Middle East Information Resource
Religions/Belief Systems - Coptic Church
The Coptic Church is a sect of Egyptian Christians. They reject the dual (God/Man) nature of Jesus Christ and for this they were declared heretics in 451 by the council of Chalcedon. They retain some Jewish practices that have generally been abandoned by Christians, including circumcision and the dietary laws.
The Coptic Church is by far the largest Christian group in both Egypt and all of the Middle East. Their numbers are somewhat uncertain because many Copts do not register their religious affiliation in official documents, in order to avoid possible discrimination. However, there are probably about 6.5 million in Egypt, 65,000 in Syria, and small numbers in other Middle East countries. There are approximately 10 million Copts worldwide.
The name of the sect is derived from an Arabic corruption (qubt) of the Greek word for `Egyptian` (Aigyptos). The term `Coptic` is sometimes applied to the Ethiopian Church, as well; however the Ethiopian Church declared itself independent from the Coptic Church in 1959, and do not accept the term.
1st century: According to their own traditions, the Egyptian church was formed by the evangelist Mark. This is not supported by historians, who believe that it started in the Jewish community in Alexandria. But there are no sources to how the Christianity came along in Egypt.
In the 3rd century ascetic Christians formed small self-contained communities in the desert, eventually leading to the development of the monastery as an institution. In the 4th and 5th centuries the nature of Jesus became an important issue within the Egyptian Church. Many of the Egyptian Christians did not accept the decrees of Chalchedon in 451, that Jesus was of a dual nature, both man and God. They supported the Monophysite (one nature) theory, and it was this group that developed into the Coptic Church.
The church is headed by the `pope and patriarch of Alexandria, Pentapolis and Ethiopia`, but he now resides in Cairo. The selection of the pope is made by the clergy from three candidates referred by the laity. There are presently 12 monasteries in Egypt, with around 600 monks. There are also six convents, with around 300 nuns. The largest and best known monastery is at Wadi Natrun.
The Egyptian church was of great importance in the early history of Christianity. The first Christian convent was established in the Egyptian church. The Coptic liturgy was based on the Greek rite of Alexandria, but in the 4th century it began its own distinctive evolution. In modern times, the liturgy is performed in both Coptic and Arabic.
The Coptic Christians had experienced suppression by the Christian leaders of the Byzantine Empire. For this reason, in 641 the Egyptian Christians did little to resist Arab Muslim invasion. In the 7th and 8th centuries the Christian population in Egypt declined, largely due to forced conversions to Islam; by the 9th century Muslims outnumbered Christians in Egypt. In 1443 a Coptic delegation to the Council of Florence signed an agreement to create a union between the Coptic Church and the Roman Church, but the agreement was not upheld by Coptic leaders in Egypt.
The Coptic Church’s relations with the governments of Egypt have often been difficult, but today the Coptic Christians are treated relatively even-handedly by the government, compared to earlier decades. However, the Copts have recently faced attacks from militant Islamists in Egypt, and there has been some emigration of the Copts. The Coptic church is active in talks with other small churches, and has also worked to solve theological differences with the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Under Arab, Mamluk, and Ottoman rote, the Copts were often discriminated against or persecuted. In the nineteenth century, with modernization of Egypt, and increasing Western influence, the Copts gradually achieved a level of wealth and education superior to that of the average Egyptian. Some Copts were active in the Egyptian nationalist movement, but none rose to top leadership. Modern Egyptian nationalism had strong Islamic roots that were at times stimulated to anti-Copts unrest or pogroms. Independent Egypt professes a strict policy of non-discrimination. However, Copts frequently complain that the basis for the Constitution and legal practice is Islamic Shari’a law, which puts the Copts into a second class role. With the revival of radical Islam in Egypt in the and late 1970’s, connflict between Muslims and Copts has become much more frequent.
In 1971 Shenouda III was elected Pope of Alexandria, at the age of 48. He is still the head of the Coptic Orthodox. In 1981 Pope Shenouda III was placed under house arrest by President Sadat. In 1985 Shenouda was allowed to return to office. In 1997 there was a wave of attacks on Copts by militant Islamists.