The Coptic Church
The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the most ancient Churches of the world, having been founded by
Saint Mark the Apostle. A conservative Church, it has carefully preserved the orthodox Christian Faith in
its earliest and purest form, handing it down from generation to generation, unaltered and true to the
Apostolic doctrines and patterns of worship.
The Coptic Church is a deeply spiritual Church, emphasising holiness and the Divine Mysteries, at the
same time also being a strongly doctrinal Church, holding faithfully to the canons of the Holy Scriptures,
the Apostolic and Orthodox creeds, and the teachings of the Church Fathers of the first three ecumenical
councils. The Coptic Church has stood firm and remained faithful to the Apostolic Traditions and
Orthodox Faith, despite waves of the most fearful persecutions under pagan Roman Emperors, Byzantine
and Arab rulers, and in the face of serious heresies which attacked the very essence of the Christian Faith
and threatened to split the Church and all of Christendom.
The Copts are the native Christians of Egypt and the direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians, a people
with perhaps the longest recorded history. The word ‘Copt’ is derived from ‘gypt’ which stems from the
Greek word ‘Aigyptus’ meaning ‘Egyptian’.
In the Holy Bible, Egypt was a land of refuge, especially in times of famine. Abraham visited Egypt, so did
Joseph, who became Pharoah’s deputy. Jacob and his twelve sons came and dwelt in Egypt, where they
became a nation; Jeremiah the Prophet also visited Egypt.
The crown of these visits however, was that of the Holy Family during the childhood of our Lord, who
travelled from Sinai in the East to the valley of Nitria in the West, and southwards to Assyut, the heart of
Upper Egypt.
Many miracles took place in Egypt during the visit of the Holy Family. Many places were blesses, and on
the places where the Holy Family lived, churches were later built, and are visited by pilgrims from all over
the world. Thus, the land of Egypt was blessed by the visit of our Lord, being the only country other than
His birthland to be visited by Him, in fulfilment of the prophecy:
“Behold the Lord rides on a swift cloud, and will come into Egypt; the idols of Egypt will melt in its
midst” (Isaiah 19:1)
Satin Cyril the Great interpreted this prophesy, saying,
“The “swift cloud” which carried the Child Jesus to Egypt, was His mother, the Virgin Saint Mary, who
surpassed the cloud in purity. The “altar” which was established in the midst of the land of Egypt is the
Christian Church which replaced the pagan temples as the idols collapsed and the temples became
deserted in the presence of the Lord Jesus”
During the twentieth century, the Coptic Church has been by the apparition of the Virgin Saint Mary in her
Church at Zeitoun, Cairo in 1968, in the Church of Saint Demiana in the Cairo suburb of Shoubra in
1986, and in various other places, thus fulfilling the words of the Scriptures:
“Blessed is Egypt My people” (Isaiah 19:25)
abstract taken from "The Altar in the Midst of Egypt" - Bishop Angaelos
See also our history and our leadership.