Monotheism is the belief of Egyptians across generation

 

Before we begin, we would like to point out that these words are not intended to support a religion or correct one doctrine and invalidate another. Rather, we are about to narrate a set of purely historical facts, the goal of which is to correct and extinguish the fire burning in the hearts of some resulting from some wrong perceptions, which in turn, from time to time, bring out a set of provocative statements to their promoters and speakers before they arouse the ire of those intended for them. Which in turn can ignite sedition that everyone should work to extinguish.
Repeating the statement that the entire people of Egypt believed in the Christian faith as it exists today at the time of the Islamic conquest is an assault on the truth and history. The same applies to saying that all Christians in the Arab region held the well-known or popular beliefs about Christianity today.

Christian religion of the people of Egypt

Most of the people in Egypt were Christians according to the doctrine of Arius (256-336 AD). He received his theological education in Antioch at the school of Lucianus (270 AD). He went to Alexandria, where he served and was ordained by Pope Peter, Pope of Alexandria, as a deacon. The summary of his calling [about the Son and the Holy Spirit] was in the following points:
1- The Son is not eternal and is a creation of God the Father like other creatures, except that He precedes them.
2- The Son is not of the essence of the Father, but of another essence, for He came out of nothingness according to God’s will and purpose.
3- The Son’s knowledge of the Father is limited and not absolute, and the Son cannot reveal to us who the Father is in a complete way.
4- Christ, whom Christians worship, is not God, and does not possess the absolute divine attributes such as being omnipotent, knowledgeable, and wise, and being eternally unchangeable.
5- Accordingly, He is not God in and of Himself, but He rose to this degree through God the Father’s elevation of Him.
6- Arius believed that the Holy Spirit is also lower than the Father and is also created.]
This was the belief of most Christians in Egypt, as the Pope of Christians in Egypt says: “When we talk about Arianism, we say that Arius started it, and he was a priest in Alexandria, and he was eloquent and influential with the people, and he was able to attract to him not only many of the people, but also some bishops who became Arian bishops in the whole world - not in one country - they were Arian bishops in many places.”
What confirms the previous statement is that when the Bishop of Alexandria, Pope Peter I (300-311 AD) decided to excommunicate him, he returned again during the reign of his successor, Pope Archelaus (311-312 AD), dissolved him, ordained him a priest, and handed him the Church of Bucalia, which was the main church in Alexandria at that time. The reason for this was that a group of people came to him and asked him to accept Arius, so he accepted him. Rather, after the death of Pope Archelaus, the followers of the Bishop of Lycopolis (Asyut) tried with all their might to obstruct the ordination of Alexander, the candidate of Arius, to be the Pope and Patriarch.

The power of Arius and the number of his followers

Arius was clearly so successful that he moved from one success to another. Father Iskandar mentions that during his period of excommunication: “He went to Caesarea in Palestine and explained his teachings to its bishop (Eusebius of Caesarea) who advised him to write to Eusebius of Nicomedia who greatly supported Arius and accepted him as a priest in his diocese.”
Pope Shenouda even mentions in his previous lecture that Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius of Nicomedia became Arians. He even had an entourage in the imperial court that enabled him. It is worth mentioning that Eusebius of Caesarea (263-340 AD), who was accused of Arianism or at least leaning towards it, fled during the persecution to Tyre and from there to Thebes in the Egyptian desert.
He also mentions that when Arius returned to Alexandria again, he had with him “a group of his followers, and he began to spread his teachings through hymns and songs, and because Alexandria is a great port, his teachings reached many countries of the East and the West.” Indeed, these teachings reached the far west, reaching Spain, and some Germanic tribes believed in them.

Arius' doctrine is stronger than the Council of Nicaea

From the above, it is clear that the teachings of Arius had reached a great level, which prompted the emperor to call for the Council of Nicaea, which ended with the image of the Christian faith being established as it is known today and the excommunication of Arius. However, someone like Arius would not surrender to this, so he continued his call. Father Iskandar Wadih says: “Because of the way Arius followed in spreading his teachings, the Council of Nicaea was unable to eliminate his heresy, so these teachings continued to spread.”
The authors of the book The Truth of the Divinity of Jesus Christ say in the sixth part of it: “The Nicene Creed faced much opposition. Many Arians refused to abandon their beliefs even when confronted with the Nicene Creed, which translates the biblical truth.” He also says: “Despite the expulsion of Arius, he was able to influence many members of the church at intermittent periods for many years after the Council of Nicaea.” Among this influence was the convening of the Council of Tyre in 335 AD, which excommunicated Pope Athanasius, which was headed by his friend Eusebius of Caesarea. Then, after the consecration of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a council was held in Jerusalem by the Arians, and they issued a decision for the return of Arius to Alexandria. They were also able to issue a decision to excommunicate Athenaeus and exile him to France.

Arianism is stronger after his death.

When Arius died in 336 AD, his followers had become so powerful that they were able to hold a council in Antioch in 340 AD, and the council decided to reformulate the Creed. It is also clear that they were extremely harsh on those who disagreed with them, as Pope Shenouda says that they were "extremely violent, perhaps more violent than Arius himself."
Perhaps what strengthened their resolve was the inclination of Constantine I (313-337 AD) towards their doctrine, and when his son Constantius (337-362 AD) succeeded him, he was also an Arian. Their severity in Egypt was such that they made Pope Athanasius wander around in fear, saying: "My eyes do not stop shedding tears, nor my soul stop groaning, but the Lord is my witness that because of their persecution I am no longer able to see even my two sons."
Rather, it is clear that they were numerous and controlled everything, as Pope Athanasius says: "What did the Arians keep? They watch the streets and check every person who enters and leaves the city (Alexandria), they search the ships, they roam the desert, they besiege the houses."
The dominant religious doctrine in the Roman Empire
. It can even be said that by 359 AD, the Arian doctrine had spread throughout the Roman Empire, both east and west, as Constantine had finally become an Arian under the influence of his advisor Eusebius of Nicomedia, and most of Constantine's sons were Arians. Then the whole kingdom was united under the rule of his son, the Arian Constans.
And so it remained until 362 AD, when Emperor Julian summoned Pope Athanasius and did everything in his power to reconcile the Arians with the followers of Nicaea, but he was later exiled and accused of being "a disturber of peace and an enemy of the gods." He was exiled for the last time in 365 AD and was forced to hide in his father's tomb.
It should be noted that the period of Pope Athanasius's reign was 45 years, most of which he spent in exile. This undoubtedly made it difficult for him to spread his doctrine and Christian belief, especially since his opponents' doctrine was as easy to explain as his, with what they were described as eloquent, rhetorical, and influential. This is proven by what Saint Gregory of Nyssa (330-395 AD) said about them: "A local bait for the simple that hides the hook of blasphemy, an attractive face that looks right and left to ensnare passersby! A shoe suitable for every foot! Seeds sown in every wind!"
He refers to the rationality of their teachings by saying: "Most heretics, such as Arius, Eunomius, and Sabellius, tried to study the divine revelation and prove it with purely rational statements, but this rational depiction of things reduces the revelation to the human level." As for the difficulty of other teachings, he says: “The existence of divine darkness is necessary and has no negative quality. The darkness between God and man is like the cloud that Moses entered into, and this darkness protects him from the fire of divinity, just as the shadow protects man from the fire of the sun.”
What confirms that the common people believed in the sayings of Arianism is what Saint Gregory of Nyssa (330-395 AD) mentions: “Everyone in the streets, markets, squares, and at crossroads speaks about things they do not understand. If you ask a seller: What shall I pay you? He will answer: He is born or unborn. If you try to know the price of bread, they will answer: The Father is greater than the Son. If you ask: Are the doves ready? You will hear the answer: The Son came from nothing.”
We also note that the mother of Emperor Julian (331-363 AD) was a relative of Eusebius, Bishop of Nicomedia, who fought for Arianism. Julian wrote three books in which he challenged the divinity of Christ. In other words, he was not just a ruler, but he also combined knowledge with his kingship, and that was only because he was raised in the lap of Bishop Eusebius. Likewise, his successor, Valens, was also an Arian. Things continued in this manner until the reign of Theodosius I (379-395 AD), when the Nicene faith was declared the correct faith and official religion of the empire in 379 AD. To establish [the form with the word wrong] this faith, the Second Ecumenical Council was called to be held in Constantinople in the year 381.
Thus you see how the doctrine of the Unitarian Christians was the most prevalent on the official and popular levels less than two hundred years before the birth of the Chosen One - may God bless him and grant him peace - and about two hundred and fifty years before the arrival of the Islamic conquest (638 AD) to Egypt. As for the events that took place with them in Egypt during that period, we will discuss them in a future article, God willing.

The religious situation in Egypt before the Islamic conquest

We talked about the religious situation in Egypt until 381 AD, and we reached the conclusion that the majority of Egyptian Christians did not believe in the Trinity, but rather were pioneers in fighting this doctrine, as indicated by the emergence of a local Egyptian group in 358 AD that denied those who claimed the divinity of the Holy Spirit, and believed that the Holy Spirit is not of the essence and nature of the Father and the Son, nor is it similar to the Son, but rather is one of the beings that were created from nothing, and that it is a creation. It is an angel among the angels, although it is undoubtedly higher and more beautiful than the rest of the angels, but it does not differ from them except in degree. Those who opposed it called it "Tropic", a Greek word meaning playing with words and interpreting verses out of context.
This situation continued until 380 AD, when Emperor Theodosius came to the East, deposed the Arian bishop Demophilus, declared the Orthodox faith in the empire, and handed over the main church in Constantinople to Gregory. In 381 AD, the Second Ecumenical Council was held. It began as a local council, and was not recognized as an ecumenical council until the fifth century. (148) bishops from the church attended it, and the Arian bishops were removed from it. This council caused many problems and complications, as most of the dioceses of the West - including Rome - were not invited to participate in it.

Prohibition of Arianism

Then came Emperor Theodosius II (401-450 AD) who issued an order in 428 to eradicate and destroy Arianism according to a law established in the Roman Empire.
Despite this, Arianism continued for two centuries, especially among the Germanic peoples who had been preached by Arian missionaries. This is natural, as beliefs and ideas, whether correct or incorrect, do not suddenly disappear or flourish.
New sects and doctrines emerged
. Alongside Arianism, other doctrines and ideas similar to it appeared, and perhaps this was an attempt to bring together Arianism, which denies the divinity of Christ, peace be upon him, and Orthodoxy, which confirms it. Thus, Nestorianism emerged. In a letter to John, Bishop of Antioch, Nestorius confirms that when he arrived in Constantinople, he found opponents (opponents) already present. One of them called the Virgin Mary “Mother of God” and another called her merely “Mother of Man.” In order to mediate between them, he said: He suggested the phrase "the mother of Christ", believing that both parties would accept it. Nestorius believed that the union of the divinity with the human Jesus was not a real union, but only helped him, and he explained the divine solution with Jesus metaphorically, meaning the solution of morals, support and victory.
He said in one of his sermons: "How can I bow down to a three-month-old child?" He also said: "How can God have a mother? What is born from the flesh is nothing but flesh, and what is born from the spirit is spirit. The creation did not give birth to the Creator, but gave birth to a human being who is the instrument of the divinity (1). The historian Cyrus Ibn al-Muqaffa says in his book "History of the Patriarchs": "Nestorius was very insistent on stripping Christ of divinity, as he said: Christ is only a human being. He is a prophet and nothing else.”
A council was held in Ephesus in 431 AD, which decided to isolate and exile him. He moved from one exile to another to continue spreading his call until he was exiled to Akhmim in Upper Egypt in 435 AD. He continued to spread his teachings and ideas until he was exiled to the Egyptian oases, where the oases area is completely isolated from the outside world. Ibn al-Muqaffa’ mentioned that when he was exiled, the patriarchs sent him a message that if he confessed that the crucified one was an incarnate god, they would pardon him. Ibn al-Muqaffa’ said: “His heart hardened like Pharaoh’s, and he did not answer them at all.”
This confirms the spread of the doctrine of the Unitarian Christians among the general Egyptians before the entry of Islam into Egypt by less than two hundred years. The schism between those who believed in the divinity of Christ then the Council of Chalcedon was held in 451 AD, in which the schism occurred between the adherents of the Orthodox doctrine (which believed in the divinity of Christ) and led to the separation of the Church of Alexandria from the churches of Byzantium and Rome, and the emperors were always supporting them, with Their hostility and persecution of the Church of Alexandria. As a result of this, the Pope of Alexandria was exiled at that time, and this persecution continued until the Islamic conquest of Egypt, so that when Amr ibn al-Aas conquered Egypt, Pope Benjamin was the Pope of the Egyptian Church in exile.
The dispute that occurred between the followers of the Orthodox sect reduced the severity of the persecution of the followers of other sects and occupied them with themselves from fighting the followers of other sects, including the followers of Arius, who said that Christ was not divine. When the Muslims came to Egypt, the followers of the sect that said that Christ was not divine found that the Muslims agreed with them on the basis of the doctrine, so they converted to Islam, while the others remained as they were. This is our argument from the perspective of transmission and historical documentation. As for the perspective of reason and logic, perhaps God will make it easy for us to explain it later.
And then, will souls calm down and hearts be at peace? So that pens dry up from provocation and tongues are restrained from speaking falsehood, and the voice of wisdom is listened to and strife is nipped in the bud? The Muslims did not come from the peninsula to take someone’s right or oppress them in their homes, but rather they are the owners of the homeland regardless of the correctness of their doctrine or not. And then there is a final matter; does changing thought, doctrine or belief mean revoking citizenship?!! The people of Egypt were pagans before Christianity, and they remained until the advent of Islam. In fact, the Christians who followed the doctrine of the Trinity demolished the temples of the pagan Egyptians and seized some of them and built their churches and monasteries in them (2). If moving from one religion to another means revoking citizenship, then where is the freedom of belief and freedom of thought?!

References:
(1) See the Encyclopedia of the History of the Copts of Egypt.
(2) See the article by Pope Shenouda, who acknowledged this.