The Coptic Orthodox Church
Founded by St Mark in Alexandria, the Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.
St. Mark & Alexandria
Saint Mark the Evangelist, one of the seventy disciples, and the writer of one of the four Gospels, was born in Libya three years after the birth of Christ. He was of Jewish parents who later moved to Palestine. Saint Mark's house was where the Lord would meet with His Apostles, and where He celebrated the Passover with them. In his house the Apostles also were gathered when the Holy Spirit descended on the Day of Pentecost. Thus, the house of Saint Mark is well known in all Apostolic Churches, as the first church in the world.
When Saint Mark entered and walked through the streets of Alexandria, the most famous city in Egypt, his sandals were torn. While Ananias the cobbler was mending Saint Mark's shoes, his finger was cut from the awl and he cried out: 'O the one god!' Saint Mark healed the cobbler's finger and spoke to him about who the 'One God' really was. Ananias invited Saint Mark to his home where he and his household were baptised after having professed their belief in the Christian Faith. Soon afterwards, many others believed and Ananias's house became the meeting place for the faithful.
In 62 AD, Saint Mark decided to leave Egypt to visit the new believers he had preached to in the Pentapolis. Before leaving, he ordained Ananias as bishop. He also founded a church in the Crypt where the Holy Family had taken refuge, thus fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah: 'In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border… Then the Lord will be known to Egypt, and the Egyptians will know the Lord in that day' (Isaiah 19:19,21).
When Saint Mark returned to Egypt, after the martyrdom of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, he found that the Church had grown so much that he ordained three priests and seven deacons to help Ananias. Saint Mark preached for another seven years against the local pagan gods with such vigor that the feeling of hatred against him grew strong. In 68 AD, the pagans seized him, tied him with ropes, and dragged him through the streets of Alexandria until he gave up his spirit, becoming a martyr for the faith he had preached.
History
By the end of the second century, Christianity was well established in Egypt, although pockets of paganism continued to co-exist with the new Faith. By 190 AD, the Church of Alexandria was already a leading centre of Christian scholarship and theological thought, founding the famous Catechetical School of Alexandria — the first of its kind in the world.
The School of Alexandria played a vital role in the development of Christian theology, producing scholars such as Clement and Origen, who contributed greatly to the interpretation of Scripture and the defence of the Faith. The Coptic Church continued to grow and spread, enduring periods of persecution under Roman rule and remaining steadfast in its witness to Christ.
Contributions to Christendom
Ancient Texts: Since its beginning, the Coptic Orthodox Church has played an important role in Christian Theology as a source of thousands of texts, and biblical and theological studies. The Coptic Church has preserved a rich heritage of manuscripts, commentaries and liturgical texts that continue to nourish the whole Christian world.
The Coptic Church's contributions span theology, monasticism, art and architecture — a living heritage that has shaped the faith of millions across the centuries and continues to inspire the Church today.
Monasticism
Monasticism began in the Coptic Orthodox Church towards the end of the third century, and flourished in the fourth. There were hundreds of monasteries and thousands of caves in the mountains of Egypt where monks lived in devotion, prayer and asceticism.
St Anthony the Great is considered the father of monasticism, and St Pachomius established the first organised community of monks. From the deserts of Egypt, monastic life spread throughout the Christian world, carrying with it the Coptic spirit of prayer, humility and service.
Coptic Faith
Dogma is what is believed, taught, confessed and practiced. Dogmas, to the Coptic Orthodox Church, are not merely theological concepts concerning God, man, the Church, eternal life, heavenly creatures, the sacraments and the Christian life, but they are living truths that shape the daily life and worship of the faithful.
The Coptic Orthodox Church holds to the faith of the first three Ecumenical Councils and confesses the one nature of the Word incarnate. The sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, the Eucharist, Unction of the Sick, Marriage and Holy Orders — are at the heart of the Church's life, the means by which the faithful receive the grace of the Holy Spirit.
There are three main Divine Liturgies used in the Coptic Church: the Liturgy of Saint Basil, Bishop of Caesaria; the Liturgy of Saint Gregory, Bishop of Constantinople; and the Liturgy of Saint Cyril, the first Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark.