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Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty · Catechism · 251

Faith Q&A › Catechism › 6. The Exalted Nature of the Human Creation

Does the human soul rule over the body?

The answer

St. Jacob of Sarug says, “The nature of the soul is great and beautiful in its very essence … it is therefore considered to be the ruler of the body, and the body does not command it. It commands the body in holiness and is not disobeyed. When it is purified from all carnal inclinations, it spiritually beholds the hidden mysteries. Should an angel pass before it, he shall not be hidden from it. It beholds angels and demons face-to-face.”486

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty

Notes

486 See Behnam Sony, Man in the Teaching of St Jacob of Sarug (1995): p. 53.

Fr. Tadros Yacoub Malaty, Catechism of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Volume 1, Books 1–3. First English Edition, 2023. Published by St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Sporting, Alexandria, and Queen St. Mary & Prince Tadros Coptic Orthodox Church, South Brunswick, NJ. Copyright © 2023. Translation and Editing: Youth of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, Europe, Australia, Arabian Gulf, and Egypt.