The Coptic Church is one of the oldest churches in existence. It was founded by the Apostle Mark in 62 A.D. At this time, Christianity was beginning to replace other religions and quickly became the predominant religion in Egypt. For the first 400 years, the Christians were a unified group. The religion was practiced by Jews, Greeks and Egyptians and their contributions influenced the church in ways that are still visible today. An example of this influence is The Nicene Creed, written by Saint Athanasius, used in churches all over the world.
The History of the Coptic Church
The Copts set up schools, the first and most famous being the Catechetical School of Alexandria in Upper Egypt that began in 190 A.D. The school was highly advanced, there is even evidence of wooden inscriptions being used to school the blind, a full five centuries before Braille was invented. They also believed in the idea of the separation of church and state. When the government tried to interfere in the church, they were told that they had no business in the affairs of the church.
In 451 A.D. at the Council of Chalcedon a schism happened between Egyptian Christians and Western Christians regarding the nature of Jesus. The Coptic Church believed that Jesus was fully human and fully divine. The other Western Christians believed that Jesus was one person with two separate natures, one divine and one human. This disagreement caused the Coptic Church to be exiled from the unions with other Christians. Coptic Scholars disagree about the nature of the reasons for the divide; some say that the difference of opinion about the nature of Jesus was what caused the split while others maintain that the supposed theological difference was a smoke screen for the real issue – that the Copts staunchly maintained the concept of the separation of church and state and the government didn’t approve of this position.
It was not until 652 A.D. with the beginning of Islam that Christianity had any competition in Egypt. Interestingly enough, one of Mohamed’s wives was Coptic Maria who was Ibrahim’s mother. As a result, even when Islam became popular, the Copts enjoyed a great deal of protection. Mohamed is thought to have said, "When you conquer Egypt, be kind to the Copts for they are your protégés and kith and kin".
The Coptic Church Today
The Coptic Church has nine million followers in Egypt and another 1.2 million worldwide. It continues to emphasize the values it was founded upon; it is a combination of good works and liturgical values that will find favour with God rather than having a focus on an individual’s personal relationship with Christ. This characteristic makes it the most similar to Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodoxy. The Coptic Church has a pope but unlike the pope in Rome, he does not claim to be infallible. The Copts also do not canonize political positions, such as the right to abortion. They believe that these matters must be decided on an individual basis.
However, the Coptic Church no longer has the same protection it once had. It is not uncommon for Churches to be burned or members harassed and killed. The government in Egypt will do little to protect the Copts as the minority religion and it is for this reason many Copts are leaving the Middle East. They are building a lobby in the United States and other countries to fight persecution.
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