Who Are the Copts of the Coptic Orthodox Church

• The Copts are the native Christians of Egypt, and the Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.
• The Church was founded in Alexandria in the first century AD by Saint Mark the Evangelist, one of the apostles of Jesus Christ.
• From the beginning, the Coptic Church preserved apostolic faith, worship, and leadership without interruption.
• The word “Coptic” originally meant “Egyptian”. Over time, it came to refer specifically to Egyptian Christians.
• Being Coptic expresses both Christian faith and historical continuity with ancient Egypt, transformed by the Gospel.
• The Church of Alexandria became a major centre of Christian theology, teaching, and biblical interpretation in the early centuries.
• The School of Alexandria shaped how Christians understood Scripture and defended the faith against false teachings.
• The Coptic Church played a key role in the first three Ecumenical Councils:
  • Nicaea (325 AD) – defending the full divinity of Jesus Christ
  • Constantinople (381 AD) – affirming the divinity of the Holy Spirit
  • Ephesus (431 AD) – protecting the unity of Christ as one Lord
• After the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD), divisions occurred within Christianity.
• The Coptic Orthodox Church remained faithful to the Alexandrian teaching of the incarnation, confessing that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, united without confusion, change, division, or separation.
• This faith was not a new doctrine but the preservation of the apostolic understanding of salvation.
• Egypt became the birthplace of Christian monasticism, which later spread throughout the Christian world.
• Saints such as Anthony the Great, Pachomius, and Macarius shaped Christian spirituality through prayer, fasting, and holiness.
• The history of the Coptic Church is deeply marked by martyrdom and persecution, beginning in the Roman era and continuing through later centuries.
• This experience formed a strong spiritual identity centred on the Cross and the Resurrection.
• The Coptic Church has maintained continuous papal succession from Saint Mark to the present day.
• The Coptic language, the last stage of the ancient Egyptian language, developed as a tool for worship and teaching Scripture.
• Today, Coptic is mainly used as a liturgical language, linking modern worship with the early Church.
• The Coptic Orthodox Church is not only a church of the past but a living church, active in Egypt and across the world.
• Through theology, worship, monastic life, and faithfulness under hardship, the Coptic Church remains a vital witness in Christian history.
• The Coptic Church continues to live by Christ’s promise:
  “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18, NIV)

Read more 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_Orthodox_Church

https://copticchurch.org/about/thecopts/

https://st-takla.org/Coptic-church-1.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/subdivisions/coptic_1.shtml