Coptic Orthodox Church
The Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic: Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, romanized: Ti-eklisia en-remenkimi en-orthodhoxos, lit. 'the Egyptian Orthodox Church'), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular. The Coptic pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. Adherents of the Coptic Orthodox Church make up Egypt's largest and most significant minority population, and the largest population of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).[1][2][3] They make up the largest share of the approximately 20 million Christians in Egypt. [8][9][10][11]
"Coptic Church" redirects here. For the architectural style, see Coptic architecture. For church buildings, see Lists of Coptic church buildings. For an Eastern Catholic particular church, see Coptic Catholic Church.
Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Middle East, and diaspora
Coptic, Greek, Arabic, Dialectal Arabic, Tamazight (minority)
St. Mark the Evangelist (Traditional)
42 A.D
Alexandria, Egypt
Coptic Catholic Church (1895)
British Orthodox Church (2015)
Coptic Church
Coptic Orthodox Church
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The Coptic Orthodox Church was established by Mark, an apostle and evangelist, during the middle of the 1st century (c. AD 42).[12] Due to disputes concerning the nature of Christ, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Eastern Orthodox Church were in schism after the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, resulting in a conflict with the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria.[13]
After AD 639, Egypt was ruled by its Islamic conquerors from Arabia. In the 12th century, the church relocated its seat from Alexandria to Cairo. The same century also saw the Copts become a religious minority. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Nubian Christianity was supplanted by Islam. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the larger body of ethnic Egyptian Christians began to call themselves Coptic Orthodox, to distinguish themselves from the Catholic Copts and from the Eastern Orthodox, who are mostly Greek.[14] In 1959, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was granted autocephaly. This was extended to the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1998 following the successful Eritrean War of Independence from Ethiopia. Since the 2011 Egyptian revolution, Coptic Christians have suffered increased religious discrimination and violence.[15]
Demographics[edit]
Available Egyptian census figures and other third-party survey reports have not reported more than 4 million Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt.[1][2] However media and other agencies, sometimes taking into account the claims of the Church itself, generally approximate the Coptic Orthodox population at 10% of the Egyptian population or 10 million people.[3][4][5] Egyptian Copts are the biggest Christian community in the Arab world. Estimates of their numbers vary, but generally range between 4.7 and 7.1 million.[84] The majority of them live in Egypt under the jurisdiction of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Since 2006, Egyptian censuses have not reported on religion and church leaders have alleged that Christians were under-counted in government surveys. In 2017, a government owned newspaper Al Ahram estimated the percentage of Copts at 10 to 15% and the membership claimed by the Coptic Orthodox Church is in the range of 20 to 25 million.[85][86][87][88]
There are also significant numbers in the diaspora outside Africa in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, France, and Germany. The exact number of Egyptian born Coptic Orthodox Christians in the diaspora is hard to determine and is roughly estimated to be close to 1 million.[89][90][91]
There are between 150,000 and 200,000 adherents in Sudan.[92][93]
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