Ad
related to: who are coptic christians (copts) the history & beliefs of
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Coptic icon of St. Mark Portrait of a Coptic Christian woman by Bertha Müller, circa 1850. The Copts are one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East. Although integrated in the larger Egyptian nation state, the Copts have survived as a distinct religious community forming around 5 to 20 percent of the population.
The position of the Copts began to improve early in the 19th century under the stability and tolerance of Muhammad Ali's dynasty. The Coptic community ceased to be regarded by the state as an administrative unit and, by 1855 the Jizya tax was lifted. Shortly thereafter, Christians started to serve in the Egyptian army.
Coptic Christians lost their majority status in Egypt after the 14th century and the spread of Islam in the entirety of North Africa. Today, Copts form a major ethno-religious group whose origins date back to the Ancient Egyptians. [6] [7] The Coptic Christian population in Egypt is the largest Christian community in the Middle East. [8]
While Copts have cited instances of persecution throughout their history, Human Rights Watch has noted growing religious intolerance and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, and a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible.
Although the mission in Cairo initially faced setbacks, tensions with the local Coptic priesthood were minimized with the arrival of Capuchin priest Agathangelo of Vendome to the city in 1633. Initial relations between Catholics and Copts in Egypt were poor. One Coptic councilor in 1637 referred to the Roman Church in Egypt as "a brothel".
The Holy and Ancient Archdiocese of Jerusalem, All Palestine, and All the Near East, holds a special status of seniority of honor and precedence.This great archdiocesan metropolis is technically outside the Egyptian Province and is not considered to be within the jurisdiction of the See of Alexandria, but is simply a foreign possession of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Oriental Orthodox Christians, such as Copts, Syrians and Indians, use a breviary such as the Agpeya and Shehimo, respectively, to pray the canonical hours seven times a day while facing in the eastward direction towards Jerusalem, in anticipation of the Second Coming of Jesus; this Christian practice has its roots in Psalm 119:164, in which the ...
Most Copts live in the south of Egypt but the largest concentrations of Copts lives in Cairo and Alexandria. [3] The Copts, like the rest of Egyptians, are descended from the pharaonic inhabitants of Egypt. Most ethnic Copts belongs to the Coptic Orthodox Church. Copts number between 10-15 percent of the Egyptian population [4] of 104 million [5]