Copts – A Long-Persecuted Christian Minority With Ancient Roots

Bombings at two Coptic Christian churches (St. George Church in Tanta and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria) on this past Palm Sunday in Egypt – killing more than 40-people and injuring dozens of others – have brought attention to a long-persecuted religious minority with ancient roots.

The Islamic State (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attacks, and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi declared a 3-month state of emergency in response.

“Egyptians will mourn this event and they will mean it, but many of them will also fail to recognize the fundamental challenge of religious discrimination that rests as the foundation of [its] violence,” wrote political analyst Timothy E. Kaldas in a CNN op-ed. “The widespread perception of Christian Egyptians as lesser citizens with lesser rights creates fertile ground for those who seek to incite violence against them.”

Due to misunderstandings regarding their theology and political allegiances, Coptic Christians (CC) have been persecuted for centuries. 

Here’s what you need to know about this religious minority:

The Coptic Orthodox Church split away from the broader Christian community in 451 A.D.  The CC Church diverged from other Christians during the 5th century … in part due to differing beliefs about the nature of Christ.  CC believe that Christ had two natures ― one human and one divine ― united as one “without mingling, without confusion, and without alteration.”  Roman Catholics (RC) and other Christian denominations believe in the incarnation of Jesus … which similarly holds that Christ was both fully human and fully divine.  But at the time of the split, CC were accused of believing in monophysitism ― the belief that Christ had only one, divine nature.

Coptic Christians trace their founding to the apostle St. Mark.  Tradition holds that Mark brought Christianity to Egypt and founded the Coptic Church during the 1st century. It is one of the oldest Christian churches in the Middle East and was the first founded in Africa.

They comprise the largest Christian community in the Middle East.  In Egypt, CC make up the majority of the country’s roughly 9-million Christians.  There are some 12-million members worldwide, according to the World Council of Churches.

Coptic theology and practice have much in common with the Catholic Church ― but diverge in several major areas.  Like RC, CC believe in the Ten Commandments, and they practice the sacraments of baptism, confession and confirmation.  But unlike RC, CC don’t believe in the infallibility of the pope or in purgatory; and CC priests can marry.

Copts have their own pope.  The head of the Coptic Church is the Pope of Alexandria, a position that is now based in Cairo.  The current leader is Pope Tawadros II, a trained pharmacist who studied theology and was ordained a priest and later a bishop.  His papacy began in 2012.

The Coptic calendar is slightly different from that of the rest of the Christian world.  CC follow the Julian calendar, and their Christmas falls on January 7.  CC practice a 40-day period of fasting from red meat, poultry and dairy products leading up to their Christmas.  They also observe a 55-day fast preceding Easter.

Coptic Christians have experienced persecution for centuries.  Since the time of their split from the rest of the Christian community up through modern times, CC have been the targets of violence and aggression.  They experienced persecution through shifting power structures in the Middle East, particularly under the Byzantine Empire and after the Arab conquest in the 7th century.  There were long periods of peace, too; but these were invariably followed by eras of discrimination and oppression.

Coptic Christians continue to face persecution.  Conditions for CC in Egypt have worsened in recent decades following a series of Middle East wars.  Millions of CC have left Egypt due to rising religious tensions and currently live as expatriates, according to AP.  CC face restrictions on inter-religious marriage and on converting Muslims to Christianity, and activists hold that discrimination also keeps them from attaining positions of high office.

Violent attacks like Palm Sunday’s have become more common in recent years.  A bomb targeting an Alexandria church killed over 20-people on New Years’ eve in 2011. It was the first major attack with a high death toll in recent history and remains unsolved to this day, according to AP.  In December 2016, an ISIS suicide bomber killed 30-people at Cairo’s Coptic Cathedral.  And in February, hundreds of Coptic families fled after a series of ISIS-claimed killings in northern Sinai.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel