by Guy Takamatsu

Created on: September 12, 2009

While Irish Roman Catholics like to claim St. Patrick as their own, it is interesting that other Christian church bodies claim St. Patrick as their own. This writer remembers reading a book on the Presbyterian Church which claimed St. Patrick as their own. The entry for the Church of Ireland (Episcopalian) also claims St. Patrick as their own. When this writer took a Fuller extension class from the late Lewis Spitz, he mentioned the idea that St. Patrick may have been Coptic (Egyptian church)... Dr. Spitz also mentioned the Book of Kells as having evidence of Egyptian influence. St. Patrick was apparently an Iro-Celtic Monk. These monks were not originally part of what became the Roman Catholic Church. They had a different tonsure and may not have always observed celibacy. This writer vaguely remembers Dr. Spitz mentioning that there are red haired descendants of these monks in France. Eventually the Irish and other Celtic Christians merged or were absorbed into the Roman Catholic Church at the Synod of Whtiby. Bill Cooper in his book After the Flood claims the Synod was more of a massacre of Celtic Christians. This writer does not know if the persuasion of Celtic Christians to accept the Roman ways was by debate or bloodshed. Unfortunately church matters were not always settled in the most kindly ways.

If Patrick were indeed Coptic and if the Copts were indeed Monophysites, holding to the idea that Christ only had a divine nature, but not a human nature, then his Christology is off base. And the Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Presbyterians are honoring someone they would normally consider a heretic. Before the Protestant Reformation; and before the split between the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox; there was the split between the Coptic Church and what became the Roman Catholic/ Eastern Orthodox churches. If this writer remembers correctly the Egyptian Coptic Church is in fellowship with the Coptic church of Ethiopia and the Armenian Church.

Many years ago this writer talked to an Orthodox Christian, who said that the Orthodox Church and the Coptic Church have been in dialogue for the past 350 years and that the differences may be due to a misunderstanding.

St. Patrick only wrote one autobiography. This writer never got around to reading it. All he remembers is that it was not a relatively thin book. It was not a detailed treatise. Perhaps with the ambiguity and lack of written materials by St. Patrick it is no wonder other church bodies can claim him as their own. There is not enough written material to define his theology. Whatever his theological persuasion, one must admire him for his missionary zeal...

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