The Coptic Church does not permit women to be priests. The Patriarch (Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. A Metropolitan is the leader of group of bishops and the bishop of a large city. Bishopsīishops are drawn from monks, and so must be celibate and not have been married. There are three ranks of priesthood: Priest, Archpriest ( hegomen) and Khoori Episcopos.
There are five ranks of deacon: Epsaltos (hymnist), Ognostis (reader), Epideacon (subdeacon), Deacon (full deacon), Archdeacon (leader of deacons). Deaconsĭeacons help priests and bishops in their ministry. There are three ranks in the Coptic priesthood: Deacons, Priests and Bishops. Ordinary Copts can take part in church affairs through the Consultative Assembly of Lay Copts. There are seven subcommittees which deal with pastoral affairs, liturgical affairs, ecumenical relations, monastic affairs, faith and ethics, and diocesan affairs. The Holy Synod deals with spiritual, ecclesiastical, structural, management and financial matters. The highest authority in the church is the Holy Synod, a body made up of the Patriarch, metropolitans, bishops, khoori episcopos, abbots, and stewards of the Patriarchate. Following election, the names of the three candidates with most votes are written on pieces of paper and one of them is picked by a child. Candidates must be at least 40 years old and have been monks for at least 15 years. The Pope is elected by a complicated process. The Coptic Pope is not regarded as infallible or supreme. The Coptic Church is led by His Holiness Tawadros II (1952 - ), who was consecrated the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Pope Shenouda III during a 2007 visit to New York. NB: The word Coptic is often used to refer to all Egyptian Christians, not just members of the Coptic Church. The word 'Copt' comes from the Greek word 'Aigyptos', meaning Egyptian.
The Church is ecumenical in outlook, and was a founder member of the World Council of Churches in 1948. The liturgy and hymns remain similar to those of the early Church. The current Pope, Tawadros II, succeeded Pope Shenouda III and is 118th in succession to Mark.Ĭoptic services take place in the very ancient Coptic language (which is based on the language used in the time of the Pharaohs), together with local languages. The Coptic Church is led by the Pope of Alexandria, who is based in Cairo. This dispute has been reassessed in modern times, and the differences between Churches are much less severe. The Church separated from other Christian denominations at the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) in a theological dispute over the human and divine nature of Jesus Christ. St Antony's Monastery, Eastern Desert, Egypt In order to see this content you need to have both Javascript enabled and Flash installed. There are still occasional violent clashes between Copts and Muslims.įirsts for the Coptic Church include the first specifically Christian educational establishment in the School of Alexandria and the start of Christian monasticism. Modern Copts claim that they are still disadvantaged and play a lesser part in Egyptian public life than their numbers justify. The early Church suffered persecution under the Roman Empire, and there were intermittent persecutions after Egypt became a Muslim country. This makes it one of the earliest Christian groups outside the Holy Land. Mark is regarded as the first Pope of Alexandria. While most Copts live in Egypt, the Church has around a million members outside Egypt there are over 100 churches in the USA and a cathedral in the UK.Ĭopts believe that their Church dates back to around 50 AD, when the Apostle Mark is said to have visited Egypt. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the main Christian Church in Egypt, where it has between 6 and 11 million members.
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