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The History Of The Coptic Church
The Coptic Church is the church of the Christians of Egypt. Christianity in Egypt traces its roots to St. Mark (the evangelist) who came to Egypt to spread the word of God. The Coptic Church was established in approximately 48 A.D. in Alexandria, and it spread the word to the Coptic-speaking pagans of Egypt.
The faith spread quickly amongst the people of Egypt, and soon (2nd century), the Romans, whose influence extended over Egypt at the time, took note of the religion there as well as in other places within their empire. It was seen by them as a threat to the authority of the emperor, and as such, needed to be held in check. The Romans, led by the emperor at the time, Diocletian, soon brought about a campaign of persecution
against the Christians in Egypt and other parts of the world. This campaign led to the martyrdom of many of the Copts. So significant was the event that the Coptic calendar starts at the date on which the Roman emperor Diocletian gained power (Sept. 12, 281 A.D.). The end of the persecution came when Constantine took up the role of emperor early in the fourth century.
During the period of persecution, and extending into the time of Constantine, St. Anthony was establishing the monastic movement within Egypt. His total devotion to God led him
to a life of prayer, fasting, and meditation separated from the material world. This type of sacrifice, especially when
considering that St. Anthony was part of an upper class family before becoming a monk, has become the hallmark of monasticism throughout the world. The Coptic Church is blessed to have been the source of this tradition.
As the church moved on into a period of acceptance by the political powers of the time, internal struggles were forming within the church. Heresies were coming forward by people such as Aryan and Nestor. Fathers of the Coptic Church such as St. Athanasius fiercely fought these heresies, even when other churches were giving the heresies credence. Unfortunately, a schism arose amongst the churches that was not easily resolved. The issue was
the divinity of Christ. Some churches believed that Christ was of one nature, and that nature was both divine and human at the same time, whilst others were portrayed as believing that Christ was of two separate natures, one divine, one human, and behaved as one at some times, and as another at other times. This argument, along with issues of politics and power led to the churches splitting into two groups: those who felt that Christ was of two natures, also known as the Chalcedonian churches, and those who felt that Christ was of one nature, also known as the Non-Chalcedonian or Monophysite churches. The Coptic Church was amongst the Non-Chalcedonian churches. It is important to note that the churches have since come to the conclusion that the differences in their views was, and is, a semantic one, and most
are working toward formal reconciliation..
The next phase of the history of the church involves the invasion of Egypt by Arabs from the east in the 7th century. They brought with them the religion of Islam, and many of the Copts were converted to Islam. Those who weren’t faced persecution. This situation plagued the church for centuries up until present times. In modern day Egypt, the Copts are considered legally equal members of society with the Islamic majority, however, as is usually the case when a minority lives amongst a majority, there are conflicts that arise, and it is often the minority that suffers. To this day there are sporadic attacks on Christians within Egypt.
The church in its current state is headed by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III in Alexandria, Egypt. The church flourishes outside of Egypt as well with congregations in Europe, North America, Australia, and all over the world.
