Egypt
مصر
The Copts and the cradle of monasticism
The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Christian community in the Middle East, and its tradition traces back to the preaching of Saint Mark in Alexandria. Monasticism went out from the Egyptian desert to the whole world, and from its theological school came Athanasius and Origen.
Christian population
About 10 million
Estimates range from 6 to 12 million; the largest Christian community in the region.
Languages of liturgy and life
Coptic as a liturgical language alongside Arabic — the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language — with Greek among the Greek Orthodox.
Churches and denominations
Coptic Orthodox Church
الكنيسة القبطية الأرثوذكسية
The overwhelming majority of Egypt's Christians; the see of Saint Mark in Alexandria and Cairo.
Coptic Catholic Church
الكنيسة القبطية الكاثوليكية
In communion with Rome, with an extensive network of schools.
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria
بطريركية الإسكندرية للروم الأرثوذكس
An ancient see whose jurisdiction extends across the whole of Africa.
Evangelical Church of Egypt
الكنيسة الإنجيلية (سنودس النيل)
The largest Protestant denomination in the country.
Armenian, Latin and Syriac
الأرمن واللاتين والسريان
Small communities in Cairo and Alexandria.
Historical milestones
c. 42 AD
The tradition that Saint Mark the Evangelist founded the church of Alexandria.
2nd–3rd century
The Catechetical School of Alexandria: Clement, Origen and the allegorical method of interpretation.
c. 270
Saint Antony the Great withdraws into the desert and Christian monasticism begins; Pachomius then founds communal monasticism.
325
Athanasius of Alexandria and his decisive role at the Council of Nicaea and in the creed.
451
The Council of Chalcedon and the separation that distinguished the Coptic Orthodox Church.
641
The Muslim conquest; Coptic gradually gives way to Arabic in everyday life.
20th century
The Sunday School movement, the renewal of monasticism, and the church's spread in the diaspora.
Places and heritage sites
Hanging Church
الكنيسة المعلّقة
Old Cairo
Built atop a tower of the Babylon fortress; its origins go back to the third or fourth century.
Monasteries of Wadi El Natrun
أديرة وادي النطرون
Beheira
Four monasteries in continuous use since the fourth century, among them Deir Anba Bishoy and the Syrian Monastery.
Monasteries of St. Antony & St. Paul
دير الأنبا أنطونيوس ودير الأنبا بولا
Red Sea
Considered among the oldest Christian monasteries in the world.
Abu Mena
أبو مينا
West of Alexandria
A Byzantine pilgrimage city on the UNESCO list.
Deir al-Muharraq
دير المحرّق
Asyut
On the route of the Holy Family according to Coptic tradition.
St. Catherine's Monastery
دير سانت كاترين
Sinai
A Greek Orthodox monastery in continuous use since the sixth century, with one of the richest manuscript libraries anywhere.
On the map
Related articles
- Codex Sinaiticus: the earliest complete New TestamentA Greek Bible from the middle of the fourth century, written in four columns on parchment, holding the earliest complete copy of the New Testament. It left St Catherine's Monastery in Sinai and is today divided between four institutions.
- From the desert to the world: the beginning of monasticismIn the Egyptian desert of the third century a way of life began that would reshape all of Christianity, spreading from there to Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia, and on into Europe.
References
General further reading, not citations to specific pages.
Further reading
- Otto F. A. Meinardus. Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity. American University in Cairo Press, 1999
- Aziz S. Atiya (ed.). The Coptic Encyclopedia. Macmillan, 1991
- Aziz S. Atiya. A History of Eastern Christianity. Methuen, 1968
- Sidney H. Griffith. The Church in the Shadow of the Mosque: Christians and Muslims in the World of Islam. Princeton University Press, 2008
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre. UNESCO World Heritage List. whc.unesco.org
- Pew Research Center. Global Christianity: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Christian Population, 2011. www.pewresearch.org