Friday, October 17, 1997
Spreading the word
RELIGION: A body of students who share the same devotion to the
Coptic Church has finally found their place
By Kathy Young
Daily Bruin Contributor
Four years ago, freshman Mary Farid, a Coptic Christian, walked
through the crowded masses on Bruin Walk and was unable to find
what she was looking for.
Despite the large number of student clubs and organizations
displayed during club registration week, Farid still felt as if
something was missing. Deciding to take action, Farid found a small
group of friends with similar interest and became one of the proud
founders of UCLA’s Coptic Orthodox Christian Club.
Coptic Christians are unique amongst Christian groups. They are
of Egyptian heritage, worship by a different calendar and have
their own papacy.
When literally translated, the term "Copt" and "Egyptian" have
the same meaning. Coptics refer to passages in the Bible from which
their beliefs originate.
"Blessed is Egypt, my people," Isaiah 19:25, is one of such
verses.
While the club is considerably diverse in its members,
third-year psychobiology student and Coptic Club member Joseph Zaky
shares that the name is "just a way to distinguish (them)selves
from other orthodox."
The Coptic Club also started on the UC Irvine campus and is
continually growing, receiving widespread responses from all over.
Currently, Coptic Clubs are building at Vanderbilt, University of
Maryland, Texas, Virginia, Australia and Germany.
As written in their mission statement, "the Coptic Orthodox
Christians at UCLA are united to glorify and serve others through
Christ’s love."
The members strengthen their foundation through weekly spiritual
meetings and Bible studies, community service to the needy,
academic counseling and participation in retreats and other
activities.
Some yearly community services activities include Toys for Tots,
Helping the Homeless, a canned food drive, Christmas caroling, as
well as a large Universal Convention that consists of all youth
from the West Coast.
Along with winter and spring conferences, many Coptic Club
members see the Universal Convention as an opportunity to enhance
spiritual knowledge through prayer meetings, Bible study and
discussion groups. "It is gratifying to see how we all unite with
our faith," says Farid. "There is so much spiritual strength
present among our youth."
This pride is evident, with the 60 members making one of the
club’s priorities to be heavily tied with the traditions of the
Coptic Church.
A year and a half ago, a new Bishop was appointed to serve
specifically the areas of Los Angeles and Hawaii, which were
directly mentored by Pope Shenouda III in the past.
"Youth is his No. 1 priority," shares UCLA graduate Simon Peter
Tanious. Bishop Serapion attends UCLA’s meetings once a quarter,
and continuously aids in planning activities for the club. "Every
activity put on by the Coptic Club has to be authorized by the
Bishop," Zaky says. "This is so that we do not go off track of our
beliefs and faith."
The Copts pride themselves on the apostolicity of their national
church. The Coptic Church was founded in Alexandria, Egypt by St.
Mark, who is honored as one of the four Evangelists.
According to Zaky, the Coptic religion differs from other
Christian religions in several aspects.
The culture is one separating factor. The geographic locations
of Egypt as well as Egyptian art are highly valued within the
religion. because the Coptics take pride in the fact that many holy
occurrences recorded in the Bible took place within Egypt’s
borders.
Ample celebration and respect are also paid to the Saints in the
Bible, and similar to Catholicism, Coptic Christians also fast and
celebrate lent.
The purpose of the tradition is to avoid any product that is
associated with an animal for half of the day and in the evening.
"The reasoning behind the fasting," Farid says, "is to get back to
the natural state of Adam and Eve." According to Farid, Adam and
Eve have a natural existence because they did not consume meat.
Following the Coptic Calendar, fasting recurs regularly in the
year. A practice of fasting every Wednesday and Friday and before
major holidays like Christmas and Easter is strictly followed.
According to the Coptic calendar, important Christian holidays
do not fall on the Protestant dates. Christmas is on Jan. 7 rather
then Dec. 25 and Easter is recognized after the Jewish
Passover.
Numerous additional holidays and feasts also exist which are not
acknowledged in other Christian faiths.
Although Coptic Club members do not receive the luxury of a long
vacation during their significant holidays, that does not stop them
from honoring their convictions. "Our belief in the Coptic Church
is strong," says Farid, "everything is based on our faith and we
really stick to them."HELEN ASIANIAN
Members of the UCLA Coptic Christian group meet.