George Habib Bebawi (November 27, 1938 — February 4, 2021) was a Coptic Egyptian-American

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Biblical scholar and Patristics scholar.

Career

Bebawi studied at the Coptic Orthodox Theological College in Cairo and graduated in 1961, and went on a scholarship to

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

where he studied

Theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, Patristics, and Biblical criticism and received his

MLitt The Master of Letters degree (MLitt or LittM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. Ireland Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University offer MLitt degrees. Trinity has offered them the longest, owing largely to its tradition as Ireland ...

and PhD in 1970 from

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

. He taught

, Patristics,

Church history __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

and

Islamic studies Islamic studies refers to the academic study of Islam, and generally to academic multidisciplinary "studies" programs—programs similar to others that focus on the history, texts and theologies of other religious traditions, such as Easter ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. After serving as advisor for Christian Affairs to Egyptian President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

until his assassination in 1981, Bebawi served as director of the

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

during the

First Lebanon war The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...

in 1982. Bebawi taught at

St John's College, Nottingham St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

from 1984 to 2000, and held office of director of studies at

Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies The Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies (IOCS) is a theological college in Cambridge, England. It works in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a public university ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

from 2000 to 2002, where he lectured on Islam and

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...

for

Cambridge Theological Federation The Cambridge Theological Federation (CTF) is an association of theological colleges, courses and houses based in Cambridge, England and founded in 1972. The federation offers several joint theological programmes of study open to students in membe ...

Controversy and disputes with Pope Shenouda III

Bebawi was known for publicly criticizing Coptic

Pope Shenouda III Pope Shenouda III (; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ '; ar, بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث '; 3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See ...

, who according to Bebawi attacked the theology of Theosis along with Metropolitan Bishoi (then Secretary of the

Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the highest Orthodox authority in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It formulates the rules and regulations regarding matters of the Church's organisation and faith. The synod is chaired by ...

) during the unofficial dialogue with the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

, claiming the theology to be heretical. While it is seen by some Orthodox researchers that the dispute between Bebawi and Pope Shenouda was over Bebawi's criticizing Pope Shenouda's stand against then Egyptian president

. Bebawi was excommunicated following a ruling from the Coptic Orthodox Church that was issued after an emergency session held by the Holy Synod in 2007, which was ruled against by the Egyptian Administrative Court in 2011. In 2020, Pope Tawadros II annulled the excommunication of Bebawi despite protests from Anba Raphael, Bishop of Central Cairo, demanding Bebawi write an official letter of apology for his teachings.

Death

Bebawi died on February 4, 2021, at the age of 82 and his funeral ceremony was held i
St. Mary & St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
Indianapolis.

Publications

* ''The letters of Ignatius of Antioch.'' 1972. * ''St. Cyril of Alexandria: Scholia on the Incarnation.'' 1972. * ''A Patristic Commentary on the Lord’s Prayer.'' 1972. * ''Why Was Jesus Baptized?.'' 1973. * ''St. Cyril of Alexandria: Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, Chapters 1-11, Volume One.'' 1974. * ''Man, the Image of God: A study in the Bible, St. Athanasius and St. Cyril of Alexandria.'' 1974. * ''St. Cyril of Alexandria: Commentary on the Creed.'' 1977. * ''St. Cyril of Alexandria: Christ is One.'' 1977. * ''St. Athanasius of Alexandria: Contra Apollianrius, I & II.'' 1977. * ''St. Athanasius of Alexandria: The Letters to Serapion.'' 1978. * ''A Patristic and Historical Commentary on the Lima Document of the WCC, on Baptism, the Eucharist and Ministry.'' 1979. * ''Sin and Redemption, A Study of the ‘De Incarnatione’ of St. Athanasius.'' 1980. * ''Baptism in the Universal Church in the First Five Hundred Years.'' 1980. * ''Cross and Crescent: Making Connections Between Faiths.'' 2000. * ''Psalms for Jesus: A Heart Longing for Union with Christ.'' 2020. * ''My Holy Mentor: Spiritual Teachings of Pope Kyrillos VI.'' 2022 (Post Departure).

References

External links

George Bebawi
on

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.
George Bebawi
on Coptology. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bebawi, George Habib Coptic Orthodox Christians from Egypt 1938 births 2021 deaths Christian theologians Egyptian theologians Egyptian people of Coptic descent American theologians American biblical scholars American people of Coptic descent 20th-century Christian biblical scholars Patristic scholars