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The vast majority of Egyptian Christians are Copts who belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Church. [2] [3] As of 2019, Copts in Egypt make up approximately 10 percent of the nation's population, [4] with an estimated population of 9.5 million (figure cited in the Wall Street Journal, 2017) [5] or 10 million (figure cited in the Associated Press, 2019). [6]
Tradition holds that the Church of Alexandria was founded by Saint Mark the Evangelist [1] circa 49 AD and claims jurisdiction over all Christians on the African continent. Today, three churches claim to be direct heirs of the original Church of Alexandria: The Coptic Orthodox Church, an Oriental Orthodox church
The position of the Copts began to improve early in the 19th century under the stability and tolerance of Muhammad Ali's dynasty. The Coptic community ceased to be regarded by the state as an administrative unit and, by 1855 the Jizya tax was lifted. Shortly thereafter, Christians started to serve in the Egyptian army.
According to ancient tradition, Christianity was introduced to present day Egypt by St. Mark in Alexandria, shortly after the ascension of Christ and during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius around 42 AD. [47] The legacy that St. Mark left in Egypt was a considerable Christian community in Alexandria.
The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt, beginning around the third century AD. The Apophthegmata Patrum is a collection of the wisdom of some of the early desert monks and nuns, in print as Sayings of the Desert Fathers.
The decline of ancient Egyptian religion is largely attributed to the spread of Christianity in Egypt. Historical Christianity's strict monotheistic teachings did not allow the syncretism seen between ancient Egyptian religion and other polytheistic religions, such as that of the Romans .
'the Egyptian Orthodox Church'), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark , who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds ...
The Melitians, [a] sometimes called the Church of the Martyrs, [b] were an early Christian sect in Egypt.They were founded about 306 by Bishop Melitius of Lycopolis and survived as a small group into the eighth century.