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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]
Even before the Edict of Milan in AD 313, which legalised Christianity in the Roman Empire, Egypt became an early centre of Christianity, especially in Alexandria where numerous influential Christian writers of antiquity such as Origen and Clement of Alexandria lived much of their lives, and native Egyptian religion may have put up little ...
Early Christianity, ... the region was ruled by Ptolemaic Egypt ... was an early center of Christianity and today is a ruin in modern Croatia.
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
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.
In 969, Egypt entered the Fatimid 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 ...
Coptic Christians lost their majority status in Egypt after the 14th century and the spread of Islam in the entirety of North Africa. Today, Copts form a major ethno-religious group whose origins date back to the ancient Egyptians. [6] [1] The Coptic Christian population in Egypt is the largest Christian community in the Middle East. [7]
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.