicani, Populani, &c. link here but aren't mentioned at all by the current article. #Term Cathar should be renamed #Name or #Names and cover the other terms in greater detail, especially if they were specific to some regions and groups versus the entire movement. — Llywelyn II   09:30, 19 May 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:Catharism


text:
Coptic Orthodox Church

The Coptic Orthodox Church (Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular. The Coptic pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. Adherents of the Coptic Orthodox Church make up Egypt's largest and most significant minority population, and the largest population of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). They make up the largest share of the approximately 20 million Christians in Egypt.

The Coptic Orthodox Church was established by Mark, an apostle and evangelist, during the middle of the 1st century (c. AD 42). Due to disputes concerning the nature of Christ, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church were in schism after the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, resulting in a conflict with the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

After AD 639, Egypt was ruled by its Islamic conquerors from Arabia. In the 12th century, the church relocated its seat from Alexandria to Cairo. The same century also saw the Copts become a religious minority. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Nubian Christianity was supplanted by Islam. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the larger body of ethnic Egyptian Christians began to call themselves Coptic Orthodox, to distinguish themselves from the Catholic Copts and from the Eastern Orthodox, who are mostly Greek. In 1959, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was granted autocephaly. This was extended to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1998 following the successful Eritrean War of Independence from Ethiopia. Since the 2011 Egyptian revolution, Coptic Christians have suffered increased religious discrimination and violence.

Apostolic foundation
According to tradition, the Coptic Church was founded by Mark the Evangelist c. AD 42, and regards itself as the subject of many prophecies in the Old Testament. The first Christians in Egypt were common people who spoke Egyptian Coptic. There were also Alexandrian Jewish people such as Theophilus, the same name addressed in the introductory chapter of the Gospel of Luke, though it is unclear who the author refers to.

Coptic language in the Church
The Coptic language is a universal language used in Coptic churches in every country. It descends from Ancient Egyptian and uses the Coptic alphabet, a script descended from the Greek alphabet with added characters derived from the Demotic script. Today, the Bohairic dialect of Coptic is used primarily for liturgical purposes. Many of the hymns in the liturgy are in Coptic and have been passed down for many centuries. The language is used to preserve Egypt's original language, which was banned by the Arab invaders, who ordered Arabic to be used instead. However, most Copts speak Arabic, the official language of Egypt. Hence, Arabic is also used in church services nowadays. The service books, though written in Coptic, have the Arabic text in parallel columns.

Catechetical School of Alexandria
The Catechetical School of Alexandria is the oldest catechetical school in the world. Jerome records that the Christian School of Alexandria was founded by Mark himself.

The theological college of the catechetical school was re-established in 1893.

The school became a leading center of the allegorical method of biblical interpretation, espoused a rapprochement between Greek culture and Christian faith, and attempted to assert orthodox Christian teachings against heterodox views in an era of doctrinal flux.

Council of Nicaea
In the 4th century, an Alexandrian presbyter named Arius began a theological dispute about the nature of Christ that spread throughout the Christian world and is now known as Arianism. The Ecumenical Council of Nicea AD 325 was convened by Emperor Constantine I after Pope Alexander I of Alexandria requested to hold a council to respond to heresies, under the presidency of Hosius of Cordova to resolve the dispute. This eventually led to the formulation of the Symbol of Faith, also known as the Nicene Creed.

Council of Constantinople
In the year AD 381, Pope Timothy I of Alexandria presided over the second ecumenical council known as the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople, to judge Macedonius, who denied the Divinity of the Holy Spirit. This council completed the Nicene Creed with this confirmation of the divinity of the Holy Spirit:

"We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified who spoke by the Prophets and in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church. We confess one Baptism for the remission of sins and we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the coming age, Amen"

Council of Ephesus

Another theological dispute in the 5th century occurred over the teachings of Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople who taught that God the Word was not hypostatically joined with human nature, but rather dwelt in the man Jesus. As a consequence of this, he denied the title "Mother of God" (Theotokos) to the Virgin Mary, declaring her instead to be "Mother of Christ" Christotokos.

The Council confirmed the teachings of Athanasius and confirmed the title of Mary as "Mother of God". It also clearly stated that anyone who separated Christ into two hypostases was anathema, as Cyril had said that there is "One Nature for God the Word Incarnate" (Mia Physis tou Theou Logou Sesarkōmenē). The introduction to the creed is formulated as follows:

"We magnify you O Mother of the True Light and we glorify you O saint and Mother of God (Theotokos) for you have borne unto us the Saviour of the world. Glory to you O our Master and King: Christ, the pride of the Apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the rejoicing of the righteous, firmness of the churches and the forgiveness of sins. We proclaim the Holy Trinity in One Godhead: we worship Him, we glorify Him, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless us, Amen."

Council of Chalcedon
The church of Alexandria was part in communion with the rest of Christendom until the Council of Chalcedon. When, in AD 451, Emperor Marcian attempted to heal divisions in the church, the response of Pope Dioscorus–the Pope of Alexandria who was later exiled–was that the emperor should not intervene in the affairs of the church. It was at Chalcedon that the emperor, through the imperial delegates, enforced harsh disciplinary measures against Pope Dioscorus in response to his boldness. In AD 449, Pope Dioscorus headed the 2nd Council of Ephesus, called the "Robber Council" by Chalcedonian historians. It held to the Miaphysite formula which upheld the Christology of "One Incarnate Nature of God the Word" (Greek: μία φύσις Θεοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένη (mia physis Theou Logou sesarkōmenē)).

In terms of Christology, the Oriental Orthodox (Non-Chalcedonians) understanding is that Christ is "One Nature—the Logos Incarnate," of the full humanity and full divinity. The Chalcedonians' understanding is that Christ is recognized in two natures, full humanity and full divinity. Oriental Orthodoxy contends that such a formulation is no different from what the Nestorians teach.

From that point onward, Alexandria would have two patriarchs: the non-Chalcedonian native Egyptian one, now known as the Coptic pope of Alexandria and patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of St. Mark, and the Melkite or Imperial patriarch, now known as the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria.

Almost the entire Egyptian population rejected the terms of the Council of Chalcedon and remained faithful to the native Egyptian Church (now known as the Coptic Orthodox Church).

By anathematizing Pope Leo because of the tone and content of his tome, as per Alexandrine Theology perception, Pope Dioscorus was found guilty of doing so without due process; in other words, the Tome of Leo was not a subject of heresy in the first place, but it was a question of questioning the reasons behind not having it either acknowledged or read at the Second Council of Ephesus in AD 449. Pope Dioscorus of Alexandria was never labeled as a heretic by the council's canons. Copts also believe that the pope of Alexandria was forcibly prevented from attending the third congregation of the council from which he was ousted, apparently the result of a conspiracy tailored by the Roman delegates.

Before the current positive era of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox dialogues, Chalcedonians sometimes used to call the non-Chalcedonians "Monophysites", though the Coptic Orthodox Church in reality regards Monophysitism as a heresy. The Chalcedonian doctrine in turn came to be known as "Dyophysite". A term that comes closer to Coptic Orthodoxy is Miaphysite, which refers to a conjoined nature for Christ, both human and divine, united indivisibly in the Incarnate Logos.

Muslim conquest of Egypt
The Muslim invasion of Egypt took place in AD 639. Relying on eyewitness testimony, Bishop John of Nikiu in his Chronicle provides a graphic account of the invasion from a Coptic perspective. Although the Chronicle has only been preserved in an Ethiopic (Ge'ez) text, some scholars believe that it was originally written in Coptic. John's account is critical of the invaders who he says "despoiled the Egyptians of their possessions and dealt cruelly with them", and he details the atrocities committed by the Muslims against the native population during the conquest:"And when with great toil and exertion they had cast down the walls of the city, they forthwith made themselves masters of it, and put to the sword thousands of its inhabitants and of the soldiers, and they gained an enormous booty, and took the women and children captive and divided them amongst themselves, and they made that city a desolation."

Though critical of the Muslim commander (Amr ibn al-As), who, during the campaign, he says "had no mercy on the Egyptians, and did not observe the covenant they had made with him, for he was of a barbaric race", he does note that following the completion of the conquest, Amr "took none of the property of the Churches, and he committed no act of spoilation or plunder, and he preserved them throughout all his days."

Despite the political upheaval, the Egyptian population remained mainly Christian. However, gradual conversions to Islam over the centuries had changed Egypt from a Christian to a largely Muslim country by the end of the 12th century. Another scholar writes that a combination of "repression of Coptic revolts", Arab-Muslim immigration, and Coptic conversion to Islam resulted in the demographic decline of the Copts. Egypt's Umayyad rulers taxed Christians at a higher rate than Muslims, driving merchants towards Islam and undermining the economic base of the Coptic Church. Although the Coptic Church did not disappear, the Umayyad tax policies made it difficult for the church to retain the Egyptian elites.

Under Islamic rule (640–1800)
In 969, Egypt entered the Fatimid dynasty (in Egypt from 969 to 1171), who adopted a largely favorable attitude toward the Christians. The major exception to this was the persecution led by Caliph al-Hakim between 1004 and 1013, which included clothing regulations, prohibition of publicly celebrating Christian festivals, and dismissal of Christian and Jewish functionaries. However, at the end of his reign al-Hakim rescinded these measures, allowing the Copts to regain privileged positions within the administration.

The Coptic patriarchal residence moved from Alexandria to Cairo during the patriarchate of Cyril II (1078–92). This move was at the demand of the grand vizier Badr al-Jamali, who insisted that the pope establish himself in the capital. When Saladin entered Egypt in 1163, this ushered in a government focused on defending Sunni Islam. Christians were again discriminated against, and meant to show modesty in their religious ceremonies and buildings.

During the Ottoman period, Copts were classified alongside other Oriental Orthodox and Nestorian peoples under the Armenian millet.

In 1798, the French invaded Egypt unsuccessfully and the British helped the Turks to regain power over Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty.

From the 19th century to the 1952 revolution
The position of Copts began to improve early in the 19th century under the stability and tolerance of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. The Coptic community ceased to be regarded by the state as an administrative unit. In 1855 the jizya tax was abolished by Sa'id Pasha. Shortly thereafter, the Copts started to serve in the Egyptian army. Towards the end of the 19th century, the Coptic Church underwent phases of new development. In 1853, Pope Cyril IV established the first modern Coptic schools, including the first Egyptian school for girls. He also founded a printing press, which was only the second national press in the country. The Pope established very friendly relations with other denominations, to the extent that when the Greek Patriarch in Egypt had to absent himself from the country for a long period of time, he left his Church under the guidance of the Coptic Patriarch.

The Theological College of the School of Alexandria was reestablished in 1893. It began its new history with five students, one of whom was later to become its dean. Today it has campuses in Alexandria and Cairo, and in various dioceses throughout Egypt, as well as outside Egypt. It has campuses in New Jersey, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and London, where potential clergymen and other qualified men and women study many subjects, including theology, church history, missionary studies, and the Coptic language.

Present day
In 1959, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was granted its first own Patriarch Abuna Basilios by Pope Cyril VI. Furthermore, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church similarly became independent of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1994, when four bishops were consecrated by Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria to form the basis of a local Holy Synod of the Eritrean Church. In 1998, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church gained its autocephaly from the Coptic Orthodox Church when its first Patriarch was enthroned by Pope Shenouda III.

Since the 1980s theologians from the Oriental (non-Chalcedonian) Orthodox and Eastern (Chalcedonian) Orthodox churches have been meeting in a bid to resolve theological differences, and have concluded that many of the differences are caused by the two groups using different terminology to describe the same thing.

In the summer of 2001, the Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Patriarchates of Alexandria agreed to mutually recognize baptisms performed in each other's churches, making re-baptisms unnecessary, and to recognize the sacrament of marriage as celebrated by the other.

In Tahrir Square, Cairo, on Wednesday 2 February 2011, Coptic Christians joined hands to provide a protective cordon around their Muslim neighbors during salat (prayers) in the midst of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

Modern persecution
While Copts have cited instances of persecution throughout their history, Human Rights Watch has noted growing religious intolerance and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, and a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible. More than a hundred Egyptian copts were killed in sectarian clashes from 2011 to 2017, and many homes and businesses destroyed. In Minya, 77 cases of sectarian attacks on Copts between 2011 and 2016 were documented by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. Coptic Christian women and girls are often abducted and disappear.

In 2015, 21 men traveled to Libya to support their families. There, they would be kidnapped and beheaded by the Islamic State in Libya.

Recent Church reforms
Under Pope Shenouda, from 1971–2012, the church underwent a large transformation. Writing in 2013, the theologian Samuel Tadros stated "Today's Coptic Church as an institution is built solely on his vision". For the first time in its history, the synod codiefied its internal laws. It also established numerous coptic institutions within and outside of Egypt. Shenouda raised the number of bishops from 26 to 117 and ordained hundreds of priests, which greatly reduced the influence of any one bishop. Shenouda also instituted a yearly meeting of the synod, which greatly expanded the number of laws governing the church. This included instituting church curriculums for the education of new priests, new deacons, and newly weds. For the first time in the Coptic Church's modern history, women could become ordained as deacons. The synod also adopted a model for community development, dramatically increasing the scope of community services provided by the church, including: hospitals, adult literacy schools, orphanages, libraries, and community centres. Much of this work was fuelled by donations from wealthy Coptic industrialists and Copts from abroad. Shenouda also held talks with the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches, in an effort to promote ecumenism. On the 10th of May 1973, Pope Shenouda visited the Vatican, where a joint Christological declaration was issued jointly by the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic Churches.

Pope Shenouda III also increased the Church's involvement in politics, seeing it as a way to advocate for the interest of Copts, during the rise of Islamism in Egypt and increase in terrorist attacks. The president of Egypt, Anwar Sadat ordered that Shenouda be put into exile in a Coptic Monastery far away from Cairo in 1981. This exile was short lived, ending when Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists a few months later. Under president Hosni Mubarak, Shenouda continued his political stance and often protested persecution of Copts by leaving Cairo and staying in seclusion, which often caused the regime to quickly address issues. Shenouda's political involvement drew criticism from some church members, including the prominent monk Father Matta El Meskeen.

On 17 March 2012, the Coptic Orthodox Pope, Pope Shenouda III died, leaving many Copts mourning and worrying as tensions rose with Muslims. Pope Shenouda III constantly met with Muslim leaders in order to create peace. Many were worried about Muslims controlling Egypt as the Muslim Brotherhood won 70% of the parliamentary elections. Shenouda's approach to church leadership has, in part, been adopted by the current patriarch. Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria maintains relations with the Egyptian government and other churches. However, while Shenouda was critical of the expanded influence of protestant teaching and books in Coptic churches, Tawadros has increased ecumenical dialogue with several protestant churches. Tawadros is also not as involved political protests and does not publicly criticize the Egyptian regime, often resorting to advocacy instead.

In 2020, a woman in Florida accused a former priest of sexual assault when she was a minor. She claimed that he was defrocked in 2014, but continued presenting himself as a priest. In response, the synod issued a public statement disavowing him and instituted anti-abuse measures. Several diocese in North America and Europe, issued statements in support of sexual assault survivors.

On the 10th of May 2023, Pope Tawadros visited the Vatican to celebrate Coptic Catholic Friendship day and the 50 year anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda. Pope Francis announced that the 21 Coptic Martyrs killed by ISIS in Libya in 2015 would be added to the Catholic Roman Martyrology. Pope Tawadros gifted relics from each of the 21 martyrs to the Vatican.

Fasts, feasts, liturgy and canonical hours
Communicants of the Coptic Orthodox Church use a breviary known as the Agpeya to pray the canonical hours at seven fixed prayer times while facing in the eastward direction, in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus; this Christian practice has its roots in Psalm 119:164, in which the prophet David prays to God seven times a day. Church bells enjoin Christians to pray at these hours. Before praying, they wash their hands and face to be clean before and present their best to God; shoes are removed to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God. During each of the seven fixed prayer times, Coptic Orthodox Christians pray "prostrating three times in the name of the Trinity; at the end of each Psalm … while saying the 'Alleluia';" and 41 times for each of the Kyrie eleisons present in a canonical hour. In the Coptic Orthodox Church, it is customary for women to wear a Christian headcovering when praying. The Coptic Orthodox Church observes days of ritual purification. However, while meat that still contains blood after cooking is discouraged from being eaten, the Coptic Church does not forbid its members from consuming any particular type of food, unlike in Islam or Judaism.

All churches of the Coptic Orthodox Church are designed to face the eastward direction of prayer and efforts are made to remodel churches obtained from other Christian denominations that are not built in this fashion.

In Coptic Orthodox Christianity, fasting is defined as going without meat or dairy. With respect to Eucharistic discipline, Coptic Orthodox Christians fast from midnight onwards (or at least nine hours) prior to receiving the sacrament of Holy Communion. They fast every Wednesday and Friday of the year (Wednesdays in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ, and on Fridays in remembrance of His crucifixion and death). In total, fast days in a year for Coptic Orthodox Christians numbers between 210 and 240. This means that Copts abstain from all animal products for up to two-thirds of each year. The fasts for Advent and Lent are 43 days and 55 days, respectively. In August, before the celebration of the Dormition of the Mother of God, Coptic Christians fast 15 days; fasting is also done before the feast of Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, starting from the day of Pentecost. Married couples refrain from sexual relations during Lent "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer".

Christmas has been a national holiday in Egypt, since 2003. It is the only Christian holiday in Egypt. Coptic Christmas, which usually falls on January 6 or 7 is a major feast. Other major feasts are Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Easter, Pentecost, Ascension, and Annunciation. These are known in the Coptic world as the Seven Major Feasts. Major feasts are always preceded by fasts. Additionally, the Coptic Orthodox Church also has Seven Minor Feasts: the Circumcision of the Lord, Entrance into the Temple, Entrance into Egypt, Transfiguration, Maundy Thursday, Thomas Sunday, and Great Lent. Furthermore, there are several indigenous feasts of the Theotokos. There are also other feasts commemorating the martyrdom of important saints from Coptic history.

Demographics
Available Egyptian census figures and other third-party survey reports have not reported more than 4 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt. However media and other agencies, sometimes taking into account the claims of the church itself, generally approximate the Coptic Orthodox population at 10% of the Egyptian population or 10 million people. Egyptian Copts are the biggest Christian community in the Arab world. Estimates of their numbers vary, but generally range between 4.7 and 7.1 million. The majority of them live in Egypt under the jurisdiction of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Since 2006, Egyptian censuses have not reported on religion and church leaders have alleged that Christians were under-counted in government surveys. In 2017, a government owned newspaper Al Ahram estimated the percentage of Copts at 10 to 15% and the membership claimed by the Coptic Orthodox Church is in the range of 20 to 25 million.

There are also significant numbers in the diaspora outside Africa in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany. The exact number of Egyptian born Coptic Orthodox Christians in the diaspora is hard to determine and is roughly estimated to be close to 1 million.

There are between 150,000 and 200,000 adherents in Sudan.

Jurisdiction outside Egypt
Besides Egypt, the Church of Alexandria has jurisdiction over all of Africa. The following autocephalous churches have strong historical ties to the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Tradition holds that Ethiopia was first evangelized by St. Matthew and St. Bartholomew in the 1st century ce, and the first Ethiopian convert is thought to have been the eunuch in Jerusalem mentioned in The Acts of the Apostles (8:27–40). Ethiopia was further Christianized in the 4th century ce by two men (likely brothers) from Tyre—St. Frumentius. Ever since the conversion of Ezana of Axum to Christianity by Frumentius in 325 AD, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has received its archbishops from the Coptic Orthodox Church. Until the mid-twentieth century, the metropolitans of the Ethiopian church were ethnic Copts. Joseph II consecrated Archbishop Abuna Basilios as the first native head of the Ethiopian Church on 14 January 1951. In 1959, Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria crowned Abuna Basilios as the first Patriarch of Ethiopia.

Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Following the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia in 1993, the newly independent Eritrean government appealed to Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria for Eritrean Orthodox autocephaly. In 1994, Pope Shenouda ordained Abune Phillipos as first Archbishop of Eritrea.

Administration
The Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria is governed by its Holy Synod, which is headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. Under his authority are the metropolitan archbishops, metropolitan bishops, diocesan bishops, patriarchal exarchs, missionary bishops, auxiliary bishops, suffragan bishops, assistant bishops, chorbishops and the patriarchal vicars for the Church of Alexandria.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Coptic Orthodox Church


text:
The Family International

The Family International (TFI) is an American new religious movement founded in 1968 by David Brandt Berg. The group has gone under a number of different names since its inception, including Teens for Christ, The Children of God (COG), The Family of Love, or simply The Family.

A British court case found the group was an authoritarian cult which engaged in the systematic physical and sexual abuse of children, resulting in lasting trauma among survivors. The group has also been accused of targeting vulnerable people.

Overview
According to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "at its height" the Family movement had "tens of thousands of members, including River and Joaquin Phoenix, Rose McGowan and Jeremy Spencer". TFI initially spread a message of salvation, apocalypticism, spiritual "revolution and happiness" and distrust of the outside world, which the members called The System. Like some other fundamentalist groups, it "foretold the coming of a dictator called the anti-Christ, the rise of a brutal One World Government and its eventual overthrow by Jesus Christ, in the Second Coming".

In 1976, it began a method of evangelism called Flirty Fishing that used sex to "show God's love and mercy" and win converts, resulting in controversy. TFI's founder and prophetic leader, David Berg (who adopted the name "Moses David" while in Laurentide, Canada, and was also referred to "Father David" by members), gave himself the titles of "King", "The Last Endtime Prophet", "Moses", and "David".

Berg communicated with his followers via "Mo Letters"—letters of instruction and counsel on myriad spiritual and practical subjects—until his death in late 1994. After his death, his widow Karen Zerby became the leader of TFI, taking the titles of "Queen" and "Prophetess". Zerby married Steve Kelly (also known as Peter Amsterdam), an assistant of Berg's whom Berg had handpicked as her "consort". Kelly took the title of "King Peter" and became the face of TFI, speaking in public more often than either Berg or Zerby. There have been multiple allegations of child sexual abuse made by past members.

Berg preached a combination of traditional Christian evangelism, with elements popular with the counterculture of the 1960s. There was much "end-of-the-world imagery" found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, preaching of impending doom for America and the ineffectiveness of established churches. Berg "urged a return to the early Christian community described in the Bible's Book of Acts, in which believers lived together and shared all", resembling communal living of late 1960s hippies.

The Children of God (1968–1977)
The founder of the movement, David Brandt Berg (1919–1994), was a former Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor. Berg started in 1968 as an evangelical preacher with a following of "born-again hippies" who gathered at a coffeehouse in Huntington Beach, in Orange County, California. In 1969, after having a revelation "that California would be hit by a major earthquake", he left Huntington Beach and "took his followers on the road".

They would proselytize in the streets and distribute pamphlets. Leaders within COG were referred to as The Chain. Members of The Children of God (COG) founded communes, first called colonies (now referred to as homes), in various cities.

Berg communicated with his followers by writing letters. He published nearly 3,000 letters over a period of 24 years, referred to as the Mo Letters. In a letter written in January 1972, Berg stated that he was God's prophet for the contemporary world, attempting to further solidify his spiritual authority within the group. Berg's letters also contained public acknowledgement of his own failings and weaknesses, for example, he issued a Mo Letter entitled "My confession -- I was an alcoholic!" (ML #1406 Summer 1982) relating his depression after some of his closest supporters quit in 1978.

In 1972, a Mo Letter reportedly entitled "Flee as a Bird to Your Mountain" was interpreted by some members (such as Ruth Gordon) as a warning to leave America. "God was going to destroy the U.S. ... and we had to get out." This, along with the pressure members felt that parents were trying to "rescue" children who had joined CoG, encouraged members to "[migrate] abroad -- first to Europe, eventually to Latin America and East Asia".

By 1972, COG stated it had 130 communities around the world, and by the mid-1970s, it had "colonies" in an estimated 70 countries. BBC reported 10,000 full-time COG members in the 1970s.

In 1976, Berg had introduced a new proselytizing method called Flirty Fishing (or FFing), which encouraged female members to "show God's love" through sexual relationships with potential converts. Flirty Fishing was practiced by members of Berg's inner circle starting in 1973, and was introduced to the general membership in 1976.

The Family of Love (1978–1981)
The Children of God was abolished in February 1978, and Berg renamed his group "The Family of Love" In what Berg called the "Re-organization Nationalization Revolution" (or RNR). Berg reorganized the movement, dismissing "more than 300 leading members after hearing unspecified 'reports of serious misconduct and abuse of their positions." Reportedly involved were The Chain's abuse of authority, and disagreements within it about the continued use of Flirty Fishing. The group was also accused of sexually abusing and raping minors within the organization, with considerable evidence to support this claim. One eighth of the total membership left the movement. Those who remained became part of a reorganized movement called the Family of Love, and later, The Family. The majority of the group's beliefs remained the same.

The Family of Love era was characterized by international expansion.

After 1978 Flirty Fishing "increased drastically" and became common practice within the group. A Mo Letter from 1980 (ML #999 May 1980) for example was headlined "The Devil Hates Sex! --- But God Loves It!". In some areas flirty fishers used escort agencies to meet potential converts. According to TFI "over 100,000 received God's gift of salvation through Jesus, and some chose to live the life of a disciple and missionary" as a result of Flirty Fishing. Researcher Bill Bainbridge obtained data from TFI suggesting that, from 1974 until 1987, members had sexual contact with 223,989 people while practicing Flirty Fishing.

The Family (1982–1994)
According to the Family's official history, the group had "far fewer common standards of conduct" during The Family of Love stage than it had previously. In the late 1980s the group "tightened its standards" "to ensure that all member communities provide a very wholesome environment for all, particularly the children", and changed its name to "The Family". In March 1989, TF issued a statement that, in "early 1985", an urgent memorandum had been sent to all members "reminding them that any such activities [adult–child sexual contact] are within our group" (emphasis in original), and such activities were grounds for immediate excommunication from the group. In January 2005, Claire Borowik, a spokesperson for TFI, stated: "Due to the fact that our current zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual interaction between adults and underage minors was not in our literature published before 1986, we came to the realization that during a transitional stage of our movement, from 1978 until 1986, there were cases when some minors were subject to sexually inappropriate advances ... This was corrected officially in 1986, when any contact between an adult and minor (any person under 21 years of age) was declared an excommunicable offense."

After a 1993 expose in the Los Angeles Times, the group broke "years of virtual silence" and began "inviting reporters and religious scholars" to visit its commune in La Habra, California, where at least a Washington Post journalist (Gustav Niebuhr) found its members to be "a clean-cut bunch, friendly and courteous". At that time The Family claimed to have "about 9,000 members worldwide, with about 750 scattered across the United States". The group emphasized its mainstream Christian opposition to abortion, homosexuality, drugs and drunkenness and its respect for Rev. Billy Graham.

The Family (1995–2003)
After Berg's death in October 1994, Karen Zerby (known in the group as Mama Maria, Queen Maria, Maria David, or Maria Fontaine) assumed leadership of the group.

In February 1995, the group introduced the Love Charter, which defined the rights and responsibilities of Charter Members and Homes. The Charter also included the Fundamental Family Rules, a summary of rules and guidelines from past TF publications which were still in effect.

In the 1994–95 British court case, the Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Alan Ward ruled that the group, including some of its top leaders, had in the past engaged in abusive sexual practices involving minors and had also used severe corporal punishment and sequestration of minors. He found that by 1995 TF had abandoned these practices and concluded that they were a safe environment for children. Nevertheless, he did require that the group cease all corporal punishment of children in the United Kingdom and denounce any of Berg's writings that were "responsible for children in TF having been subjected to sexually inappropriate behaviour".

The Family International (2004–present)
The Love Charter is The Family's set governing document that entails each member's rights, responsibilities and requirements, while the Missionary Member Statutes and Fellow Member Statutes were written for the governance of TFI's Missionary member and Fellow Member circles, respectively. FD Homes were reviewed every six months against a published set of criteria. The Love Charter increased the number of single family homes as well as homes that relied on jobs such as self-employment.

Recent teachings
TFI's recent teachings are based on beliefs which they term the "new [spiritual] weapons". TFI members believe that they are soldiers in the spiritual war of good versus evil for the souls and hearts of men.

Spirit Helpers
"Spirit Helpers" include angels, other religious and mythical figures, and departed humans, including celebrities; for example the goddess Aphrodite, the Snowman, Merlin, the Sphinx, Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Nixon, and Winston Churchill.

The Keys of the Kingdom
TFI believes that the Biblical passage "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven", refers to an increasing amount of spiritual authority that was given to Peter and the early disciples. According to TFI beliefs, this passage refers to keys that were hidden and unused in the centuries that followed, but were again revealed through Karen Zerby as more power to pray and obtain miracles. TFI members call on the various Keys of the Kingdom for extra effect during prayer. The Keys, like most TFI beliefs, were published in magazines that looked like comic-books in order to make them teachable to children.

Loving Jesus
"Loving Jesus" is a term TFI members use to describe their intimate, sexual relationship with Jesus. TFI describes its "Loving Jesus" teaching as a radical form of bridal theology. They believe the church of followers is Christ's bride, called to love and serve him with wifely fervor; however, this bridal theology is taken further, encouraging members to imagine Jesus is joining them during sexual intercourse and masturbation. Male members are cautioned to visualize themselves as women, in order to avoid a homosexual relationship with Jesus. Many TFI publications, and spirit messages claimed to be from Jesus himself, elaborate this intimate, sexual relation they believe Jesus desires and needs. TFI imagines itself as his special "bride" in graphic poetry, guided visualizations, artwork, and songs. Some TFI literature is not brought into conservative countries for fear it may be classified at customs as pornography. The literature outlining this view of Jesus and his desire for a sexual relationship with believers was edited for younger teens, then further edited for children.

Criticism
The Family has been found liable in a British court, and also criticized by the press and the anti-cult movement. Ex-members have accused the Family's leadership of following "a policy of lying to outsiders," being "steeped in a history of sexual deviance" and even meddling "in Third World politics". The Family replies that it is a victim of "persecution."

Allegations of abuse and mistreatment have been publicly expressed by some of those who have left the group; examples include sisters Celeste Jones, Kristina Jones, and Juliana Buhring, who wrote a book on their lives in TFI.

In 1971, an organization called FREECOG was founded by concerned parents and others, including deprogrammer Ted Patrick to "free" members of the COG from their involvement in the group.

At least one individual growing up in the family (Verity Carter) during the Children of God era described being sexually abused "from the age of four by members of the... cult, including her own father". She blames the philosophy of David Berg, who told members that "God was love and love was sex", so that sex should not be limited by age or relationship. Carter also complains of being "repeatedly beaten and whipped for the smallest of transgressions", being denied "music or television or culture," or other "contact with the outside world," so that she had "no idea how the world worked" other than how to manipulate the "systemites" (outsiders), like social workers.

Author Don Lattin interviewed numerous members of the Family for his book Jesus Freaks. In a review of his book, Paul Burgarino describes Berg as "drawing from the remnants of hippie life—people with nothing to lose, nowhere to go, and no Christian background" to alert them to deviations in Berg's preaching. One ex–Children of God member, Jerry Golland, describes himself at the time of joining the group as penniless and so depressed that the Children of God scraped him "off the street". Members would "learn to spot, you know... a vulnerable person. We called them sheep", Golland told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Pressure to raise money could also be intense. Ex-member Golland says that members who were good at raising money and distributing the pamphlets were called "Shiners". Those with poor sales were called "Shamers". "If you missed your quota you could not come home for dinner", he said.

Joined in adulthood

 * Jeremy Spencer, blues slide guitarist and a founding member of Fleetwood Mac, which he left in 1971 when he joined TFI.

Raised in the COG and later left

 * Christopher Owens: musician, of US indie band Girls, was brought up in TFI by his parents.
 * Rose McGowan: film actress, described her TFI childhood in interviews with Howard Stern, People magazine and later in her book Brave.
 * River Phoenix, Joaquin Phoenix, Rain Phoenix, Liberty Phoenix and Summer Phoenix, actors, were members of the group from 1972 to 1978. River Phoenix, who died of a drug overdose in 1993, told Details magazine in November 1991 that "they're ruining people's lives."
 * Susan Justice: American pop rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, known best for her debut self-recorded album, The Subway Recordings.
 * Tina Dupuy: American journalist and syndicated columnist.
 * Ricky Rodriguez: subject of the suppressed manual advocating adult-child sexual contact, committed a murder-suicide in 2005, killing one of the women who raised and allegedly sexually abused him, then himself.
 * Davida Kelley: eldest daughter of Sara Kelley, who was David Berg's nanny and raised Davida and Ricky Rodriguez in a highly abusive environment. Davida has been outspoken about the group's abuse in public media such as Larry King Live and accused Berg of sexually abusing her as a child in a June 2005 Rolling Stone article.
 * Juliana Buhring: first woman to bicycle around the world and co-author of Not Without My Sister along with Celeste and Kristina Jones.
 * Lauren Hough: author of Leaving Isn't the Hardest Thing, brought up in TFI.
 * Flor Edwards, author, who was raised inside the group before her parents moved out.
 * Dawn Watson: victim of sexual abuse while living in a TFI community.
 * Taylor Stevens: author, raised in the group from age 12 until she left in her 20's with her two children.
 * Bexy Cameron: British child member who left aged 15 and later wrote a book about her experiences.
 * Faith Jones: a lawyer, was raised in the group in Macau before leaving. She wrote about her life in the book Sex Cult Nun.

Autobiographical accounts

 * Davis, Deborah (Linda Berg) (1984). THE CHILDREN OF GOD: The Inside Story. Zondervan Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan. ISBN 0-310-27840-6. Expose by the founder's eldest daughter who left the cult.
 * Expose by a senior member who left after 20+ years.
 * Young was born and raised in The Children of God cult. She's the eldest daughter of a second generation cult member who was 14 when she was impregnated by an older cult member.
 * Hough was born and raised in the Children of God. Her 2021 essay collection is a New York Times Bestseller.

Media featuring the group

 * The Jesus Trip (1971): a documentary by Denis Tuohy that has interviews with Children of God members.
 * Children of God (1994): a 63-minute Channel 4 documentary by John Smithson; detailing the Padilla family and the abuse of their three underage daughters and the death of another.
 * Children of God: Lost and Found: a 75-minute documentary by Noah Thomson, featured at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival.
 * Cult Killer: The Rick Rodriguez Story: a 53-minute UK documentary with a transcript.
 * In the first episode of Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends, "Born Again Christians", Louis visits a Texas TFI family.
 * The Parcast Podcast Cults: Episodes 11 and 12.
 * Citizen Rose: A five part documentary series shown on the E! Channel. The first episode premiered on January 30, 2018. The series follows actress Rose McGowan who was born into the cult.
 * The Last Podcast on the Left did a four part series on the cult: Episodes 248-251
 * Dan Cummins' podcast Timesuck covered the cult in episode 104, "The Children of God Sex Cult."
 * AJJ released a song entitled "Children of God" on their 2014 album Christmas Island.
 * A&E's Cults and Extreme Belief, episode 3 (2018) is about the Children of God.

Academic

 * Chancellor, James (2000). Life in The Family: An Oral History of the Children of God. University of Syracuse Press, Syracuse, NY.
 * Bainbridge, William Sims (2002). The Endtime Family: Children of God. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-5264-6.
 * Bainbridge, William Sims (1996). The Sociology of Religious Movements. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-91202-4.
 * Barker, Eileen. (1989). New Religious Movements, A Practical Introduction. Her Majesty's Stationery Office. ISBN 0-11-340927-3.
 * Barker, Eileen. (2021). "Children of God/The Family International Armageddon" . In James Crossley and Alastair Lockhart (eds.) Critical Dictionary of Apocalyptic and Millenarian Movements.
 * Barrett, DV (1996). Sects, Cults and Alternative Religions. Blandford A. Cassell. ISBN 0-7137-2567-2.
 * Lewis, James R, and Melton, J. Gordon (eds). (1994). Sex, Slander, and Salvation: Investigating The Family/Children of God. Center for Academic Press, Stanford, CA.
 * Lynch, Dalva, and Paul Carden (1990). "Inside the 'Heavenly Elite': The Children of God Today." . Christian Research Journal, pp 16.
 * McFarland, Robert (1994). "The Children of God." The Journal of Psychohistory 4(21).
 * Melton, J. Gordon (2004). The Children of God, "The Family" (Studies in Contemporary Religion vol. 7). Signature Books. ISBN 1-56085-180-5.
 * Melton, J. Gordon (2004). The Family International Britannica Article
 * Melton, J. Gordon and Robert L. Moore (1982). The Cult Experience: Responding to the New Religious Pluralism. The Pilgrim Press, New York, USA.
 * Palmer, Susan J. (1994). "Heaven's Children: The Children of God's Second Generation" in Sex, Slander, and Salvation, op. cit.
 * Palmer, Susan J., and Charlotte Hardman eds. (1999). Children in New Religions (3rd ed.). Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-8135-2620-5.
 * Shepherd, Gary, and Lawrence Lilliston (1994). "Field Observations of Young People's Experience and Role in The Family" in Sex, Slander, and Salvation, op. cit.
 * Shepherd, Gary, and Shepherd, Gordon (August 2005). "Accommodation and Reformation in The Family/Children of God", Nova Religio (Journal of the University of California)
 * Shepherd, Gary and Shepherd, Gordon (Spring 2000)."The Moral Career of a New Religious Movement" The Oakland Journal.
 * Wilson, Bryan and Jamie Cresswell, eds. (1999). New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response. Routledge, London, UK.
 * Wright, Stuart (1987). Leaving Cults: The Dynamics of Defection. Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Washington, D.C., USA. ISBN 0-932566-06-5 (Contains interviews with ex-members of three groups, among others the Children of God)
 * Van Zandt, David (1991). Living in the Children of God. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
 * Young, Shawn David, Hippies, Jesus Freaks, and Music (Ann Arbor: Xanedu/Copley Original Works, 2005). ISBN 1-59399-201-7.
 * Wilson, Bryan and Jamie Cresswell, eds. (1999). New Religious Movements: Challenge and Response. Routledge, London, UK.
 * Wright, Stuart (1987). Leaving Cults: The Dynamics of Defection. Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. Washington, D.C., USA. ISBN 0-932566-06-5 (Contains interviews with ex-members of three groups, among others the Children of God)
 * Van Zandt, David (1991). Living in the Children of God. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
 * Young, Shawn David, Hippies, Jesus Freaks, and Music (Ann Arbor: Xanedu/Copley Original Works, 2005). ISBN 1-59399-201-7.

Journalistic and popular

 * Jones, Faith (2021). Sex Cult Nun. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0062952455.
 * Lattin, Don. Jesus Freaks: A True Story of Murder and Madness on the Evangelical Edge. HarperOne. ISBN 0-06-111804-4.
 * Mahoney, Mary (2020). Abnormal Normal: My Life in the Children of God. ISBN 979-8-6317-4606-0.
 * McManus, Una (1980). Not for a Million Dollars. Impact Books. ISBN 0-914850-54-7.
 * Rivenburg, Roy (March 21, 1993). "A True Conversion?" Los Angeles Times.
 * Williams, Miriam (1999). Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult. Quill. ISBN 0-688-17012-9.
 * Rivenburg, Roy (March 21, 1993). "A True Conversion?" Los Angeles Times.
 * Williams, Miriam (1999). Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult. Quill. ISBN 0-688-17012-9.
 * Williams, Miriam (1999). Heaven's Harlots: My Fifteen Years as a Sacred Prostitute in the Children of God Cult. Quill. ISBN 0-688-17012-9.

Official

 * DavidBerg.org – Official website explaining David Brandt Berg's mission, vision and message.
 * KarenZerby.org – Karen Zerby's official site.
 * TFICharter.com – Official Governing Documents of The Family International.
 * Children of God.com – Official history of the COG (pre-TFI).
 * Children of God.com – Official history of the COG (pre-TFI).

Other

 * xFamily – Wiki detailing TFI; includes large collections of multimedia, press coverage, and internal TFI publications.
 * xFamily PubsDB – a near-complete database of all writings by David Berg and Karen Zerby.
 * exfamily.org – information, forums, links, etc. about TFI by former first-generation members.

title: The Family International


text:
CIT

CIT or cit may refer to:

Organizations

 * Center for Information Technology, of the US government
 * CIT Group, an American banking and financial services company
 * Compagnia Italiana Turismo, an Italian travel agency
 * Confederación Interamericana de Trabajadores, an inter-American trade union confederation
 * Conflict Intelligence Team, open-source independent investigative organisation originating from Russia

Educational institutions

 * CIT School, a senior secondary boys' school in Kolkata, West Bengal, India
 * Canadian Institute of Technology, Tirana, Albania
 * Canberra Institute of Technology
 * Carnegie Institute of Technology, the former name for Carnegie Mellon University
 * Cebu Institute of Technology – University, Cebu City, Philippines
 * Central Institute of Technology, a corporate parent of the Wellington Institute of Technology in New Zealand
 * Changchun Institute of Technology, Jilin, China
 * Changshu Institute of Technology, Jiangsu, China
 * Chiba Institute of Technology, Japan
 * Chungyu Institute of Technology, Keelung, Taiwan
 * Coimbatore Institute of Technology, India
 * Cork Institute of Technology, Ireland
 * Chartered Institute of Transport, London
 * California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, California, United States

Places

 * Çit, Kemaliye
 * Çit, Taşköprü, a village in Turkey

Science and medicine

 * Canine infectious tracheobronchitis or "kennel cough"
 * β-CIT (a.k.a. RTI-55), phenyltropane-based psychostimulant
 * CIT (gene), citron kinase
 * CIT Program Tumor Identity Cards, a programme for characterising tumours
 * Collagen induction therapy, an aesthetic medical procedure

Transport infrastructure

 * Chislehurst railway station (National Rail station code CIT)
 * Shymkent International Airport (IATA: CIT)

Other uses

 * Cash-in-transit, the physical transfer of banknotes, coins, credit cards and items of value
 * Cit (consciousness), Sanskrit for consciousness or awareness; alternately spelled chit
 * citation
 * Closed inflatable trampoline
 * CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, in basketball
 * Corporate Income Tax
 * Counselor-in-Training, at a summer camp
 * Crisis intervention training
 * Critical incident technique
 * Customer interaction tracker

title: CIT