The Coptic Orthodox Church was founded by St. Mark the Evangelist in about 48 AD when he came to Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Apostolic churches in the world. The Coptic Orthodox Church (which is also known as the Church of Alexandria) is mentioned in the canons of the Nicea Ecumenical Council of 325 AD as being one of the four ancient apostolic churches. The other churches being: the church of Jerusalem, the church of Rome, and the church of Antioch.

St. Mark is one of the seventy disciples (Luke 10:1). St. Mark’s Gospel is the oldest of the four Gospels in the Holy Bible. He started writing his Gospel in Rome and completed it in Egypt. It was in his house that Our Lord Jesus Christ had The Last Supper and where the disciples used to gather for prayer after the resurrection. The Pentecost also took place there (Acts 2:1). St. Mark was martyred for his faith in Egypt in 68 AD and his feast is celebrated by the Copts on the 8^th of May of each year.

The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church is called the Pope and is considered to be the successor of St. Mark the Evangelist. The clergy is composed of bishops, priests, and deacons. The Coptic Church also has several Coptic monasteries and convents both in Egypt and outside of it.

The Coptic Orthodox Church in Christian History:

1. Monasticism:

The Church of Alexandria is renowned for its great contribution to monasticism and the monastic life, St. Anthony the Great, a Copt from Upper Egypt, is recognised as the founder of monasticism which began in the 3^rd century and flourished in the 4th century. Whilst St. Paul Of Thebes, is considered the first pilgrim –wanderer by St. Jerome who wrote his biography, lived in the desert without seeing the face of another man for some ninety years. St. Pachomius, another Upper Egyptian, is credited with establishing the rules of monasticism, called Koinonia. His Coenobitic rules were translated into Greek and Latin, and were used by St. Basil the Great and were later adopted by Benedict, the Father of western monasticism.

One of the remarkable aspects of the Coptic Orthodox Church today is the continuous increase of those who are eager to join monastic life.

2. Doctrine:

St. Athanasius (20^th Pope of Alexandria) is considered a hero of the faith for his relentless defence of the divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the main author of the Nicea Creed (325 AD) that is recited by Christians all over the world.

St. Timothy (22^nd Pope of Alexandria) instrumental in writing the portion of the Creed referring to the Holy Spirit at the Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (381 AD).

St. Cyril (24^th Pope of Alexandria) chaired the Ecumenical Council of Ephesus (431 AD) where the introduction of the Creed “We magnify thee, oh Mother of the True Light…’ was added.

St. Demetrius (12^th Pope of Alexandria) was the first person to devise the calculation for fixing the dates to celebrate Easter each year. His calculation was approved by the Nicea Ecumenical Council (325 AD) and continued to be used by all the Christian Churches up to the 16th Century. Today many of the Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use his calculation.

3. Missionary Work:

In the early days of Christianity, Egyptian missionaries travelled to Ethiopia, India, North Africa, Mesopotamia, and Persia. St. Athanasius when in exile in Belgium used the opportunity to teach the West about monasticism based upon the life of St. Anthony the Great. In Europe, the Coptic faith spread as far as Zurich in Switzerland, and even as far as Ireland.

The Alexandrian Theological School:

St. Mark established the School of Theology in Alexandria in the 1st Century, and thus the Coptic Church was concerned with Christian education from the beginning of its foundation. The school became very famous, instructing many prominent bishops across the world and produced scholars such as Athenagoras, Pantaenus, Clement and Origen. (185 AD). Origen is considered to be a great father of theology and is believed to have composed more than 6000 commentaries on the Holy Bible.

Other great theologians associated with the school include St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory (The Miracle Performer), St. John Chrysostom (The Golden Mouth), and St. Didymus the Blind (who learned to read and write using carved wood fifteen centuries before Braille was invented).

The Coptic Orthodox Faith:

The Copts firmly believe in maintaining and preserving the traditions handed down to them through the generations and so have remained steadfast and unchanging in the Christian faith that was preached to them by St. Mark till this present day.

The Articles of Our Faith:

– We believe in One God and the Holy Trinity.
– We believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is perfect in His Divinity and perfect in His Humanity.
– We believe in the seven sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Confession, Eucharist, Priesthood, Marriage and Anointing of the Sick.
– We Believe in the innerancy of the Holy Bible (Old and New Testaments). “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim 3:16). “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.” (Matt 24:35).
– We believe in the Nicea Creed and accept the ecumenical councils of Nicea (325 AD). Constantinople (381 AD) and Ephesus (431 AD).
– We believe in the effects of Baptism, namely: Regeneration (John 3:5; Titus 3:5), Forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16), Putting on Christ.
– That in baptism we are buried with Christ, and we are raised with Him. Hence, we baptise by immersion. We believe in infant baptism.
– We believe that in the Eucharist we receive the Holy Body and the Holy Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. (Matt 26:26). “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:24)
– We receive the Holy Spirit by the Holy Chrisma (John 2:20,27) when we are anointed with Holy Oil in the sacrament of Conformation.
– We believe in the intercession of the Virgin St. Mary, the Angels, and the Saints.
– We believe that divorce may be permitted for the cause of Adultery (Matt 5:32) and for apostasy (1 Cor 7:15).
– We believe in monogamy and reject polygamy.
– We believe in The Eternal Life.
– We believe that faith without works is dead (James 2:18,20)
– That Tradition is a source of our teaching.
– We believe in the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.