TheCoptic Orthodox Church (Coptic:Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ,romanized: Ti-eklisia en-remenkimi en-orthodhoxos,lit. 'the Egyptian Orthodox Church';Arabic:الكنيسة القبطية الأرثوذكسية,romanized: al-Kanīsa al-Qibṭiyya al-ʾUrthūdhuksiyya), also known as theCopticOrthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is anOriental Orthodox Christian church based inEgypt. The head of the church and theSee ofAlexandria is thepope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See ofSaint 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 istitular. The Coptic pope presides fromSaint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in theAbbassia District inCairo. The church follows theCoptic 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 theMiddle East and North Africa (MENA).[1][2][3] They make up the largest share of the approximately 10 million Christians in Egypt.[8][9][10][11]
After AD 639, Egypt was ruled by itsIslamic conquerors fromArabia. In the 12th century, the church relocated its seat from Alexandria to Cairo. The same century also saw theCopts 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, theEthiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church was grantedautocephaly. This was extended to theEritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church in 1998 following the successfulEritrean War of Independence fromEthiopia. Since the2011 Egyptian revolution, Coptic Christians have suffered increased religious discrimination and violence.[15]
TheCoptic language is a universal language used in Coptic churches in every country. It descends fromAncient Egyptian and uses theCoptic alphabet, a script descended from theGreek alphabet with added characters derived from theDemotic script. Today, the Bohairic dialect of Coptic is used primarily forliturgical purposes.[16] Many of the hymns in the liturgy are in Coptic and have been passed down for many centuries. The language is used to preserve Egypt's original language, which was banned by the Arab invaders, who ordered the use of Arabic instead.[17] However, most Copts speakArabic, the official language of Egypt.[16] Hence, Arabic is also used in church services nowadays. The service books, though written in Coptic, have Arabic text in parallel columns.[14]
The theological college of the catechetical school was re-established in 1893.[19]
The school became a leading center of theallegorical method of biblical interpretation, espoused rapprochement between Greek culture and the Christian faith, and attempted to assert orthodox Christian teachings againstheterodox views in an era of doctrinal flux.[20]
In the 4th century, an Alexandrianpresbyter namedArius began a theological dispute about the nature of Christ that spread throughout the Christian world and is now known asArianism. TheCouncil of Nicea in AD 325 was convened byEmperor Constantine I afterPope Alexander I of Alexandria proposed holding a council to respond to heresies.[21] A council under the presidency ofHosius of Cordova attempted to resolve the dispute. This eventually led to the formulation of the Symbol of Faith, also known as theNicene Creed.[22]
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified who spoke by the Prophets and in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church. We confess one Baptism for the remission of sins and we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the coming age, Amen[23]
Another theological dispute in the 5th century occurred over the teachings ofNestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople who taught that God the Word was nothypostatically joined with human nature, but rather dwelt in the man Jesus. As a consequence of this, he denied the title "Mother of God" (Theotokos) to theVirgin Mary, declaring her instead to be "Mother of Christ"Christotokos.[citation needed]
The council confirmed the teachings ofAthanasius and confirmed the title of Mary as "Mother of God".[24] It also clearly stated that anyone who separated Christ into two hypostases was anathema, as Cyril had said that there is "One Nature for God the Word Incarnate" (Mia Physis tou Theou Logou Sesarkōmenē). The introduction to the creed is formulated as follows:[citation needed]
We magnify you O Mother of the True Light and we glorify you O saint and Mother of God(Theotokos) for you have borne unto us the Saviour of the world. Glory to you O our Master and King: Christ, the pride of the Apostles, the crown of the martyrs, the rejoicing of the righteous, firmness of the churches and the forgiveness of sins. We proclaim the Holy Trinity in One Godhead: we worship Him, we glorify Him, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord bless us, Amen.[24]
The church of Alexandria was part in communion with the rest of Christendom until theCouncil of Chalcedon.[16] When, in AD 451, EmperorMarcian attempted to heal divisions in the church, the response ofPope Dioscorus–the Pope of Alexandria who was later exiled–was that the emperor should not intervene in the affairs of the church. It was atChalcedon that the emperor, through the imperial delegates, enforced harsh disciplinary measures against Pope Dioscorus in response to his boldness. In AD 449, Pope Dioscorus headed the 2nd Council of Ephesus, called the "Robber Council" by Chalcedonian historians. It held to theMiaphysite formula which upheld the Christology of "One Incarnate Nature of God the Word" (Greek: μία φύσις Θεοῦ Λόγου σεσαρκωμένη (mia physis Theou Logou sesarkōmenē)).[25][13]
In terms of Christology, theOriental Orthodox (Non-Chalcedonians) understanding is that Christ is "One Nature—the Logos Incarnate,"of the full humanity and full divinity. The Chalcedonians' understanding is that Christ isrecognized in two natures, full humanity and full divinity.[14] Oriental Orthodoxy contends that such a formulation is no different from what theNestorians teach.[13]
Almost the entire Egyptian population rejected the terms of the Council of Chalcedon and remained faithful to the native Egyptian Church (now known as the Coptic Orthodox Church).[27][28][29]
By anathematizing Pope Leo because of the tone and content of his tome, as per Alexandrine Theology perception, Pope Dioscorus was found guilty of doing so without due process; in other words, the Tome of Leo was not a subject of heresy in the first place, but it was a question of questioning the reasons behind not having it either acknowledged or read at theSecond Council of Ephesus in AD 449. Pope Dioscorus of Alexandria was never labeled as a heretic by the council's canons.Copts also believe that the pope of Alexandria was forcibly prevented from attending the third congregation of the council from which he was ousted, apparently the result of a conspiracy tailored by the Roman delegates.[30]
Before the current positive era of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox dialogues, Chalcedonians sometimes used to call the non-Chalcedonians "Monophysites", though the Coptic Orthodox Church in reality regards Monophysitism as a heresy. The Chalcedonian doctrine in turn came to be known as "Dyophysite". A term that comes closer to Coptic Orthodoxy is Miaphysite, which refers to a conjoined nature for Christ, both human and divine, united indivisibly in the Incarnate Logos.[31][32]
Makurian wall painting depicting a Nubian bishop andVirgin Mary (11th century)
TheMuslim invasion of Egypt took place in AD 639. Relying on eyewitness testimony, BishopJohn of Nikiu in his Chronicle provides a graphic account of the invasion from a Coptic perspective. Although the Chronicle has only been preserved in anEthiopic (Ge'ez) text, some scholars believe that it was originally written in Coptic.[33] John's account is critical of the invaders who he says "despoiled the Egyptians of their possessions and dealt cruelly with them",[34] and he details the atrocities committed by the Muslims against the native population during the conquest:
And when with great toil and exertion they had cast down the walls of the city, they forthwith made themselves masters of it, and put to the sword thousands of its inhabitants and of the soldiers, and they gained an enormous booty, and took the women and children captive and divided them amongst themselves, and they made that city a desolation.[35]
Though critical of the Muslim commander (Amr ibn al-As), who, during the campaign, he says "had no mercy on the Egyptians, and did not observe the covenant they had made with him, for he was of a barbaric race",[36] he does note that following the completion of the conquest, Amr "took none of the property of the Churches, and he committed no act of spoilation or plunder, and he preserved them throughout all his days."[37]
Despite the political upheaval, the Egyptian population remained mainly Christian. However, gradual conversions toIslam over the centuries had changed Egypt from a Christian to a largely Muslim country by the end of the 12th century.[38] Another scholar writes that a combination of "repression of Coptic revolts", Arab-Muslim immigration, and Coptic conversion to Islam resulted in the demographic decline of the Copts.[39] Egypt's Umayyad rulers taxed Christians at a higher rate than Muslims, driving merchants towards Islam and undermining the economic base of the Coptic Church.[40] Although the Coptic Church did not disappear, the Umayyad tax policies made it difficult for the church to retain the Egyptian elites.[41]
In 969, Egypt entered theFatimid dynasty (in Egypt from 969 to 1171), who adopted a largely favorable attitude toward the Christians. The major exception to this was the persecution led by Caliph al-Hakim between 1004 and 1013, which included clothing regulations, prohibition of publicly celebrating Christian festivals, and dismissal of Christian and Jewish functionaries. However, at the end of his reign al-Hakim rescinded these measures, allowing the Copts to regain privileged positions within the administration.[42]
The Coptic patriarchal residence moved from Alexandria to Cairo during the patriarchate ofCyril II (1078–92). This move was at the demand of the grand vizierBadr al-Jamali, who insisted that the pope establish himself in the capital.[42] WhenSaladin entered Egypt in 1163, this ushered in a government focused on defending Sunni Islam. Christians were again discriminated against, and meant to show modesty in their religious ceremonies and buildings.[42]
During the Ottoman period, Copts were classified alongside other Oriental Orthodox and Nestorian peoples under theArmenian millet.[43]
In 1798, the French invaded Egypt unsuccessfully and the British helped the Turks to regain power over Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty.[44]
The position of Copts began to improve early in the 19th century under the stability and tolerance of theMuhammad Ali Dynasty. The Coptic community ceased to be regarded by the state as an administrative unit. In 1855 thejizya tax was abolished by Sa'id Pasha.[45] Shortly thereafter, the Copts started to serve in the Egyptian army.[46]
Coptic monks, between 1898 and 1914
Towards the end of the 19th century, the Coptic Church underwent phases of new development. In 1853,Pope Cyril IV established the first modern Coptic schools, including the first Egyptian school for girls. He also founded a printing press, which was only the second national press in the country. The pope established very friendly relations with other denominations, to the extent that when the Greek Patriarch in Egypt had to absent himself from the country for a long period of time, he left his church under the guidance of the Coptic patriarch.[46]
The Theological College of the School of Alexandria was reestablished in 1893.[19] It began its new history with five students, one of whom was later to become its dean. Today it has campuses in Alexandria and Cairo, and in various dioceses throughout Egypt, as well as outside Egypt. It has campuses in New Jersey, Los Angeles, Sydney, Melbourne, and London, where potential clergymen and other qualified men and women study many subjects, including theology, church history, missionary studies, and the Coptic language.[46]
Since the 1980s theologians from the Oriental (non-Chalcedonian) Orthodox and Eastern (Chalcedonian) Orthodox churches have been meeting in a bid to resolve theological differences, and have concluded that many of the differences are caused by the two groups using different terminology to describe the same thing.[49]
In the 1990s, the Orthodox Church of the British Isles (formerly theCatholicate of the West) joined the Coptic Orthodox Church as a diocese named theBritish Orthodox Church.[50][51][52] By 2015, it formally separated with the Coptic Orthodox Church as a non-canonical, autocephalous church.[53]
In the summer of 2001, the Coptic Orthodox and Greek Orthodox patriarchates of Alexandria agreed to mutually recognize baptisms performed in each other's churches, making re-baptisms unnecessary, and to recognize the sacrament of marriage as celebrated by the other.[54]
InTahrir Square, Cairo, on Wednesday 2 February 2011, Coptic Christians joined hands to provide a protective cordon around their Muslim neighbors duringsalat (prayers) in the midst of the2011 Egyptian Revolution.[55]
While Copts have cited instances of persecution throughout their history,Human Rights Watch has noted growing religious intolerance and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, and a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible.[56][57] More than a hundred Egyptian copts were killed in sectarian clashes from 2011 to 2017, and many homes and businesses destroyed. InMinya, 77 cases of sectarian attacks on Copts between 2011 and 2016 were documented by theEgyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.[58] Coptic Christian women and girls are often abducted and disappear.[59][60]
In 2015, 21 men traveled to Libya to support their families.[61] There, they would bekidnapped and beheaded by the Islamic State in Libya.
Under Pope Shenouda III, from 1971 to 2012, the church underwent a large transformation. Writing in 2013, thetheologian Samuel Tadros stated "Today's Coptic Church as an institution is built solely on his vision".[62] For the first time in its history, the synod codified its internal laws. It also established numerous coptic institutions within and outside of Egypt. Shenouda raised the number of bishops from 26 to 117 and ordained hundreds of priests, which greatly reduced the influence of any one bishop. Shenouda also instituted a yearly meeting of the synod, which greatly expanded the number of laws governing the church. This included instituting church curriculums for the education of new priests, new deacons, and newly weds. For the first time in the Coptic Church's modern history, women could become ordained as deacons. The synod also adopted a model for community development, dramatically increasing the scope of community services provided by the church, including: hospitals, adult literacy schools, orphanages, libraries, and community centres. Much of this work was fuelled by donations from wealthy Coptic industrialists and Copts from abroad. Shenouda also held talks with the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches, in an effort to promote ecumenism .[62] On 10 May 1973, Shenouda visited the Vatican, where a joint Christological declaration was issued jointly by the Coptic Orthodox and Catholic churches.[63]
Pope Shenouda also increased the church's involvement in politics, seeing it as a way to advocate for the interest of Copts, during the rise of Islamism in Egypt and increase in terrorist attacks. The president of Egypt,Anwar Sadat ordered that Shenouda be put into exile in a Coptic Monastery far away from Cairo in 1981. This exile was short lived, ending when Sadat was assassinated by Muslim extremists a few months later. Under president Hosni Mubarak, Shenouda continued his political stance and often protested persecution of Copts by leaving Cairo and staying in seclusion, which often caused the regime to quickly address issues. Shenouda's political involvement drew criticism from some church members, including the prominent monkFather Matta El Meskeen.[64][65]
On 17 March 2012, Pope Shenouda died, leaving many Copts mourning and worrying as tensions rose withMuslims. Shenouda constantly met with Muslim leaders in order to create peace, his death resulting in concerns that without his mediation good relations would break down. Many were worried about increased Islamic control of Egypt as theMuslim Brotherhood won 70% of the parliamentary elections.[66][67] Shenouda's approach to church leadership has, in part, been adopted by the current patriarch.Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria maintains relations with the Egyptian government and other churches. However, while Shenouda was critical of the expanded influence of Protestant teaching and books in Coptic churches, Tawadros has increased ecumenical dialogue with several Protestant churches. In 2013, Tawadros supported the movement demanding the removal of Egyptian Islamist presidentMohamed Morsi.[68] However, Tawadros has been a relatively less political figure than his predecessor and has expressed support for the Egyptian government's institutions during crises.[69]
In 2020, a woman in Florida accused a former priest ofsexual assault when she was a minor. She claimed that he was defrocked in 2014, but continued presenting himself as a priest. In response, the synod issued a public statement disavowing him and instituted anti-abuse measures. Several dioceses in North America and Europe issued statements in support of sexual assault survivors.[70][62][71]
On 10 May 2023, Pope Tawadros visited the Vatican to celebrate Coptic-Catholic Friendship day and the 50 year anniversary of the meeting between Pope Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III. In this same year Pope Francis announced that the 21 Coptic Martyrs killed by ISIS in Libya in 2015 would be added to the Catholic Roman Martyrology, and Pope Tawadros gifted relics from each of the21 martyrs to the Vatican.[72]
Communicants of the Coptic Orthodox Church use abreviary known as theAgpeya to pray thecanonical hours at sevenfixed prayer times while facing in theeastward direction, in anticipation of theSecond Coming of Jesus; this Christian practice has its roots in Psalm 119:164, in which the prophetDavid prays to God seven times a day.[74][73][75] Church bells enjoin Christians to pray at these hours.[76] Before praying, theywash their hands and face to be clean before and present their best to God;shoes are removed to acknowledge that one is offering prayer before a holy God.[74][77] During each of the seven fixed prayer times, Coptic Orthodox Christians pray "prostrating three times in the name of theTrinity; at the end of each Psalm ... while saying the 'Alleluia';" and 41 times for each of theKyrie eleisons present in a canonical hour.[77] In the Coptic Orthodox Church, it is customary for women to wear aChristian headcovering when praying.[78] The Coptic Orthodox Church observes days ofritual purification.[79][80] However, while meat that still contains blood after cooking is discouraged from being eaten, the Coptic Church does not forbid its members from consuming any particular type of food, unlike in Islam orJudaism.[81]
All churches of the Coptic Orthodox Church are designed to face the eastward direction of prayer and efforts are made to remodel churches obtained from otherChristian denominations that are not built in this fashion.[82]
In Coptic Orthodox Christianity, fasting is defined as going without meat or dairy.[83] With respect toEucharistic discipline, Coptic Orthodox Christiansfast from midnight onwards (or at least nine hours) prior to receiving the sacrament ofHoly Communion.[84] They fast every Wednesday and Friday of the year (Wednesdays in remembrance of the betrayal of Christ, and on Fridays in remembrance of His crucifixion and death).[84] In total, fast days in a year for Coptic Orthodox Christians numbers between 210 and 240. This means that Copts abstain from all animal products for up to two-thirds of each year.[84][85] The fasts forAdvent andLent are 43 days and 55 days, respectively.[84] In August, before the celebration of theDormition of the Mother of God, Coptic Christians fast 15 days; fasting is also done before the feast ofFeast of Saints Peter and Paul, starting from the day ofPentecost.[84][85] Married couples refrain from sexual relations during Lent "to give themselves time for fasting and prayer".[83]
Christmas has been a national holiday in Egypt since 2003. It is the only Christian holiday in Egypt.[86] Coptic Christmas, which usually falls on January 6 or 7 is a major feast. Other major feasts areEpiphany,Palm Sunday,Easter, Pentecost,Ascension, andAnnunciation. These are known in the Coptic world as the Seven Major Feasts. Major feasts are always preceded by fasts. Additionally, the Coptic Orthodox Church also has Seven Minor Feasts: theCircumcision of the Lord, Entrance into the Temple, Entrance into Egypt,Transfiguration,Maundy Thursday, Thomas Sunday, andGreat Lent.[16][86][87] Furthermore, there are several indigenous feasts of theTheotokos. There are also other feasts commemorating the martyrdom of important saints from Coptic history.[85]
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.[88] 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 newspaperAl 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.[89][90][91][92]
There are also significant numbers in the diaspora outside Africa in countries such as theUnited States,Canada,Australia,France, andGermany. 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.[93][94][95]
There are between 150,000 and 200,000 adherents inSudan.[96][97]
Besides Egypt, the Church of Alexandria has jurisdiction over all ofAfrica. The followingautocephalous churches have strong historical ties to the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Following the independence ofEritrea from Ethiopia in 1993, the newly independent Eritrean government appealed toPope Shenouda III of Alexandria for Eritrean Orthodox autocephaly. In 1994, Pope Shenouda ordainedAbune Phillipos as first Archbishop of Eritrea.[48]
23 metropolitanates, out of which 19 metropolitanates are in Egypt, one metropolitanate in the Near East, two in the USA and one in Africa; served by one metropolitan archbishops and 22 metropolitan bishops; out of the 23 hierarchs, one metropolitan archbishop is in the Near East, while 19 metropolitan bishops are in Egypt, two metropolitan bishops in the USA and one metropolitan bishop in Africa.
66 dioceses with 39 diocesan bishops are in Egypt, 14 diocesan bishops are in Europe, 6 diocesan bishops are in North America, two diocesan bishops are in South America, two diocesan bishops are in Sudan, two diocesan bishops in Australia, and one diocesan bishop in Africa.
one suffragan diocese, with one suffragan bishop in North America.
5 auxiliary bishops, two in the Diocese of Los Angeles, two in the Southern USA diocese in North America and one in the diocese of Qena, Egypt.
13 assistant bishops in Egypt for 13 suffragan dioceses within an archdiocese under the Patriarch's jurisdiction.
8 patriarchal exarchates, with one in Asia & Australia, one in Africa, three in North America and three in Egypt.
18 bishop abbots for 17 patriarchal monasteries in Egypt and one patriarchal monastery in Australia.
one general bishop, patriarchal emissary at large in USA
four general bishops, administrators of patriarchal institutions in Egypt.
one hegumen in the capacity of grand Economos, patriarchal vicar for Alexandria.
one hegumen as administrative patriarchal vicar for Cairo.
^ab"Who are Egypt's Coptic Christians?". CNN. 10 April 2017.Archived from the original on 19 August 2018. Retrieved19 April 2020.The largest Christian community in the Middle East, Coptic Christians make up the majority of Egypt's roughly 9 million Christians. About 1 million more Coptic Christians are spread across Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the World Council of Churches.
^ab"Egypt".United States Department of State.Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved19 April 2020.The U.S. government estimates the population at 99.4 million (July 2018 estimate). Most experts and media sources state that approximately 90 percent of the population is officially designated as Sunni Muslims and approximately 10 percent is recognized as Christian (estimates range from 5 to 15 percent). Approximately 90 percent of Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, according to Christian leaders.
^"Excluded and Unequal". The Century Foundation. 9 May 2019.Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved19 April 2020.Copts are generally understood to make up approximately 10 percent of Egypt's population.
^abMeinardus, Otta Friedrich August (1999). "The Coptic Church: Its History, Traditions, Theology, and Structure.".Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity. American University in Cairo Press. p. 28.ISBN978-977-424-757-6.JSTORj.ctt15m7f64.
^Pummer, Reinhard (2002).Early Christian Authors on Samaritans and Samaritanism: Texts, Translations and Commentary (Texts and Studies in Ancient Judaism). pp. 377–378.
^Charles, Robert H (1913).The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text, Chapter CXV: paragraph 7.
^Charles, Robert H (1913).The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text, Chapter CXVIII: paragraph 12.
^Charles, Robert H (1913).The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text, Chapter CXX: paragraph 36.
^Charles, Robert H (1913).The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text, Chapter CXXI: paragraph 3.
^Kamil, Jill (1997).Coptic Egypt: History and Guide. Cairo: American University in Cairo.
^Clarke, Peter (2004)."Independent episcopal churches".Encyclopedia of New Religious Movements. Routledge. p. 301.ISBN978-1-134-49970-0.As Mar Georgius (and with tites including Patriarch of Glastonbury, Apostolic Pontiff of Celtia, etc.), he was the leader of the Catholicate of the West, which became the Orthodox Church of the British Isles. Under Newman's nephew and successor, William Newman Norton, this Church was eventually brought under the legitimate jurisdiction of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Cairo in 1994. Following a common schismatic pattern in such Churches, some of its priests rejected this new alliance and split off to form the British Eparchy of the Celtic Orthodox Church, giving their allegiance to a French Primate. Both of these British Churches are tiny.
^Eltahawy, Mona (22 December 2016)."Egypt's Cruelty to Christians".The New York Times.Archived from the original on 24 December 2016. Retrieved22 December 2016.
^abDawood, Bishoy (8 December 2013)."Stand, Bow, Prostrate: The Prayerful Body of Coptic Christianity". The Clarion Review.Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved6 August 2020.Standing facing the East is the most frequent prayer position. ... This is further emphasized in the fact that Copts pray facing the East, waiting for the return of Jesus in glory; his return as the enthroned Pantocrator is portrayed in the iconography that is placed before the worshippers.
^abMary Cecil, 2nd Baroness Amherst of Hackney (1906).A Sketch of Egyptian History from the Earliest Times to the Present Day. Methuen. p. 399.Prayers 7 times a day are enjoined, and the most strict among the Copts recite one of more of the Psalms of David each time they pray. They always wash their hands and faces before devotions, and turn to the East.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Russell, Thomas Arthur (2010).Comparative Christianity: A Student's Guide to a Religion and Its Diverse Traditions. Universal-Publishers. p. 42.ISBN978-1-59942-877-2.
^H. Bulzacchelli, Richard (2006).Judged by the Law of Freedom: A History of the Faith-works Controversy, and a Resolution in the Thought of St. Thomas Aquinas.University Press of America. p. 19.ISBN978-0-7618-3501-1.The Ethiopian and Coptic Churches distinguishes between clean and unclean meats, observes days of ritual purification, and keeps a kind of dual Sabbath on both Saturday and Sunday.
^Kalleeny, Tony."Why We Face the East". Orlando: St Mary and Archangel Michael Church.Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved6 August 2020.
^abSamaan, Moses (9 April 2009)."The Meaning of the Great Lent".Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii. Retrieved10 March 2024.The Church teaches us to fast until sunset. Fish is not allowed during this period. Also married couples should refrain from physical relations to give themselves time for fasting and prayer (1 Cor. 7: 5). We would like to emphasize the importance of the period of strict abstention during fasting. It is refraining from eating and drinking for a period of time, followed by eating vegetarian food.
^"How many Christians are there in Egypt?".Pew Research Center. 16 February 2011.Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved19 April 2020.In the United States, Canada and Australia, the majority of Egyptian-born residents are Christian, but the estimated total size of the Egyptian-born Christian populations in these countries is approximately 160,000.
^Marzouki, Nadia."The U.S. Coptic Diaspora and the Limit of Polarization"(PDF).Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.Archived(PDF) from the original on 19 March 2019.The exact number of Copts living in the United States is a matter of debate. Estimates range from 91,200 to 750,000.
^Washington DC, The George Washington University."General Findings: Coptic Diaspora Survey".As with most diasporas, the Coptic diasporans estimate their numbers to be much higher than official estimates, even higher than the estimates of all Egyptian national immigrants.
^Hassan, Abdel Salaam (1995)."The Copts"(PDF). In Verney, Peter (ed.).Sudan: Conflict and minorities. Minority Rights Group International. p. 26.Archived(PDF) from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved5 April 2016.
Partrick, Theodore (June 1996).Traditional Egyptian Christianity: A History of the Coptic Orthodox Church.Greensboro, NC: Fisher Park Press.ISBN978-0-9652396-0-8.
Wolfgang Kosack,Novum Testamentum Coptice. Neues Testament, Bohairisch, ediert von Wolfgang Kosack. Novum Testamentum, Bohairice, curavit Wolfgang Kosack. / Wolfgang Kosack. neue Ausgabe, Christoph Brunner, Basel 2014.ISBN978-3-906206-04-2.
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