The Coptic Orthodox Church is an ancient and apostolic Church that dates back to the apostle, evangelist, and Beholder-of-God St. Mark, the author of the earliest documented canonical Gospel. Since St. Mark’s spread of Christianity to Egypt, there has been a succession of 118 Popes and Patriarchs, whose throne is currently occupied by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope, Patriarch, and Archbishop of Alexandria. The Coptic Church has a long legacy of pillars and doctors of Christianity, including: St. Athanasius who played a pivotal role in the development of the Nicene Creed used by most Christians churches today and the development of the Scriptural canon; St. Cyril the Pillar of Faith and defender against early Christian heresy including Nestorianism; St. Antony the father of monasticism; St. Pachomius the father of coenobitic or communal monasticism; and hundreds of thousands of other martyrs, saints, and righteous people whose unity with Christ was an undeniable witness of the Gospel to the world.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is apostolic, conciliar, and Trinitarian in its beliefs. It also professes a belief in “one nature of God the Incarnate Word,” miaphesite and not monophesite (the Incarnate Word, is fully divine and fully human, in one nature) as expressed by St. Cyril of Alexandria.

The historical significance and profound impact that the Church of Alexandria had on all Christendom cannot be understated; its effects are immense, and its impact resonates throughout the world today. The Catechetical School of Alexandria functioned as the center of theological education and development in early Christianity, and it is with the same Spirit that the Coptic Church continues to witness to the truth of God’s self-revelation in both the contemporary East and West.

The Coptic Orthodox Church