The Church in a Wounded World: Matta al-Miskīn on Martyrdom and Spiritual Freedom

For centuries, the Coptic Church has proudly identified itself as the Church of the Martyrs (Kanīsat al-Shuhadā’). Given this spiritual heritage and the enduring plight of Christian minorities in the Middle East, this paper examines Matta al-Miskīn’s theology of martyrdom. Rather than advocating for the protection of Christian minorities, Matta exalts martyrdom as the pinnacle of Christian spirituality. While he contends that God sends the “spirit of martyrdom” to serve the purpose of “healing” a deeply wounded world, the paper argues that it is also through “martyrdom” that the Church sustains its “freedom” in Matta’s thought – where both “healing” and “freedom” are defined in purely spiritual terms that align with his Orthodox ecclesiology.