Christian Education lii the Church ofAlexandria in the Firstfive Centuries Christian Education in the Church of Alexandria in the First Five Centuries Bishop Suriel St Athanasius Press Melbourne,Australia 2002 Christian Education in the Church of Alexandria in the First Five Centuries BishopSuriei BSc., Dip. Ed., MRE BishopofMelbourne CopticOrthodoxChurch DioceseofMelbourne St.AthanasiusPress RO. Sox302 OakieighVic. M66 Australia FirstEditionSeptember2002 ©St.AthanasiusPress,September2002.Allrightsreserved ISBN 0 908000 33 2 HISHOLINESSPOPE SHENOUDA III PopeofAlexandria& Patriarch oftheSeeofStMark HIS GRACE BISHOPSURIEL Bishop ofMelbourne & Affiliated Regions Dedication Itgivesme greatjoytodedicatethisfirstpublication to His Holiness Pope Shenouda III Pope ofAlexandria and Patriarch ofthe See ofSaint Mark Commemorating his fortieth anniversary as Bishop ofChristian Education 30 September 2002 His Holiness Pope Shenouda III hasbeen and still is instrumental in teaching his people all aspects ofChristian faith. His knowledge of the Scriptures, the rich heritage of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, its history and doctrine is an inspiration to all those millions of people that have come to knowhim. Through his weekly sermons at St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo, his many books (over 100 infact), his thousandsofarticlesin newspapersand magazines and hislecturesattheTheologicalCollegewecometohavearealsenseofthisgreat teacher andpreacherofour time. All of this hasearned him the title of"Best preacherintheworld" in 1978aswell as manyhonoraryPhD'sfromrenowned universities all aroundtheworld. Knowingthat I am unworthy, yet I have personallytastedwhat itmeansto be hisdisciple atthe Papal residence atSt. BishoymonasteryinWadi El-Natroun (4th century Scetis) and to learn from his fountain of knowledge, spirituality and humility. We ask the Lord GodAlmighty topreserve the lifeofourhonouredpontiff, His HolinessPopeShenoudaIII formanymoreblessedandpeacefulyearstocome and thathe maycontinue toeducatehispeople andleadthem tosalvation in ChristJesusourLord.