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{{Short description|Ethnoreligious group in North Africa}}
{{Infobox Religious group|
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = <font size = 4>Copts<br><br><font size = 4><span lang="cop-Copt" xml:lang="cop-Copt" style="font-size:100%;font-family:'Arial Coptic', 'MPH 2B Damase', 'Quivira', 'Analecta', 'New Athena Unicode';">ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ<br></span></font>
| group = Copts
|image = ]
| native_name = {{Coptic|ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ}}
|image_caption = <small><font size = 1>Top row (left to right)<br/>] • ] • ] • ]<br/> Bottom row (left to right)<br/>] • ] • ] and ] • ]</small></font>
| native_name_lang = cop
|population = 13,500,000 to 19,000,000 (estimates vary)
| image = Coptic diaspora map.png
|region1 = {{flagcountry|Egypt}}
| caption = Coptic diaspora
|pop1 = estimations range between 12,700,000 to 18,000,000<br>(see ])
| population =
|ref1 = {{lower|<ref> Official population counts put the number of Copts at around 6-10% of the population, while some Coptic voices claim figures as high as 20%. While some scholars defend the soundness of the official population census (cf. E.J.Chitham, The Coptic Community in Egypt. Spatial and Social Change, Durham 1986), most scholars and international observers assume that the Christian share of Egypt's population is higher than stated by the Egyptian government. Most independent estimates fall within range between 10% and 20%, for example the CIA World Factbook , the Washington Institute , Encyclopædia Britannica (1985), or Macropædia (15th ed., Chicago). For a projected 83,000,000+ Egyptians in 2009, this assumption yields the above figures.<br>In 2008, ] and Bishop Morkos, bishop of ], declared that the number of Copts in Egypt is more than 12 million. In the same year, father Morkos Aziz the prominent priest in Cairo declared that the number of Copts (inside Egypt) exceeds 16 million. and . Furthermore, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy , Encyclopædia Britannica (1985), and Macropædia (15th ed., Chicago) estimate the percentage of Copts in Egypt to be up to 20% of the Egyptian population</ref>}}
| region1 = '''Traditional areas of Coptic settlement:'''
|region2 = {{flagcountry|USA}}
| pop1 = <!--See below-->
|pop2 = 700,000 - 1,000,000 (2007)
| region2 = Egypt
|ref2 = {{lower|<ref>According to published accounts and several Coptic/US sources (including the ''US-Coptic Association''), the Coptic Orthodox Church has between 700,000 and one million members in the United States (c. 2005-2007). ^^{{cite web|url=http://www.copticcu.com/WhyCCU.html|title=''Why CCU?''|date=Accessed June 21, 2009|publisher=Coptic Credit Union}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sce.uhcl.edu/akladios/Magdy%20Akladios%20Website/Links%20For%20Church/Copticsflocktowelcome.doc|title=''Coptics flock to welcome 'Baba' at Pittsburgh airport''|date=Accessed June 21, 2009|publisher=Pittsburgh Tribune (2007)}}</ref><ref name="JS Online">{{cite web|url=http://www3.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=373326|title=''State's first Coptic Orthodox church is a vessel of faith''|date=Accessed June 21, 2009|publisher=JS Online (2005)}}</ref><ref name="US-Copts">{{cite web|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20070220180014/http://www.copts.com/english/CoptsDiaspora.aspx|title=''Coptic Diaspora''|date=Accessed June 21, 2009|publisher=US-Copts Association (2007)}}</ref>}}
| pop2 = 10 million (2019)
|region3 = {{flagcountry|Australia}}
| ref2 = {{Efn|In 2017, the ''Wall Street Journal'' reported that "the vast majority of Egypt's estimated 9.5 million Christians, approximately 10% of the country's population, are Orthodox Copts."<ref name=RoccaKholaif>Francis X. Rocca & Dahlia Kholaif, , ''Wall Street Journal'' (April 29, 2017).</ref> In 2019, the Associated Press cited an estimate of 10 million Copts in Egypt.<ref name=Elhennawy>Noha Elhennawy, , Associated Press (November 15, 2019).</ref> In 2015, the ''Wall Street Journal'' reported: "The Egyptian government estimates about 5 million Copts, but the Coptic Orthodox Church says 15-18 million. Reliable numbers are hard to find but estimates suggest they make up somewhere between 6% and 18% of the population."<ref name=WSJ2015>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/02/16/5-five-things-to-know-about-egypts-coptic-christians/|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=February 16, 2015|title=Five Things to Know About Egypt's Coptic Christians}}</ref> In 2004, BBC News reported that Copts were 5&ndash;10% of the Egyptian population.<ref name=2004Egypt>{{cite news |title=Egyptian Coptic protesters freed |work=BBC News|date=22 December 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4117831.stm }}</ref> The '']'' reported a 2015 estimate that 10% of the Egyptian population is Christian (including both Copts and non-Copts).<ref name=CIA2015>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/egypt/|title=Egypt |work=The World Factbook |date=10 April 2023 |publisher=]}}</ref> In 2017, the ] reported that figures for the population of Egyptian Copts "range between 4.7 and 7.1 million, comprising between six and nine per cent of the population, though some estimates put the proportion at as much as 10 to 20 per cent."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://minorityrights.org/minorities/copts/ | title=Copts in Egypt|publisher=Minority Rights Group|date=October 2017}}</ref>}}
|pop3 = 70,000+ (2003)
| region3 = Sudan
|ref3 = {{lower|<ref>In the year 2003, there was an estimated 70,000 Copts in New South Wales alone: - {{cite hansard | url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/hansart.nsf/V3Key/LC20031112040 | house=Parliament of NSW - Legislative Council | date= 12 November 2003| page=Page: 4772: - ''Coptic Orthodox Church (NSW) Property Trust Amendment Bill''}}</ref>}} {{lower|<ref></ref>}}
| pop3 = 400,000-500,000 (previously); a smaller number (as of 2018)
|region4 = {{flagcountry|Kuwait}}
| ref3 = <ref name="unhcr1">, ''World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples'', Minority Rights Group International (June 2018)</ref>
|pop4 = 65,000
| region4 = Libya
|ref4 = {{lower|<ref></ref>}}
| pop4 = 60,000
|region5 = {{flagcountry|Canada}}
| ref4 = <ref name="LookLex Encyclopedia">{{cite web|url=http://i-cias.com/e.o/coptic_c.htm|title=Coptic Church|last=Kjeilen|first=Tore|website=LookLex Encyclopedia|access-date=30 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083550/http://i-cias.com/e.o/coptic_c.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|pop5 = 50,000+ (2008 est.)
| region5 = '''Diaspora:'''
|ref5 = {{lower|<ref></ref>}}
| pop5 = 1–2&nbsp;million (estimates vary)
|region6 = {{flagcountry|UK}}
| region6 = United States
|pop6 = 25,000 - 30,000 (2006)
| pop6 = 500,000 (2018)
|ref6 = {{lower|<ref>Copts number at least 20,000 in Britain plus another 5,000 - 10,000 Copts who are directly under the </ref>}}
| ref6 = <ref name=Telushkin2018>Shira Telushkin, , ''The Atlantic'' (March 2018).</ref>
|region7 = {{flagcountry|South Africa}}
| region7 = Canada
|pop7 = 15,000+
| pop7 = 50,000 (2017)
|ref7 = {{lower|<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2"></ref><ref name="CopticMission"></ref>}}
| ref7 = <ref name=KermalliRNS2017>Shenaz Kermalli, , ] (April 25, 2017).</ref>
|region8 = {{flagcountry|Kenya}}
| region8 = Australia
|pop8 = 8,000+
| pop8 = 75,000 (2003)
|ref8 = {{lower|<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2"/><ref name="CopticMission"/>}}
| ref8 = <ref name="parliament.nsw.gov.au">In the year 2003, there was an estimated 70,000 Copts in New South Wales alone: {{cite web|title=Coptic Orthodox Church (NSW) Property Trust Act 1990|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/cocpta1990518/|website=New South Wales Consolidated Acts}}</ref>
|region9 = {{flagcountry|Jordan}}
| region9 = France
|pop9 = 8,000+ (2005)
| pop9 = 45,000 (2017)
|ref9 = {{lower|<ref></ref>}}
| ref9 = <ref name="la-croix.com">In the year 2017, there was an estimated 45,000 Copts in France: {{cite news|title=Qui sont les coptes en France ?|url=https://www.la-croix.com/Religion/Orthodoxie/Qui-sont-coptes-France-2017-03-16-1200832369|website=La Croix|date=16 March 2017}}</ref>
|region10 = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| region10 = Italy
|pop10 = 3,000 - 5,000 (2005)
| pop10 = 30,000
|ref10 = {{lower|<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/Religion_in_Germany#Orthodoxy</ref>}}
| ref10 = <ref name="CESNUR – Centro studi sulle nuove religioni (Center for Studies on New Religions)">{{Cite web|url=https://cesnur.com/la-chiesa-copta/|title=La Chiesa copta|date=March 10, 2014}}</ref>
|region11 = {{flagcountry|Austria}}
| region11 = United Kingdom
|pop11 = 2,000 (2001)
| pop11 = 25,000–30,000 (2006)
|ref11 = {{lower|<ref> Religious Freedom news</ref>}}
| ref11 = <ref>Copts number at least 20,000 in Britain {{cite web |url=http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid%3D2631%26option%3Dcom_cifeed%26task%3Dnewsarticle |title=Middle Killeavy Parish Web Site |access-date=2008-08-16 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121192147/http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2631&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle |archive-date=2009-01-21 }} plus another 5,000 – 10,000 Copts who are directly under the </ref>
|region12 = {{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
| region12 = United Arab Emirates
|pop12 = 1,000 (2004)
| pop12 = 10,000
|ref12 = {{lower|<ref></ref>}}
| ref12 = <ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33480115|title=Free to pray – but don't try to convert anyone|work=BBC|first=Matthew|last=Teller|date=12 July 2015|access-date=12 July 2015|quote=Ten-thousand or more live in the UAE, and young, bearded priest Father Markos, 12 years in Dubai, told me his flock are "more than happy – they enjoy their life, they are free."}}</ref>
|region13 = {{flagcountry|France}}
| region13 = Netherlands
|pop13 =
| pop13 = 10,000
|ref13 =
| ref13 = <ref>{{cite news|url=https://gereformeerdebond.nl/de-waarheidsvriend/artikelen/welkom-welkom-2/|title='De Koptische kerk telt in Nederland ongeveer tienduizend leden, die grotendeels afkomstig zijn uit Egypte.' |date=12 July 2015|access-date=1 October 2019}}</ref>
|region14 = {{flagcountry|New Zealand}}
| langs = {{hlist|]|]|]|}}] (liturgical and ancestral)
|pop14 =
| rels = ]<br/> ]
|ref14 =
| related_groups =
|region15 = {{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
}}
|pop15 =
{{Contains special characters|Coptic}}
|ref15 =
{{Copts}}
|region16 = {{flagcountry|Brazil}}
|pop16 =
|ref16 =
|region17 = {{flagcountry|Italy}}
|pop17 =
|ref17 =
|region18 = {{flagcountry|Israel}}
|pop18 =
|ref18 =
|region19 = {{flagcountry|Sudan}}
|pop19 =
|ref19 =
|region20 = {{flagcountry|Bolivia}}
|pop20 =
|ref20 =
|region21 = {{flagcountry|Lebanon}}
|pop21 =
|region22 = {{flagcountry|Mexico}}
|pop22 =
|region23 = {{flagcountry|Sweden}}
|pop23 =
|region24 = {{flagcountry|Greece}}
|pop24 =
| rels = Predominantly: ].<br>Minorities include: ]; various ] minorities
| scrips = ]
| langs = Liturgical: ]<br>In Egypt: ]<br>In the diaspora: ], ], ] and others}}
A '''Copt''' (]: <font size = 4><span lang="cop-Copt" xml:lang="cop-Copt" style="font-size:100%;font-family:'Arial Coptic', 'New Athena Unicode', 'MPH 2B Damase', 'Quivira', 'Analecta';">ⲟⲩⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ</span></font> ''ou.Remenkīmi en.Ekhristianos'', literally: ''Egyptian Christian'') is a native ] ]. Copts form a major ] that has ancient origins. Copts are ] whose ancestors embraced ] in the first centuries after Christ.<ref name="U.S. Bill Has Egypt's Copts Squirming">{{cite news | last = Ibrahim | first = Youssef M. | title= "U.S. Bill Has Egypt's Copts Squirming" | work= ] | date=April 18, 1998 | url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E02E5DC103DF931A25757C0A96E958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1| accessdate=2008-10-08}}</ref> The word "Coptic" was originally used to refer to ] in general (see ]), but it has undergone a ] over the centuries to mean more specifically Egyptian Christian. This semantic shift dates back to the time when Christians became an Egyptian ], after the bulk of the Egyptian population converted to Islam following the ] in the 7th century.<ref> "The people of Egypt before the Arab conquest in the 7th century identified themselves and their language in Greek as Aigyptios (Arabic qibt, Westernized as Copt); when Egyptian Muslims later ceased to call themselves Aigyptioi, the term became the distinctive name of the Christian minority." . ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. 2007</ref>


'''Copts''' ({{langx|cop|ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ|niremənkhēmi}}; {{langx|ar|الْقِبْط|al-qibṭ}}) are a ] ] group native to ]<ref>], p. 467</ref> who have primarily inhabited the area of modern ] and ],<ref>{{citation|title=History of Christianity:Sudan|url=https://globalchristianrelief.org/christian-persecution/countries/sudan/|quote=Coptic Christianity reached Sudan as early as the 2nd century, and there is even a tradition that St Matthew the Apostle came to the region even earlier.}}</ref> and predominantly follow the ] in ].<ref name="WorldAtlas">{{Citation|title=Coptic Christianity|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/countries-with-the-largest-coptic-christian-populations.html|website=worldatlas.com}}</ref><ref>{{citation|title=Saint Mark Cathedral|url=http://www.alexandria.gov.eg/alex/english/Saint%20Mark%20Coptic.html|website=alexandria.gov.eg}}</ref> They are the largest ] and the ],<ref name="CNN1">{{cite web |title=Who are Egypt's Coptic Christians? |date=10 April 2017 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2017/04/09/middleeast/egypt-coptic-christians/index.html |publisher=CNN |quote=The largest Christian community in the Middle East, Coptic Christians make up the majority of Egypt's roughly 9 million Christians. About 1&nbsp;million more Coptic Christians are spread across Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States, according to the World Council of Churches.}}</ref> as well as in ]<ref name="unhcr1" /> and ].<ref name="Libya"> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719031825/http://www.copt.org.au/publications/diary/D2005.pdf |date=July 19, 2008 }}</ref> ] account for roughly 5–15 percent of the ];<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/281789/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Sisi-meets-world-Evangelical-churches-deleg.aspx|title=Egypt's Sisi meets world Evangelical churches delegation in Cairo – Politics – Egypt|website=Ahram Online|language=en|access-date=2019-10-30}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hackett |first=Conrad |date=2011-02-16 |title=How many Christians are there in Egypt? |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2011/02/16/how-many-christians-are-there-in-egypt/ |access-date=2023-11-14 |website=Pew Research Center |language=en-US}}</ref> while ] they account for 1 percent of the population, and ] they similarly account for 1 percent of the population.<ref name="LookLex Encyclopedia" />
Copts are the direct descendants of the ].<ref></ref><ref>http://www.worldmag.com/articles/15734</ref><ref>http://www.wiscopts.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=90</ref><ref>http://www.copticmission.org/copticchurch</ref><ref>http://www.coptic.org/language/georgy/common.htm</ref> Copts in ] constitute the largest ] community in the ], as well as the largest religious minority in the region.<ref name="Christian-Muslim Gap">{{cite web | last = Cole | first = Ethan| title=Egypt's Christian-Muslim Gap Growing Bigger | publisher= ] | date=July 8, 2008 | url = http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080708/egypt-s-christian-muslim-gap-growing-bigger.htm | accessdate=2008-10-02}}</ref> Christians represent between 6% and 20% of a population of over 80 million Egyptians<ref>, AFP, dated 13/3/2010</ref><ref>Encyclopædia Britannica (1985)</ref><ref>Macropædia (15th ed., Chicago)</ref><ref>http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=157751&issueno=8872 "Institut National Etudes Démographiques" - Research in population and demography of France estimates the coptic population to be</ref><ref name="The world factbook/Egypt/">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html|title=Egypt from “The World Factbook”|date=September 4, 2008|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="Washington Institute">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386|title=”The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt”|date=October 25, 2005|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="IPS News"> (retrieved 09-27-2008)</ref><ref>. ''The Washington Post''. "Estimates of the size of Egypt's Christian population vary from the low government figures of 6 to 7 million to the 12 million reported by some Christian leaders. The actual numbers may be in the 9 to 9.5 million range, out of an Egyptian population of more than 60 million." Retrieved 10-10-2008</ref><ref>Ibrahim, Youssef M.
"". '']'', March 15, 1993. Retrieved 10-10-2008.</ref><ref name="christianpost.com">Chan, Kenneth. ". '']''. December 7, 2004. Accessed ], ].</ref><ref> <Online>. ''Egypt''. Accessed ], ].</ref><ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm|title= Egypt from “U.S. Department of State/Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs”|date=September 30, 2008 |publisher= ]}}</ref><ref name="FCO/Egypt/">{{cite web|url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt|title=Egypt from “Foreign and Commonwealth Office”|date=August 15, 2008|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="LOOKLEX Encyclopedia/Egypt/Religions&Peoples">{{cite web|url=http://lexicorient.com/e.o/egypt_4.htm|title=Egypt Religions & Peoples from “LOOKLEX Encyclopedia”|date=September 30, 2008|publisher= LookLex Ltd.}}</ref><ref name="msn encarta/Egypt">{{cite web|url= http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557408_3/Egypt.html|title=Egypt from “msn encarta”|date=September 30, 2008 |publisher= ]|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/query?id=1257013931677776|archivedate=2009-10-31|deadurl=yes}}</ref> though estimates vary (see ]). Around 95% of them belong to the native ].<ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt"/><ref name="FCO/Egypt/"/><ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=xrGL7o69KBIC&pg=PA145&lpg=PA145&dq=coptic+orthodox&source=bl&ots=0ROIHZ4FFm&sig=DcEAaveJzQsCeS1tQK-liQc54cM&hl=en&ei=es46SqsUiP61A9ufrOUK&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1|title="Who are the Christians in the Middle East?"|date=June 18, 2009|publisher=Betty Jane Bailey}}</ref> The remaining (around 800,000<ref name="LOOKLEX Encyclopedia/Egypt/Religions&Peoples"/>) are divided between the ] and various ] churches.


Originally referring to all Egyptians,<ref name="Van">{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ens2DwAAQBAJ&dq=copts+originally+referred+all+egyptians&pg=PT14 | title=Copts in Context: Negotiating Identity, Tradition, and Modernity | isbn=9781611177855 | last1=Doorn-Harder | first1=Nelly van | date=3 October 2017 | publisher=Univ of South Carolina Press }}</ref> the term ''Copt'' became synonymous with native ] in light of Egypt's ] and ] after the ] in 639–646 AD.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last1=Raheb|first1=Mitri|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I1cBEAAAQBAJ&q=%22The+fortunes+of+Copts+rose+and+fell%22&pg=PA468|title=The Rowman & Littlefield Handbook of Christianity in the Middle East|last2=Lamport|first2=Mark A.|date=2020-12-15|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=978-1-5381-2418-5|language=en}}</ref> Copts have historically spoken the ], a direct descendant of the ] that was spoken in ].
While the number of Copts continues to increase, their percentage within ] may be very slowly declining due to lower birth rates and higher emigration rates, in comparison with Egyptian Muslims.{{Citation needed|date=October 2009}}

Following the Muslim conquest, the treatment of the Coptic Christians who refused to ] ranged from relative ] to ].<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|last=Refugees|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|title=Refworld {{!}} World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Egypt : Copts of Egypt|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/49749d2b2d.html|access-date=2020-06-15|website=Refworld|language=en}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite book|title=Middle East, Region in Transition: Egypt| first=Laura S. |last= Etheredge|year= 2011| isbn= 9789774160936| page =161|publisher=Britannica Educational Publishing}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{cite book|title=The Cave Church of Paul the Hermit at the Monastery of St. Pau| first=William |last=Lyster|year= 2013| isbn= 9789774160936|publisher=Yale University Press|quote= Al Hakim Bi-Amr Allah (r. 996–1021), however, who became the greatest persecutor of Copts.... within the church that also appears to coincide with a period of forced rapid conversion to Islam}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Coptic Papacy in Islamic Egypt (641-1517)| first=Mark |last= N. Swanson|year= 2010| isbn= 9789774160936| page =54|publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press|quote=}}</ref> Historically, the Copts suffered from "waves of persecution giving way to relative tolerance in cycles that varied according to the local ruler and other political and economic circumstances".<ref name=":3" /> Persecution is significantly involved in the ] due to historic and current conflicts.<ref name="Deighton, H. S 1946 p. 519">Deighton, H. S. "The Arab Middle East and the Modern World", International Affairs, vol. xxii, no. 4 (October 1946)</ref> Most Copts adhere to the ] of ], an ].<ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm|title= Egypt from "U.S. Department of State/Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs"|date=September 30, 2008 |publisher= ]}}</ref><ref name="FCO/Egypt/">{{cite web|url=http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt|title=Egypt from "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"|date=August 15, 2008|publisher=]|url-status=dead|archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121212135632/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt|archive-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Bailey|first1=Betty Jane|last2=Bailey|first2=J. Martin|title=Who Are the Christians in the Middle East?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xrGL7o69KBIC&pg=PA145|year=2003|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-1020-5|page=145}}</ref> The smaller ] is an ], in communion with the ]; others belong to the ]. The Copts played a central role in the ] as well as the modernization of Egypt and the ] as a whole;<ref name=":3" /> they also contributed to the "social and political life and key debates such as ], good governance, ], and ]",<ref name=":3" /> and they have historically flourished in business affairs.<ref name="ReferenceA">Samuel Tadros, ''Motherland Lost'', ch 3–4.</ref>

While Coptic Christians speak the same dialects and are culturally similar to other Egyptians, they strongly oppose Arab identity and associate it with Islam and ].<ref name="CoptBirtannica">{{citation|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Copt|title=Britannica: Egyptian Christians - Copt|access-date=30 July 2023|website=britannica.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1038/srep09996|title = The genetics of East African populations: A Nilo-Saharan component in the African genetic landscape|year = 2015|last1 = Dobon|first1 = Begoña|last2 = Hassan|first2 = Hisham Y.|last3 = Laayouni|first3 = Hafid|last4 = Luisi|first4 = Pierre|last5 = Ricaño-Ponce|first5 = Isis|last6 = Zhernakova|first6 = Alexandra|last7 = Wijmenga|first7 = Cisca|last8 = Tahir|first8 = Hanan|last9 = Comas|first9 = David|last10 = Netea|first10 = Mihai G.|last11 = Bertranpetit|first11 = Jaume|journal = Scientific Reports|volume = 5|page = 9996|pmid = 26017457|pmc = 4446898|bibcode = 2015NatSR...5E9996D| issn = 2045-2322 }}</ref> In Egypt, Copts have a relatively higher ], a relatively higher ], and a stronger representation in ], but limited representation in military and security agencies. The majority of demographic, socio-economic, and health indicators are similar among Christians and ].<ref name="ReferenceB">Mohamoud YA, Cuadros DF, Abu-Raddad LJ. Characterizing the Copts in Egypt: Demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators, QScience Connect 2013:22 {{doi|10.5339/connect.2013.22}}</ref>


==Etymology== ==Etymology==
{{further|Name of Egypt}}
{{Copts}}
In their own ], the Copts referred to themselves as ''rem en kēme'' (Sahidic) <font size = 4><span lang="cop-Copt" xml:lang="cop-Copt" style="font-size:100%;font-family:'Arial Coptic', 'New Athena Unicode', 'MPH 2B Damase', 'Quivira', 'Analecta';">ⲣⲙⲛⲕⲏⲙⲉ</span></font>, ''lem en kēmi'' (]), ''rem en khēmi'' (Bohairic) <font size = 4><span lang="cop-Copt" xml:lang="cop-Copt" style="font-size:100%;font-family:'Arial Coptic', 'New Athena Unicode', 'MPH 2B Damase', 'Quivira', 'Analecta';">ⲣⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ</span></font>, which literally means "people of Egypt" or "Egyptians"; cf. ] ''{{Unicode|rmṯ}} n ]'', ] ''rmt n kmỉ''.


The English language adopted the word ''Copt'' in the 17th century from ] ''Coptus, Cophtus'', which derives from the ] collective {{transl|ar|qubṭ / qibṭ}} {{lang|ar|قبط|rtl=yes}} "the Copts" with ] adjective {{transl|ar|qubṭī, qibṭī}} {{lang|ar|قبطى|rtl=yes}}, plural {{transl|ar|aqbāṭ}} {{lang|ar|أقباط|rtl=yes}}; Also ''quftī, qiftī'' (where the Arabic {{IPAslink|f}} reflects the historical Coptic {{IPAslink|p}}) an Arabisation of the ] word ⲁⲓⲅⲩⲡⲧⲓⲟⲛ ''aiguption'' (]) or ⲕⲩⲡⲧⲁⲓⲟⲛ ''kuptaion'' (]). The Coptic word in turn represents an adaptation of the Greek term for the indigenous people of Egypt, {{transl|grc|Aigýptios}} ({{lang|grc|Αἰγύπτιος}}).<ref name="Cambridge">{{cite book|last1= Ackroyd|first1= P. R.|last2= Evans|first2= C. F.|title= The Cambridge History of the Bible: Volume 1, From the Beginnings to Jerome |date= 1963 |publisher= Cambridge University Press|isbn= 978-0-521-09973-8|page= 27|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=QnG2067meU0C&pg=PA27|access-date= 16 October 2016}}</ref>
References to ''Copts'' in the ] are both Greek and Coptic in origin. The words ''kuptaion'' (]) and ''kubti'' (]) are attested, but are used in the surviving texts to refer to the language, rather than the people; these both derive from Greek Αἴγύπτιος ''aiguptios'' "Egyptian".


The Greek term for Egypt, ''Aígyptos'' ({{langx|grc|Αἴγυπτος}}), itself derives from the ], but dates to a much earlier period, being attested already in ] as ''a<sub>3</sub>-ku-pi-ti-jo'' (lit. "Egyptian"; used here as a man's name). This Mycenaean form probably comes from ] {{lang|egy-Latn|]}} (reconstructed pronunciation /ħawitˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħajiʔˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħəjˌkuʔpəˈtaħ/, ] ''Hut-ka-Ptah''), literally "estate/palace of the ] ("double" spirit) of ]" (compare ] {{lang|akk-Latn|<sup>ālu</sup>ḫi-ku-up-ta-aḫ}}), the name of the temple complex of the god ] at ] (and a ] for the city of Memphis and the region around it).
The English word ''Copt'' is from ''Coptus'', which is derived from ] {{Unicode|''qubṭi''}} قبطي (pl: {{Unicode|qubṭ}} قبط and {{Unicode|aqbāṭ}} أقباط), an Arabisation of the ] word ''kubti'' (]) and/or ''kuptaion'' (]). After they invaded Egypt in 641 A.D. the Arabs called the indigenous population of the country ''Gypt''. Up until that time, the indigenous Egyptians referred to themselves as ''rem.en.kimi'' which means ''Egyptians'' in ]. The Arabic word {{Unicode|''qubṭi''}} is in turn derived from the ] word {{polytonic|Αἰγύπτιος}}, ''aiguptios'': "Egyptian", from {{polytonic|Αἴγυπτος}}, ''aiguptos'': "Egypt".
{{Hiero | ''Hut-ka-Ptah'' | <hiero>p:t-H-Hwt-t:pr-kA:Z1-t:niwt</hiero> | align=left| era=default}}


The term ''Aigýptios'' in Greek came to designate the native Egyptian population in ] (as distinct from Greeks, Romans, Jews, etc.). After the ] (639-646) it became restricted to those Egyptians adhering to the Christian religion.<ref>"The people of Egypt before the Arab conquest in the 7th century identified themselves and their language in Greek as Aigyptios (Arabic qibt, Westernized as Copt); when Egyptian Muslims later ceased to call themselves Aigyptioi, the term became the distinctive name of the Christian minority." . ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. 2007</ref>
The Greek term for "Egypt" has a long history. It goes back to the ] (an early form of Greek) where the word ''a<sub>3</sub>-ku-pi-ti-jo'' (lit. "Egyptian"; used here as a man's name) was written in ]. This Mycenaean form is likely from ] {{Unicode|''ḥwt-k3-ptḥ''}} ("Hut-ka-Ptah"), literally "Estate (or 'House') of the ] of ]" (cf. ] {{Unicode|''<sup>ālu</sup>ḫi-ku-up-ta-aḫ''}}), the name of the temple complex of the god ] at ]. As the chief temple precinct of the capital of ], the name was applied to the entire city of Memphis and ultimately to the country as a whole.


The Coptic name for ], ''remənkhēmi'' ({{langx|cop|ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ}}), is realized in ] as ⲗⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲕⲏⲙⲉ ''lemenkēmi'' and as ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲕⲏⲙⲉ ''remənkēme'' in the Sahidic dialect; cf. Egyptian {{lang|egy-Latn|rmṯ n ]}}, Demotic {{lang|egy-Latn|rmṯ n kmỉ}}.
Therefore, the word ''Copt'' simply means Egyptian<ref>http://books.google.com/books?id=sq2f0eU7vSgC&pg=PA198</ref>
. This is why many contemporary Muslims in Egypt say they are both Muslims and Copts. However, in contemporary usage, the word Copt or Coptic refers only to the Christian population of Egypt.<ref name="copts.net">http://www.copts.net/history.asp</ref>.
A similar situation is observed in the name ''Memphis'' , which comes from the Egyptian name of the ] complex of ] ], ''mn nfr ppy'' (lit. "Established in Perfection or 'Beauty' is Pepy") at ] but which was applied to the nearby capital city. Interestingly, this usage survived in Sahidic as ''Gupton'' and ''Kupton'', meaning "Memphis". In modern ], ] is usually called ''Masr'', which is also the name of Egypt.


The older theory which states that the Arabic word {{Unicode|''qibṭ''}} "Copt" was an Arabisation of the Greek name of the town of Κόπτος '']'' (modern day {{Unicode|''Qifṭ''}}; Coptic ''Kebt'' and ''Keft'') is generally no longer accepted. The Arabic word {{transl|ar|qibṭ}} "Copt" has also been connected{{by whom|date=March 2019}} to the Greek name of the town of Kóptos ({{langx|grc-x-koine|Κόπτος}}, now ]; Coptic ''Kebt'' and ''Keft'') in ]. This association may have contributed to making "Copt" the settled form of the name.<ref>] s.v. "Copt".</ref>


The ] meaning of the word therefore pertains to all people of Egyptian origins, not only those who profess Coptic Orthodoxy. Medieval writers before the ] period often used the words ''Copts'' and ''Egyptians'' interchangeably to describe all the people of Egypt whether Christian or Muslim. After the bulk of the Egyptian population was pushed to convert to Islam, the word Copt came to be associated with Egyptians who retained their Christianity. In the 20th century, some Egyptian nationalists and intellectuals began using the term Copts in the historical sense. For example, Markos Pasha Semeika, founder of the ], addressed a group of Egyptian students in these words: "All of you are Copts. Some of you are Muslim Copts, others are Christian Copts, but all of you are descended from the Ancient Egyptians".<ref>qtd. in M. Hussein. ''el Ittigahat el Wataneyya fil Adab el {{Unicode|Muʻaṣir}}'' . Vol. 2. Cairo, 1954</ref> In the 20th century, some Egyptian nationalists and intellectuals in the context of ] began using the term {{transl|ar|qubṭ}} in the historical sense.<ref>qtd. in M. Hussein. {{transl|ar|el Ittigahat el Wataneyya fil Adab el Muʻaṣir}} ''''. Vol. 2. Cairo, 1954.</ref>


==History== ==History==
{{Main|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria}} {{Main|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|History of Christianity in Egypt}}
]]] ]]]
], circa 1850]]


The Copts are one of the oldest Christian communities in the ]. Although integrated in the larger Egyptian nation, the Copts have survived as a distinct religious community forming around 20% of the population,<ref name="The world factbook/Egypt/"/><ref name="IPS News"/><ref name="christianpost.com"/><ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt"/><ref name="FCO/Egypt/"/><ref name="LOOKLEX Encyclopedia/Egypt/Religions&Peoples"/><ref name="msn encarta/Egypt"/><ref>] (Citing pop. estimates)]</ref><ref> <Online>. ''Egypt''. Accessed ], ].</ref> though estimates vary (see ]). They pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church whose founder was the first in an unbroken chain of patriarchs. 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 ] forming around 5 to 20 percent of the population.<ref name="Pew Coptic population">{{cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/2011/02/16/how-many-christians-are-there-in-egypt/|title=How many Christians are there in Egypt?|last1=Hackett|first1=Conrad|date=16 February 2011|website=Pew Research Center}}</ref><ref name="FCO/Egypt/" /><ref name="The world factbook/Egypt/">{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/egypt/|title=Egypt from "The World Factbook"|date=September 4, 2008|publisher=]}}</ref><ref name="nlgsolutions1"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324214315/http://www.nlgsolutions.com/packages/show_country.asp?countryid=EG |date=2016-03-24 }} <Online>. ''Egypt''. Retrieved 28 September 2008.</ref> They pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church: its founder was the first in an unbroken chain of patriarchs. The main body has been out of communion with the Roman Catholic Church since the 5th century AD.<ref>{{cite book |last1=OSB |first1=Hugh Somerville Knapman |title=Ecumenism of Blood: Heavenly Hope for Earthly Communion |date=2018 |publisher=Paulist Press |isbn=978-1-58768-744-0 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-GObDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT87 |language=en}} "The Coptic church, however, is not in communion with Rome due to the fifth-century Christological maelstrom of heresies that resulted from an attempt to more fully understand the identity of Christ."</ref>


===Foundation of the Egyptian Christian Church=== ===Foundation of the Christian Church in Egypt===
According to ancient tradition, ] was introduced to the ] by ] in ], shortly after the ascension of ] and during the reign of the ] ] ] around 42 A.D.<ref>], the author of Ecclesiastical History in the fourth century, states that st. Mark came to Egypt in the first or third year of the reign of Emperor Claudius, i.e. 41 or 43 A.D. "Two Thousand years of Coptic Christianity" Otto F.A. Meinardus p28.</ref> The legacy that ] left in ] was a considerable ] community in ]. From Alexandria, ] spread throughout ] within half a century of ]'s arrival in ], as is clear from a fragment of the ], written in ], which was found in ] and can be dated to the first half of the second century, and the ] writings found in ], in ], which date around the year 200 A.D. In the second century, ] began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into the local language, today known as the ] (which was called ''the Egyptian language'' at the time). By the beginning of the 3rd century A.D., ]s constituted the majority of ]’s population, and the ] was recognized as one of ]'s four Apostolic Sees, second in honor only to the ]. The ] is therefore the oldest church in ]. According to ancient tradition, ] was introduced to present day ] by ] in ], shortly after the ascension of ] and during the reign of the ] emperor ] around 42&nbsp;AD.<ref>], the author of Ecclesiastical History in the fourth century, states that St. Mark came to Egypt in the first or third year of the reign of Emperor Claudius, i.e., 41 or 43&nbsp;AD. "Two Thousand years of Coptic Christianity" Otto F.A. Meinardus p.&nbsp;28.</ref> The legacy that St. Mark left in Egypt was a considerable Christian community in Alexandria. Within half a century of St. Mark's arrival Christianity had spread throughout Egypt. This is clear from a fragment of the ], written in ] and found in ] that can be dated to the first half of the 2nd century, and the ] writings found in ], in ], which date around 200&nbsp;AD. In the 2nd century, Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into Coptic (then known as ''Egyptian''). By the beginning of the 3rd century&nbsp;AD, ] constituted the majority of Egypt's population, and the ] was recognized as one of ]'s four apostolic sees, second in honor only to the ].{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}} The Church of Alexandria is therefore the oldest Christian church in Africa.


===Contributions to Christianity=== ===Contributions to Christianity===
The Egyptians contributed immensely to the formation of the worldwide ] mind. For example, the Catechetical School of Alexandria was the oldest catechetical school in the world. Founded around 190 A.D. by the scholar ], the school of Alexandria became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as ], ], ], and the great ], who was considered the father of theology and who was also active in the field of commentary and comparative Biblical studies. However, the scope of this school was not limited to theological subjects; science, mathematics and humanities were also taught there. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before ], wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read and write. The Copts in Egypt contributed immensely to Christian tradition. The ] School of Alexandria was the oldest school of its kind in the world. Founded around 190&nbsp;AD by the scholar ], the school became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as ], ], ], and ], the father of theology who was also active in the field of commentary and comparative ]. However, the scope of this school was not limited to theological subjects: science, mathematics and humanities were also taught there. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before ], wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read and write.


Another major contribution made by the Egyptians to ] was the creation and organization of ]. The most prominent figures of the monastic movement were ], ], ], ] and ]. By the end of the fifth century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. Worldwide Christian monasticism stems, either directly or indirectly, from the Egyptian example. Thus, ] Archbishop of ], and the founder and organiser of the monastic movement in ], visited ] around 357 A.D. and his monastic rules are followed by the ]; ], who translated the ] into ], came to ] while en route to ] around 400 A.D. and left details of his experiences in his letters; and ] founded the ] in the sixth century on the model of ], although in a stricter form. Countless pilgrims have visited the Egyptian ] to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. Another major contribution the Egyptian Copts made to ] was the creation and organization of ]. Worldwide Christian monasticism stems, either directly or indirectly, from the Egyptian example.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}} The most prominent figures of the monastic movement were ], ], ], ] and ].


By the end of the 5th century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. Since then pilgrims have visited the Egyptian ] to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. ] Archbishop of ], and the founder and organiser of the monastic movement in ], visited Egypt around 357&nbsp;AD and his monastic rules are followed by the ]. ], who translated the ] into ], came to ] while en route to ] around 400&nbsp;AD, leaving details of his experiences in his letters. ] founded the ] in the 6th century on the model of ], although in a stricter form. ] practice male ] as a rite of passage.<ref name=Columbia_encyc_2011_circ>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2011 |title=Circumcision |encyclopedia=Columbia Encyclopedia |publisher=Columbia University Press |url=http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/science/circumcision.html }}</ref>
===The Ecumenical Councils===
The Egyptians also played a major role in the first three ]s. Thus, the ] (325 AD) was presided over by ], along with ]. In addition, the most prominent figure of the council was the future ] ], who played the major role in the formulation of the ], recited today in most Christian churches of different denominations. One of the council's decisions was to entrust the ] with calculating and annually announcing the exact date of ] to the rest of the Christian churches. The ] (381 AD) was presided over by ], while the ] (431 AD) was presided over by ]. Undoubtedly, the fact that the first three ]s in the history of ] were headed by Egyptian patriarchs attested to the major contributions that the ] has contributed to the establishment of early Christian theology and dogma.


===Council of Chalcedon=== ===Coptic Greeks===
{{further|Coptic Greeks}}
In 451 A.D., following the ], the ] was divided into two branches. Those who accepted the terms of the Council became known as ]s or ]. Those who did not abide by the Council's terms were labeled ]s or ] (and later ''Jacobites'' after ]). The ]s, however, rejected the term ] as erroneous and insisted on being called ]. The majority of the ] belonged to the ] branch, which led to their persecution by the ] in ].
], ]]]


The ] reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the Hellenized Middle East.
===The Arab-Muslim Invasion of Egypt===
] in ].]]
In 641 A.D., ] was invaded by the ] who faced off with the ] army, but found little to no resistance from the native Egyptian population. Local resistance by the Egyptians however began to materialize shortly thereafter and would last until at least the ninth century.<ref>Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (2 vols., Bulaq, 1854), by ]</ref><ref>Chronicles, by ]</ref>


By the time of Roman emperor ] in the 2nd century AD, ethnic Egyptians could be distinguished from Egyptian Greeks only by their speech.<ref>qtd. in Alan K. Bowman, ''Egypt after the Pharaohs, 332 BC – AD 642'', Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, p. 126: "genuine Egyptians can easily be recognized among the linen-weavers by their speech."</ref>
The ] imposed a special tax, known as ], on the ] who acquired the status of ], and all native Egyptians were prohibited from joining the army. Egyptian converts to Islam in turn were relegated to the status of ]. Heavy taxation was one of the reasons behind Egyptian organized resistance against the new occupying power, as well as the decline of the number of Christians in Egypt. The Arabs' oppression of the Egyptians led the latter to mount several armed rebellions against the Arabs, some of which, such as that of the Beshumurians in the ] were successful.<ref name="copts.net"/>


Egyptian Greek is the variety of Greek spoken in Egypt from antiquity until the ] in the 7th century. Egyptian Greek adopted many loanwords from ]; there was a great deal of intracommunity ] in Egypt.<ref name="papyrology">{{cite book |title=Papyrology and the History of Early Islamic Egypt|author=Lennart Sundelin|author2=Petra Sijpesteijn|publisher=Brill|year=2004|pages=165}}</ref><ref name="postclassicalbyzantinegreek">{{cite book |title=Varieties of Post-classical and Byzantine Greek|author=Lennart Sundelin|author2=Petra Sijpesteijn|publisher=De Gruyter|year=2020|pages=447}}</ref>
The ] in the 7th century seldom used the term ''Egyptian'', and used instead the term ''Copt'' to describe the people of Egypt. Thus, ] became known as ''Copts'', and the non-Chalcedonian Egyptian Church became known as the ]. The Chalcedonian Church remained known as the ]. In their own native language, ] referred to themselves as ''rem-en-kimi'', which translates into ''those of Egypt''. Religious life remained largely undisturbed following the Arab occupation, as evidence by the rich output of Coptic arts in monastic centers in Old Cairo (]) and throughout Egypt. Conditions, however, worsened shortly after that, and in the eighth and ninth centuries, during the period of the great national resistance against the Arabs, Muslim rulers banned the use of human forms in art (taking advantage of an iconoclastic conflict in ]) and consequently destroyed many Coptic paintings and frescoes in churches.<ref>Kamil, p. 41</ref>


The following is an example of Egyptian Greek language, used in the ]:
The ] period of Islamic rule in Egypt was tolerant with the exception of the violent persecutions of caliph ]. The Fatimid rulers employed Copts in the government and participated in Coptic and local Egyptian feasts. Major renovation and reconstruction of churches and monasteries were also undertaken. Coptic arts flourished, reaching new heights in Middle and Upper Egypt.<ref>Kamil, op cit.</ref> Persecution of Egyptian Christians, however, reached a peak in the early ] period following the ]. Many forced conversions of Christians took place. Monasteries were occasionally raided and destroyed by marauding Bedouin, but were rebuilt and reopened.

{{blockquote|'''ⲇⲟⲝⲁ ⲡⲁⲧⲣⲓ ⲕⲉ ⲩⲓⲱ: ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲅⲓⲱ ⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁⲧⲓ: ⲕⲉ ⲛⲩⲛ ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲓ̀ ⲕⲉ ⲓⲥ ⲧⲟⲩⲥ ⲉⲱⲛⲁⲥ ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉ̀ⲱ̀ⲛⲱⲛ ⲁ̀ⲙⲏⲛ'''}}
{{blockquote|Δόξα Πατρὶ κὲ Υἱῷ κὲ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, κὲ νῦν κὲ ἀῒ κὲ ἰς τοὺς ἐῶνας τῶν ἐώνων. Ἀμήν.}}
{{blockquote|Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.}}

{{multiple image
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| image1 = Ritratto funebre di giovane soldato con diadema e cinturone reggi spada, da fayum, 100-150 dc ca.JPG
| image2 = Testa di donna, egitto romano, 130-160 dc ca.jpg| caption1 = An Egyptiot centurion
| caption2 = An Egyptiot woman
}}

According to Walker, early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by the Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek.<ref>Walker, Susan, ''op cit.'', p. 24</ref> The dental morphology<ref>Dentition helps archaeologists to assess biological and ethnic population traits and relationships</ref> of the Roman-period Faiyum mummies was also compared with that of earlier Egyptian populations, and was found to be "much more closely akin" to that of ancient Egyptians than to Greeks or other European populations.<ref>Irish JD (2006). "Who were the ancient Egyptians? Dental affinities among Neolithic through postdynastic peoples.". ''Am J Phys Anthropol'' 129 (4): 529-43</ref> Victor J. Katz notes that "research in papyri dating from the early centuries of the common era demonstrates that a significant amount of intermarriage took place between the Greek and Egyptian communities".<ref name="Katz 184">Victor J. Katz (1998). ''A History of Mathematics: An Introduction'', p. 184. Addison Wesley, {{ISBN|0-321-01618-1}}: "''But what we really want to know is to what extent the Alexandrian mathematicians of the period from the first to the fifth centuries C.E. were Greek. Certainly, all of them wrote in Greek and were part of the Greek intellectual community of Alexandria. And most modern studies conclude that the Greek community coexisted So should we assume that ] and ], ] and ] were ethnically Greek, that their ancestors had come from Greece at some point in the past but had remained effectively isolated from the Egyptians? It is, of course, impossible to answer this question definitively. But research in papyri dating from the early centuries of the common era demonstrates that a significant amount of intermarriage took place between the Greek and Egyptian communities And it is known that Greek marriage contracts increasingly came to resemble Egyptian ones. In addition, even from the founding of Alexandria, small numbers of Egyptians were admitted to the privileged classes in the city to fulfill numerous civic roles. Of course, it was essential in such cases for the Egyptians to become "Hellenized," to adopt Greek habits and the Greek language. Given that the Alexandrian mathematicians mentioned here were active several hundred years after the founding of the city, it would seem at least equally possible that they were ethnically Egyptian as that they remained ethnically Greek. In any case, it is unreasonable to portray them with purely European features when no physical descriptions exist.''"</ref>

Modern day Copts use predominantly Arabic and Coptic, the latter being the direct descendent of the Ancient Egyptian language. For instance, the ] in the ] is recited in the native ] as follows:

{{blockquote|
{{coptic|'''Ϧⲉⲛ ⲫ̀ⲣⲁⲛ ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲓⲱⲧ: ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡ̀ϣⲏⲣⲓ: ⲛⲉⲙ Ⲡⲓⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁ ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ: ⲟⲩⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲱⲧ: Ⲁⲙⲏⲛ<br>'''
'''Ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲱⲧ ⲉⲧϧⲉⲛ ⲛⲓⲫⲏⲟⲩⲓ: ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲧⲟⲩⲃⲟ ⲛ̀ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲣⲁⲛ: ⲙⲁⲣⲉⲥⲓ ⲛ̀ϫⲉ ⲧⲉⲕⲙⲉⲧⲟⲩⲣⲟ: ⲡⲉⲧⲉϩⲛⲁⲕ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥϣⲱⲡⲓ<br>'''
'''Ⲙ̀ⲫⲣⲏϯ ϧⲉⲛ ⲧ̀ⲫⲉ ⲛⲉⲙ ϩⲓϫⲉⲛ ⲡⲓⲕⲁϩⲓ<br>'''
'''ⲡⲉⲛⲱⲓⲕ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ⲣⲁⲥϯ ⲙⲏⲓϥ ⲛⲁⲛ ⲙ̀ⲫⲟⲟⲩ<br>'''
'''Ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲭⲁ ⲛⲏⲉⲧⲉⲣⲟⲛ ⲛⲁⲛ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ: ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲣⲏϯ ϩⲱⲛ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲛⲭⲱ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̀ⲛⲏⲉⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛ̀ⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲣⲱⲟⲩ<br>'''
'''Ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉⲣⲉⲛⲧⲉⲛ ⲉϧⲟⲩⲛ ⲉ̀ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲥⲙⲟⲥ: ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛⲁϩⲙⲉⲛ ⲉⲃⲟⲗϩⲁ ⲡⲓⲡⲉⲧϩⲱⲟⲩ<br>'''
'''Ϧⲉⲛ Ⲡⲭ̅ⲥ̅ Ⲓⲏ̅ⲥ̅ Ⲡⲉⲛⲟ̅ⲥ̅<br>'''
'''Ϫⲉ ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯⲙⲉⲧⲟⲩⲣⲟ ⲛⲉⲙ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ. Ⲁⲙⲏⲛ.'''}}
}}

{{blockquote|In the Name of the Father: and the Son: and the Holy Spirit: One God: Amen<br>
Our Father Who art in heaven: hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done<br>
On earth as it is in heaven<br>
Give us this day our daily bread<br>
And forgive us our trespasses: as we forgive those who trespass against us<br>
And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil one<br>
In Christ Jesus our Lord<br>
For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.}}

===Ecumenical councils===
The major contributions that the ] has contributed to the establishment of early Christian theology and dogma are attested to by fact that the first three ]s in the history of ] were headed by Egyptian patriarchs. The ] (325&nbsp;AD) was presided over by ], along with ]. In addition, the most prominent figure of the council was the future Patriarch of Alexandria ], who played the major role in the formulation of the ], recited today in most Christian churches of different denominations. One of the council's decisions was to entrust the ] with calculating and annually announcing the exact date of ] to the rest of the Christian churches. The ] (381&nbsp;AD) was presided over by ], while the ] (431&nbsp;AD) was presided over by ].

===Council of Chalcedon===
In 451&nbsp;AD, following the ], the ] was divided into two branches. Those who accepted the terms of the Council became known as ]s or ]s. Those who did not abide by the council's terms were labeled ]s or ] and later Jacobites after ]. The ]s, however, rejected the term ] as erroneous and referred to themselves as ]. The majority of the ] belonged to the ] branch, which led to their persecution by the ] in ].

===Arab conquest of Egypt===
{{Main|Islamization of Egypt}}
] in ]]]

In 641&nbsp;AD, ] was conquered by the ] who faced off with the ] army. Local resistance by the Egyptians however began to materialize shortly thereafter and would last until at least the 9th century.<ref>Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (2 vols., Bulaq, 1854), by ]</ref><ref>Chronicles, by ]</ref> Despite the political upheaval, Egypt remained mainly Christian, but Coptic Christians lost their majority status after the 14th century,<ref name="FA">{{cite journal|last1=Shea|first1=Nina|title=Do Copts have a future in Egypt|journal=Foreign Affairs|date=June 2017|url=https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2017-06-20/do-copts-have-future-egypt|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620201311/https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/egypt/2017-06-20/do-copts-have-future-egypt|archive-date=2017-06-20|url-access=subscription}}</ref> as a result of the intermittent persecution and the destruction of the Christian churches there.<ref name="auto"/> From the ] onwards, the Coptic Christians were persecuted by different Muslim regimes,<ref name="auto1"/> such as the ],<ref>H. Patrick Glenn, Legal Traditions of the World. Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 219.</ref> ],<ref>{{cite book|last=Goddard|first=Hugh|title=A History of Christian–Muslim Relations|date=2000|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|isbn=1566633400 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Bq2oLEvHzl8C&pg=PA71 |page=71|access-date=20 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Frank |last=Feder |chapter=The Bashmurite Revolts in the Delta and the ‘Bashmuric Dialect’ |title=Christianity and Monasticism in Northern Egypt: Beni Suef, Giza, Cairo, and the Nile Delta |editor-first1=Gawdat |editor-last1=Gabra |editor-first2=Hany N. |editor-last2=Takla |year=2017 |publisher=American University in Cairo Press |pages=33–35}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author-link=Ira M. Lapidus |first=Ira M. |last=Lapidus |title=The Conversion of Egypt to Islam |journal=Israel Oriental Studies |volume=2 |year=1972 |page=257}}</ref> ],<ref name="Robert Ousterhout 1989 pp. 66-78">Robert Ousterhout, "Rebuilding the Temple: Constantine Monomachus and the Holy Sepulchre" in ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', Vol. 48, No. 1 (March, 1989), pp.66–78</ref><ref name="Saunders2002">{{cite book|author=John Joseph Saunders|title=A History of Medieval Islam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_d2KAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT109|date=11 March 2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-93005-0|pages=109–}}</ref><ref name="Rustow2014">{{cite book|author=]|title=Heresy and the Politics of Community: The Jews of the Fatimid Caliphate|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MGWsBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT219|date=3 October 2014|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-5529-2|pages=219–}}</ref> ],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Teule|first1=Herman G. B.|editor1-last=Thomas|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Mallett|editor2-first=Alex|title=Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical History, Volume 5 (1350-1500)|date=2013|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004252783|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgy7SN3ZixsC&pg=PA11|chapter=Introduction: Constantinople and Granada, Christian-Muslim Interaction 1350-1516 |page=10}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Coptic Identity and Ayyubid Politics in Egypt, 1218-1250| first= Kurt J.|last=Werthmuller |year= 2010| isbn =9780805440737| page = 76|publisher= American Univ in Cairo Press}}</ref> and ]; the ] Christians included closing and demolishing churches, ] to ],<ref name="auto2"/><ref>{{cite book|title=The Coptic Papacy in Islamic Egypt (641-1517)| first=Mark |last= N. Swanson|year= 2010| isbn= 9789774160936| page =54|publisher=American Univ in Cairo Press|quote= By late 1012 the persecution had moved into high gear with demolitions of churches and the forced conversion of Christian ...}}</ref><ref>ha-Mizraḥit ha-Yiśreʼelit, Ḥevrah (1988). Asian and African Studies, Volume 22. Jerusalem Academic Press. Muslim historians note the destruction of dozens of churches and the forced conversion of dozens of people to Islam under al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah in Egypt ...These events also reflect the Muslim attitude toward forced conversion and toward converts.</ref> and heavy ]es for those who refused to convert.<ref>{{Citation|title=Conversion, Exemption, and Manipulation: Social Benefits and Conversion to Islam in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages: Forcing taxes on those who refuse to convert|url=https://www.medievalworlds.net/0xc1aa5576%200x00372f27.pdf|quote= ʿUmar is depicted as having ordered that "the poll-tax should be taken from all men who would not become Muslims"}}</ref>


===Copts in modern Egypt=== ===Copts in modern Egypt===
{{Main|Copts in Egypt}}
]
{{further|Christianity in Egypt}}
The position of the Copts did not begin to improve until the rule of ] in the early 19th century, who abolished the ] and allowed Egyptians (Copts as well as Muslims) to enroll in the army. Conditions continued to improve throughout the nineteenth century under the leadership of the great reformer Pope ], and in the first half of the twentieth century (known as the ''Golden Age'' by the Copts) during Egypt's liberal period. Copts participated in the Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential positions. Two significant cultural achievements include the founding of the ] in 1910 and the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies in 1954. Some prominent Coptic thinkers from this period are ], ] and Secretary General of the ] ]. Following the 1952 coup d'état by the ], the conditions of the Copts have been slowly deteriorating and their human rights are often violated.
]


During the Ottoman period, Copts were classified alongside other Oriental Orthodox and Nestorian peoples under the ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Suny |first1=Ronald Grigor |title="They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else": A History of the Armenian Genocide|title-link=They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else |date=2015 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-6558-1|page=48}}</ref>
In 1952, ] led some army officers in a ] against ], which overthrew the Kingdom of Egypt and established a republic. ]'s mainstream policy was ] nationalism and socialism. The Copts were severely affected by Nasser's nationalization policies because, although they represented about 20% of the population, they were so economically prosperous as to have held more than 50% of the country's wealth. In addition, Nasser's pan-Arab policies undermined the Copts' strong attachment to and sense of identity about their Egyptian pre-Arab, and certainly non-Arab, identity. As a result, many Copts left their country for Australia, North America or Europe.<ref>http://www.freecopts.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16874</ref><ref>http://www.orderofmaltacolombia.org/news_files/en_News_faith_01.htm</ref><ref>http://www.netanyahu.org/strugaginemc.html</ref>


Under Muslim rule, Christians paid special taxes, had lower access to political power, and were exempt from military service. Their position improved dramatically under the rule of ] in the early 19th century. He abolished the ] (a tax on non-Muslims) and allowed Egyptians (Copts) to enroll in the army. ], who reigned from 1854–61, reformed the church and encouraged broader Coptic participation in Egyptian affairs. Khedive ], in power 1863–79, further promoted the Copts. He appointed them judges to Egyptian courts and awarded them political rights and representation in government. They flourished in business affairs.<ref name="ReferenceA"/>
Today, members of the ] ] constitute the majority of the Egyptian Christian population. Mainly through emigration and partly through ]an, ], and other missionary work and conversions, the Egyptian Christian community now also includes other ] denominations such as ] (known in Arabic as Evangelicals), ] and ]s, and other ] congregations. The term ''Coptic'' remains exclusive however to the Egyptian natives, as opposed to the Christians of non-Egyptian origins. Some Protestant churches for instance are called "Coptic Evangelical Church", thus helping differentiate their native Egyptian congregations from churches attended by non-Egyptian immigrant communities such as Europeans or Americans.


Some Copts participated in the Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential positions. Two significant cultural achievements include the founding of the ] in 1910 and the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies in 1954. Some prominent Coptic thinkers from this period are ], ] and Secretary General of the Wafd Party ].
In 2005 a group of Coptic activists created a ] to represent Copts worldwide.<ref></ref>


In 1952, ] led some army officers in a coup d'état against ], which overthrew the Kingdom of Egypt and established a republic. ]'s mainstream policy was ] nationalism and socialism. The Copts were severely affected by Nasser's nationalization policies, though they represented about 10 to 20 percent of the population.<ref name="nisan">{{Cite book | last = Nisan | first = Mordechai | title = Minorities in the Middle East | publisher = McFarland | year = 2002 | page = 144 | isbn = 978-0-7864-1375-1}}</ref> In addition, Nasser's pan-Arab policies undermined the Copts' strong attachment to and sense of identity about their Egyptian pre-Arab, and certainly non-Arab identity which resulted in permits to construct churches to be delayed along with Christian religious courts to be closed.<ref name= nisan />
The current head of the Coptic Orthodox Church is His Holiness ].


====Socioeconomic====
== Human rights ==
In Egypt, Copts have relatively higher ], relatively higher ] index, and a stronger representation in ] types than their Muslim counterparts, though they have limited representation in security agencies. The majority of demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators are similar among Copts and Muslims.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> Historically; many Copts were ], and in 1961 Coptic Christians owned 51% of the ].<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/accursed-superior-men-ethnoreligious-minorities-and-politics-in-the-medieval-mediterranean/EB9A103390FE521CB065862F5918BA07|title=Accursed, Superior Men: Ethno-Religious Minorities and Politics in the Medieval Mediterranean|date=3 October 2014|publisher= Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0010417514000425 |quote=In the mid-nineteenth century, Lane reported that many Copts were accountants, who served primarily in government bureaus. As late as 1961, Coptic Christians owned 51 percent of Egyptian banks.|last1=Catlos |first1=Brian A. |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=844–869 |s2cid=145603557 }}</ref> A ] study about ] around the world in 2016, found that around 26% of Egyptian Christians obtain a ] in institutions of ].<ref name="Pew2016">{{cite web |date=19 December 2011 |title=Religion and Education Around the World |url=http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/12/21094148/Religion-Education-ONLINE-FINAL.pdf |publisher=Pew Research Center |access-date=13 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222152619/http://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2016/12/21094148/Religion-Education-ONLINE-FINAL.pdf |archive-date=2016-12-22 |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{Main|Persecution of Copts|Religion in Egypt}}


According to the scholar Andrea Rugh Copts tend to belong to the educated ] and ],<ref>{{cite book|title=Christians in Egypt: Strategies and Survival|first=Andrea |last=B. Rugh |year= 2016| isbn=9781137566133| page =30|publisher=Springer|quote=}}</ref> and according to scholar Lois Farag "The Copts still played the major role in managing Egypt's state finances. They held 20% of total state capital, 45% of government employment, and 45% of government salaries".<ref>{{cite book|title=The Coptic Christian Heritage: History, Faith and Culture|first=Lois|last= M. Farag |year= 2013| isbn=9781134666843| page =83|publisher=Routledge|quote=The Copts, who were 7 percent of the population in the nineteenth century, still played the major role in managing Egypt's state finances. They held 20 percent of total state capital, 45 percent of government employment ...}}</ref> According to scholar J. D. Pennington 45% of the ], 60% of the ] of Egypt were Christians.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4282879|title=The Copts in Modern Egypt|date=3 October 1982|publisher= JSTOR|jstor=4282879 |last1=Pennington |first1=J. D. |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=158–179 |doi=10.1080/00263208208700503 }}</ref>
]. There are about 4 million Copts living outside of Egypt, and are known as the ''Diaspora Copts''.]]
] in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Coptic Christians, being the largest religious minority in Egypt, are also negatively affected. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 ] led by ]. Until recently, ] were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles and restrictions in building new churches. These restrictions do not apply for building mosques.<ref>WorldWide Religious News. . December 13, 2005.</ref><ref>Compass Direct News. . December 13, 2005.</ref>


A number of Coptic ] and land-owning families became very wealthy and influential such as the Egyptian Coptic Christian ]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.arabianbusiness.com/culture-society/432946-naguib-sawiris-if-god-wanted-women-to-be-veiled-he-would-have-created-them-with-veil |title=Naguib Sawiris: 'If God wanted women to be veiled, he would have created them with a veil' |website=Arabian Business |date=11 November 2019 }}</ref> that owns the ], spanning telecommunications, construction, tourism, industries and technology.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.arabianbusiness.com/richlist/profile/16|title=Arabian Business: The Sawiris Family|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100407183236/http://www.arabianbusiness.com/richlist/profile/16?|archive-date=7 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clickafrique.com/Magazine/ST014/CP0000003388.aspx|title=The richest men in Africa – 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921050058/http://www.clickafrique.com/Magazine/ST014/CP0000003388.aspx|archive-date=21 September 2017}}</ref> In 2008, '']'' estimated the family's net worth at $36 billion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Naguib-Sawiris_4MRK.html|title=#60 Naguib Sawiris - Forbes.com|website=www.forbes.com|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Nassef-Sawiris_FWHQ.html|title=#68 Nassef Sawiris - Forbes.com|website=www.forbes.com|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Onsi-Sawiris_PPZY.html|title=#96 Onsi Sawiris - Forbes.com|website=www.forbes.com|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/2008/10/billionaires08_Samih-Sawiris_L391.html|title=#396 Samih Sawiris - Forbes.com|website=www.forbes.com|access-date=2019-02-06}}</ref> According to scholars Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein argue that Copts have relatively higher ] and relatively higher ] index, due to ] emphasis on literacy and that ] encouraged the accumulation of human capital.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/comparative-studies-in-society-and-history/article/abs/accursed-superior-men-ethnoreligious-minorities-and-politics-in-the-medieval-mediterranean/EB9A103390FE521CB065862F5918BA07|title=Accursed, Superior Men: Ethno-Religious Minorities and Politics in the Medieval Mediterranean|date=3 October 2014|publisher= Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/S0010417514000425 |quote=|last1=Catlos |first1=Brian A. |journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=844–869 |s2cid=145603557 }}</ref>
The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the 2000-2001 El Kosheh attacks, in which Muslims and Christians were involved in bloody inter-religious clashes following a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian. "Twenty Christians and one Muslim were killed after violence broke out in the town of el-Kosheh, 440 kilometres (275 miles) south of Cairo".<ref name="Egyptian court orders clashes retrial">{{cite web|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1465023.stm|title= “Egyptian court orders clashes retrial”|date=July 30, 2001|publisher=]}}</ref> In 2006, one person who was claimed to be both drunk and mad, attacked three churches in ], left one dead and from 5 to 16 injured, although the attacker was not linked to any organisation.<ref name="Coptic Christians attacked in churches">{{cite web | last = Miles | first = Hugh| title= Coptic Christians attacked in churches| publisher= ] | date=April 15, 2006 | url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/1515829/Coptic-Christians-attacked-in-churches.html|accessdate=2008-10-07}}</ref><ref name=<ref>BBC. , April 15, 2006.</ref>


====Pharaonism====
] is a Copt who served as ]'s ''acting'' foreign minister twice under President ] (1977 and 1978–1979). Although ] later became the ], his appointment as an only ''acting'' foreign minister depicted ]'s systematic elimination of ] from all governmental influential positions. Today, only two Copts are on ]'s governmental cabinet: Finance Minister ] and Environment Minister Magued George. There is also currently one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the ]ian governorate of ], and the first Coptic governor in a few decades. In addition, ], an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, is a Copt. In 2002, under the ] government, ] (January the 7th) was recognized as an official holiday.<ref>ArabicNews.com. . December 20, 2002.</ref> However, many ] continue to complain of being minimally represented in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion.<ref>Freedom House. </ref><ref>Human Rights Watch. . 2005</ref> Most Copts do not support independence or separation movement from other Egyptians.<ref></ref>
{{Main|Pharaonism}}
{{See also|Coptic identity}}


Many Coptic intellectuals hold to ], which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian, ] Egyptian culture. It gives the Copts a claim to a deep heritage in Egyptian history and culture. Pharaonism was widely held by Coptic and Muslim scholars in the early 20th century, and it helped bridge the divide between those groups. Some scholars see Pharaonism as shaped by ].<ref>{{Citation | first = Jacques | last = van der Vliet | title = The Copts: 'Modern Sons of the Pharaohs'? | journal = Church History & Religious Culture |date=June 2009 | volume = 89 | issue = 1–3 | pages = 279–90 | doi=10.1163/187124109x407934}}.</ref><ref>{{cite book| first = Donald Malcolm | last = Reid| title= Whose Pharaohs?: Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I | chapter-url = https://books.google.com/books?id=FeviPDy08e8C&pg=PA258 |year= 2003|publisher= U. of California Press|pages= 258ff | chapter = 7| isbn = 9780520240698}}</ref>
While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to ], "Egyptians are able to ] to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents.<ref>.</ref> The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim.<ref>. 2004</ref> Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from ] to ] (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening.<ref>. November 03, 2003</ref> In 2007, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam.<ref>Shahine, Gihan. Ahram Weekly, 3 - May 9, 2007</ref> However, in February 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the decision, allowing 12 citizens who had reverted back to Christianity to re-list their religion on identity cards,<ref name="Egyptian Court Allows Return to Christianity">{{cite news | last = Audi | first = Nadim | title= Egyptian Court Allows Return to Christianity | work= ] | date= February 11, 2008 | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/world/africa/11egypt.html?ex=1360386000&en=03faf391c4592600&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss | accessdate=2008-10-07}}</ref><ref>]. . 2008-02-09.</ref> but they will specify that they had adopted Islam for a brief period of time.<ref>AFP. . February, 2008.</ref>


== Language == ==== Church affairs ====
], between 1898 and 1914.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Matson|first1=G. Olaf|title=The American Colony Guide-book to Jerusalem and Environs|date=1925|publisher=Vester|page=20|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KMLTAAAAMAAJ|access-date=7 September 2017|quote=Copts. A very small community representing the large Coptic Church in Egypt. Abyssinian. Also represented by a Bishop in Jerusalem. They, like the Copts, are Monophysites}}</ref>]]
{{Main|Coptic language}}{{Main|Egyptian language}}
{{contains Coptic text}}


Today, members of the ] Coptic Orthodox Church constitute the majority of the Egyptian Christian population. Mainly through emigration and partly through European, American, and other missionary work and conversions, the Egyptian Christian community now also includes other Christian denominations such as ] (known in Arabic as ]), ]s and ]s, and other ] congregations. The term ''Coptic'' remains exclusive however to the Egyptian natives, as opposed to the Christians of non-Egyptian origins. Some Protestant churches for instance are called "]", thus helping differentiate their native Egyptian congregations from churches attended by non-Egyptian immigrant communities such as Europeans or Americans.{{citation needed|date=January 2023}}
The Coptic language is the last stage of the ].


The previous head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, ], died 17 March 2012. On 4 November 2012, ] was chosen as the new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians. His name was selected from a glass bowl containing the three shortlisted candidates by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in ]'s ].<ref name=CNANKH-BBC-4NOV2012>{{cite news|title=Bishop Tawadros new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20192922|access-date=4 November 2012|date=4 November 2012|work=BBC News}}</ref>
{{Quote|Coptic should more correctly be used to refer to the script rather than the language itself. Even though this script was introduced as far back as the 1st century BC, it is usually applied to the writing of the Egyptian language from the first century AD to the present day.<ref></ref>}}


===Copts in modern Ethiopia===
Today, Coptic is the ] of the Egyptian Church and is also taught in Egypt and worldwide in many prestigious institutions.
{{main|Christianity in Ethiopia}}
Dialects of Coptic language:
*]: Theban or ]ian.
*]: The dialect of the ] and of the medieval and modern Coptic Church.
*]
*] (also known as Subakhmimic)
*]
*]


In Ethiopia the ] was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959 when it was granted its own patriarch by the ] ].
== Calendar ==
{{portalpar|Oriental Orthodoxy|ChristCopticArt.jpg}}


===Copts in modern Sudan===
{{Main|Coptic calendar}}
{{Main|Copts in Sudan}}
{{further|Christianity in Sudan}}
]]]


] has a native Coptic minority, although many Copts in Sudan are descended from more recent Egyptian immigrants.<ref name="unhcr1" /> Copts in Sudan live mostly in northern cities, including ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref name="unhcr1" /> Many Sudanese Copts have advanced educations.<ref name="unhcr1" /> They have occasionally faced forced ], resulting in their emigration and decrease in number.<ref name="unhcr1" />
The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the ] and also by ] as its official calendar (with different names). This ] is based on the ancient ]. To avoid the calendar creep of the latter, a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar was introduced at the time of ] (Decree of Canopus, in 238 BC) which consisted of the intercalation of a sixth ] every fourth year. However, this reform was opposed by the Egyptian priests, and the idea was not adopted until 25 BC, when the ] Emperor ] formally reformed the calendar of ], keeping it forever synchronized with the newly introduced ]. To distinguish it from the Ancient Egyptian calendar, which remained in use by some astronomers until medieval times, this reformed calendar is known as the Coptic calendar. Its years and months coincide with those of the ] but have different numbers and names.


Modern immigration of Copts to Sudan peaked in the early 19th century, and they generally received a tolerant welcome there. However, this was interrupted by a decade of persecution under ] at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="unhcr1" /> As a result of this persecution, many were forced to relinquish their faith, adopt ], and intermarry with the native Sudanese population. The ] in 1898 allowed Copts greater religious and economic freedom, and they extended their original roles as artisans and merchants into trading, banking, engineering, medicine, and the civil service. Proficiency in business and administration made them a privileged minority. However, the return of ] in the mid-1960s and subsequent demands by radicals for an ] prompted Copts to join in public opposition to religious rule.<ref name="unhcr1" />
==== Coptic year ====


]'s introduction of Islamic ] law in 1983 began a new phase of oppressive treatment of Copts, among other non-Muslims.<ref name="unhcr1" /> After the overthrow of Nimeiry, Coptic leaders supported a secular candidate in the 1986 elections. However, when the ] overthrew the elected government of ] with the help of the military, discrimination against Copts returned in earnest. Hundreds of Copts were dismissed from the civil service and judiciary.<ref name="unhcr1" />
]


In February 1991, a Coptic pilot working for ] was executed for illegal possession of foreign currency.<ref name="sudanupdate1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/PEOPLES/COPTS.HTM|title=Copts|website=www.sudanupdate.org}}</ref> Before his execution, he had been offered amnesty and money if he converted to ], but he refused. Thousands attended his funeral, and the execution was taken as a warning by many Copts, who began to flee the country.<ref name="sudanupdate1" />
The Coptic year is the extension of the ancient Egyptian civil year, retaining its subdivision into the three seasons, four months each. The three seasons are commemorated by special prayers in the Coptic Liturgy. This calendar is still in use all over Egypt by farmers to keep track of the various agricultural seasons. The Coptic calendar has 13 months, 12 of 30 days each and an intercalary month at the end of the year of 5 or 6 days, depending whether the year is a leap year or not. The year starts on 29 August in the ] or on the 30th in the year before (Julian) Leap Years. The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the Julian Calendar so that the extra month always has six days in the year before a Julian Leap Year.


Restrictions on the Copts' rights to Sudanese nationality followed, and it became difficult for them to obtain Sudanese nationality by birth or by naturalization, resulting in problems when attempting to travel abroad. The confiscation of Christian schools and the imposition of an Arab-Islamic emphasis in language and history teaching were accompanied by harassment of Christian children and the introduction of ] dress laws. A Coptic child was flogged for failing to recite a ] verse.<ref name="sudanupdate1" /> In contrast with the extensive media broadcasting of the Muslim ], the radio ceased coverage of the Christian Sunday service. As the civil war raged throughout the 1990s, the government focused its religious fervor on the south. Although experiencing discrimination, the Copts and other long-established Christian groups in the north had fewer restrictions than other types of Christians in the ].
The Feast of ] marks the first day of the Coptic year. Ignorant of the Egyptian language for the most part, the Arabs confused the Egyptian new year's celebrations, which the Egyptians called the feast of ''Ni-Yarouou'' (the feast the rivers), with the Persian feast of ].<ref>.</ref> The misnomer remains today, and the celebrations of the Egyptian new year on the first day of the month of Thout are known as the Neyrouz. Its celebration falls on the 1st day of the month of ], the first month of the Egyptian year, which for AD 1901 to 2098 usually coincides with 11 September, except before a Gregorian leap year when it's September 12. Coptic years are counted from AD 284, the year ] became Roman Emperor, whose reign was marked by tortures and mass executions of Christians, especially in Egypt. Hence, the Coptic year is identified by the abbreviation A.M. (for ''Anno Martyrum'' or "Year of the Martyrs"). The A.M. abbreviation is also used for the unrelated Jewish year (''Anno Mundi'').


As of 2010, the Coptic Church in Sudan was officially registered with the government, and exempt from property tax.<ref name="unhcr1" /> In 2005, the ] (GNU) named a Coptic Orthodox priest to a government position, though the ruling Islamist party remained dominant.<ref name="unhcr1" />
Every fourth Coptic year is a leap year ''without exception'', as in the Julian calendar, so the above mentioned new year dates apply only between AD 1900 and 2099 inclusive in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Julian Calendar, the new year is ''always'' 29 August, except before a Julian leap year when it's August 30. ] is reckoned by the Julian Calendar in the Old Calendarist way.


After the 2018 ], one Copt (]) was appointed in 2019 to the 11-member ], which was convened as part of plan to transition Sudan to democracy.<ref>Mohammed Alamin, , Voice of America (October 9, 2019).</ref> However, a ], led by ] and ], dissolved the council and halted the democratic transition; Christians, including Copts, were subjected to intensified persecution during a ].<ref name=JCasper2023>Jayson Casper, , ''Christianity Today'' (May 2, 2023).</ref> Many became refugees or were ].<ref name=JCasper2023/>
To obtain the Coptic year number, subtract from the Julian year number either 283 (before the Julian new year) or 284 (after it).


In 2023, Fikiru Mehari, an researcher for the Christian charity ], estimated that about 4% of Sudanese population was Christian; the majority of these were ] and members of the ] with a "smattering" of Coptic Orthodox and ] adherents.<ref name=Mehari>Fikiru Mehari, , ''The Tablet'' (April 28, 2023).</ref> A 2018 report by the ] said Sudanese Copts had previously estimated their numbers at 400,000 to 500,000,<ref>, Minority Rights Group (June 2018).</ref> about 1% of the Sudanese population,<ref name="unhcr1" /> but that emigration and conversion (including forced conversion) to Islam had decreased their number.<ref name=Mehari/>


==Demographics==
{{further|Christianity in Egypt|Christianity in Sudan|Christianity in Libya}}

Living in countries with Muslim majorities (Egypt, Sudan, Libya), the size of the population of Copts is a continuously disputed matter, frequently for reasons of religious jealousy and animosity.

The Coptic population ] is difficult to estimate because researchers are forbidden by Egyptian authorities to ask a survey participant's religion.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2016/06/20/what-egypt-under-sissi-is-really-like-for-coptic-christians/|title=What Egypt under Sissi is really like for Coptic Christians|last=Yerkes|first=Sarah|date=20 June 2016|quote=Egyptian authorities prevent surveyors from asking a participant's religion when doing research.}}</ref> As of 2019, "Copts are generally understood to make up approximately 10 percent of Egypt's population,"<ref name=Hanna>Michael Wahid Hanna, , ] (May 9, 2019).</ref> with an estimated population of 9.5 million (figure cited in the ''Wall Street Journal'', 2017)<ref name=RoccaKholaif>Francis X. Rocca & Dahlia Kholaif, , ''Wall Street Journal'' (April 29, 2017).</ref> or 10 million (figure cited in the ], 2019).<ref name=Elhennawy>Noha Elhennawy, , Associated Press (November 15, 2019).</ref> Smaller or larger figures have also been cited, in the range of "somewhere between 6% and 18% of the population,"<ref name=WSJ2015>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/briefly/2015/02/16/5-five-things-to-know-about-egypts-coptic-christians/|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=February 16, 2015|title=Five Things to Know About Egypt's Coptic Christians}}</ref> with the Egyptian government estimating lower numbers and the Coptic Orthodox Church estimating much higher numbers.<ref name=Hanna/> A lack of definite, reliable demographic data renders all estimates uncertain.<ref name=WSJ2015/><ref name=Hanna/> Despite challenges, Copts are well integrated in Egyptian society. The highest concentrations of Copts are in ], especially around ] and ].<ref name="Mohamoud Cuadros Abu-Raddad 2013 p. 22">{{cite journal | last1=Mohamoud | first1=Yousra A. | last2=Cuadros | first2=Diego F. | last3=Abu-Raddad | first3=Laith J. | title=Characterizing the Copts in Egypt: Demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators | journal=QScience Connect | issue=2013 | date=2013 | issn=2223-506X | doi=10.5339/connect.2013.22 | page=22}}</ref>

The ] is uncertain. A 2013 estimate by the ] placed the entire population of non-Muslim Libyans at 180,000 (roughly 3% of the country's population). However, the Coptic Orthodox Church in Libya estimated that its membership alone was 300,000, including those who do not regularly attend church services.<ref name=Tadros>{{cite book|editor=Daniel Philpott & Timothy Samuel Shah|chapter=Christians in Egypt, Libya, and Palestine Responding to the Aftermaths of the Arab Revolts|title=Under Caesar's Sword: How Christians Respond to Persecution|series=Cambridge Studies in Law and Christianity|author=Mariz Tadros|date=2018|publisher=Cambridge University Press|pages=108–113}}</ref> In 2011, there were three Coptic churches in the country. From 2011 to 2015, during the ], at least 200,000 Christians ]; during that time, Islamist militants such as the ], ], and ] violently persecuted Copts.<ref name=Tadros/>

===Diaspora===
{{Main|Coptic diaspora}}
] (]). There are about 1–2&nbsp;million Egyptian born Copts living outside of Egypt, and are known as the '']''.]]

Outside of the Coptic primary area of residence within parts of present-day Egypt (]), Sudan (]), and Libya (]), the largest Coptic diaspora population is located within the United States, Canada, and Australia.

The first Coptic Orthodox church in ] is St. Mark in Toronto; it was built in 1964.<ref name=Clark2016>Stanley A. Clark, "Coptic Orthodox Church" in ''Encyclopedia of Christianity in the United States'' (eds. George Thomas Kurian & Mark A. Lamport: Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), pp. 638-39.</ref> The first ], also called ], was built in ] shortly afterward.<ref name=Clark2016/> As of 2018, the ] population was estimated to be more than 500,000, with more than 250 Coptic churches in the United States at the time.<ref name=Telushkin2018/>

In the early 2010s, the Canadian Coptic Association estimates that the population of ] was 35,000.<ref name=CBC2011>, CBC News (January 4, 2011).</ref> By 2017, there were an estimated 50,000 Canadian Copts, with more than 80% living in ],<ref name=KermalliRNS2017/> many in the ].<ref name=CBC2011/>

The ] population has been estimated at 30,000 (], 2017)<ref>Steven Viney, , ABC News (April 10, 2017).</ref> to 100,000 (], 2018).<ref>Hannah Sinclair, , ] (January 7, 2018).</ref> The first Coptic Orthodox priest in Australia arrived in 1969; the ] is organized into two dioceses, the first based in ] (diocese organized in 1999) and the second in ] (diocese organized in 2002).<ref>{{cite book|title=Australia's Religious Communities: Facts and Figures from the 2011 Australian Census and Other Sources|page=78|date=2012|author=Philip J. Hughes, Margaret Fraser, and Stephen Breck Reid|publisher=]}}</ref> There is a single Coptic Catholic church in Australia, consecrated in 2019.<ref>Mary Brazell, , ''Catholic Outlook'' (March 18, 2019).</ref>

Smaller communities are found in ],<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2005/51603.htm|title=Kuwait|work=U.S. Department of State|access-date=2018-03-17}}</ref> the United Kingdom,<ref>Copts number at least 20,000 in Britain {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121192147/http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2631&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle |date=January 21, 2009 }} plus another 5,000 – 10,000 Copts who are directly under the </ref>
France (45,000),<ref name="la-croix.com" /> South Africa.<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.copticafrica.org/bookcomehelp3.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008090221/http://www.copticafrica.org/bookcomehelp3.htm|url-status=dead|title=Come Across And Help Us Book 2|archive-date=October 8, 2008}}</ref><ref name="CopticMission">{{Cite web|url=http://www.copticmission.org/copticmission|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131014720/http://www.copticmission.org/copticmission|url-status=dead|title=CopticMission|archive-date=January 31, 2011}}</ref>

] has a minor community of Copts; the '']'' reported in 2005 that the ] in the ] district of Amman had 8,000 members, mostly Egyptians.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926234617/http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm|url-status=dead|title=King commends Coptic Church's role in promoting coexistence|archive-date=September 26, 2011}}</ref> As of 2012, the ]'s Syriac League estimated that the Coptic population in that country numbered 3,000 to 4,000.<ref name="state2">{{cite news|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/nea/208400.htm |title=Lebanon|publisher=], ]|date=2013|work=2012 ]}}</ref> As of 2017, ] was home to between 6,000 and 10,000 Copts.<ref>, ] (January 7, 2017).</ref> In the 2020s, the Coptic Orthodox population of ] was estimated to be 10,000, although the 2001 Austrian census (the country's last to record religious affiliation) tallied just 1,633 Coptic Orthodox.<ref>Andreas Schmoller, , ''Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies'', vol. 8, no. 1 (2020).</ref> In ], the first Copts arrived in the 1960s, mostly students and those fleeing Egypt after the ]; the first Coptic church in Switzerland opened in 2004, when there were approximately 1,000 Copts in the country.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/history/orthodox-copts-open-church-in-switzerland/4000104|title=Orthodox Copts open church in Switzerland|last=Burnand|first=Frédéric|work=]|date=July 17, 2004 }}</ref> In ], there were approximately 1,000 Copts as of 2014, mostly residing in ].<ref>{{cite web |title=The ethnic origin of Christians in Israel |url=https://www.parshan.co.il/index2.php?id=11204&lang=HEB|website=parshan.co.il |language=he}}</ref>

==Persecution and discrimination in Egypt==
{{Main|Persecution of Copts|Religion in Egypt}}
{{Modern persecution of Coptic Christians}}

] in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Coptic Christians, being the largest religious minority in Egypt, are also negatively affected. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 ] led by ]. Until recently, ] were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles and restrictions in building new churches. These restrictions do not apply for building mosques. Copts face ethnic and racial discrimination as they are called Adma Zarqa or blue bone and كوفت From Coptic ⲅⲩⲡⲧⲓⲟⲥ (guptios, “Copt”). Hence a doublet of قبطي (ʔibṭi) and in fact the more native form, but apparently adopted by the Arabs in a mocking manner and is still used today by racists in Egypt.<ref>WorldWide Religious News. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090318161245/http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=19813&sec=36&cont=3|date=March 18, 2009}}. December 13, 2005.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=13 December 2005 |title=Egypt: Church Building Regulations Eased |url=http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=4132 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071017013530/http://www.compassdirect.org/en/display.php?page=news&lang=en&length=long&idelement=4132 |archive-date=17 October 2007 |work=Compass Direct News}}</ref>

The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes by Islamic extremists. The most significant was the 2000–01 El Kosheh attacks, in which Muslims and Christians were involved in bloody inter-religious clashes following a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian. "Twenty Christians and one Muslim were killed after violence broke out in the town of el-Kosheh, {{convert|440|km|mi}} south of Cairo".<ref name="Egyptian court orders clashes retrial">{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/1465023.stm|title= Egyptian court orders clashes retrial|date=July 30, 2001|work=BBC News}}</ref> In February 2001 a new Coptic church and 35 houses belonging to Christians were burned.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9C0zAAAAIBAJ&pg=6308,5873985&dq=international-christian-concern&hl=en |title=Copts Under Fire |publisher=The Free Lance–Star |date=November 23, 2002 |access-date=August 2, 2015}}</ref>

In 2006, one person attacked three churches in ], killing one person and injuring 5–16.<ref name="Coptic Christians attacked in churches">{{cite news | last = Miles | first = Hugh| title= Coptic Christians attacked in churches| publisher= ] | date=April 15, 2006 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/1515829/Coptic-Christians-attacked-in-churches.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/1515829/Coptic-Christians-attacked-in-churches.html |archive-date=2022-01-11 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=2008-10-07 | location=London}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as "psychologically disturbed" by the ].<ref>BBC. , April 15, 2006.</ref> In May 2010, ] reported increasing waves of mob attacks by Muslims against Copts.<ref name="Egypt's Persecuted Christians">{{cite news | last = Zaki | first = Moheb| title= Egypt's Persecuted Christians| work= The Wall Street Journal | date=May 18, 2010 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703745904575248301172607696|access-date=June 4, 2010 }}</ref> Despite frantic calls for help, the police typically arrived after the violence was over.<ref name="Egypt's Persecuted Christians" /> The police also coerced the Copts to accept "reconciliation" with their attackers to avoid prosecuting them, with no Muslims convicted for any of the attacks.<ref name="2010 USCIRF">{{cite web|title=United States Commission on Int'l Religious Freedom|url=http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/resources/ar2010/egypt2010.pdf|website=USCIRF}}</ref> In ], a Bedouin mob of Muslims tried to attack Copts, with 400 Copts having to barricade themselves in their church while the mob destroyed 18 homes, 23 shops and 16 cars.<ref name="Egypt's Persecuted Christians" />

Members of U.S. Congress have expressed concern about human trafficking of Coptic women and girls who are victims of abductions, forced conversion to Islam, sexual exploitation and forced marriage to Muslim men.<ref name="trafficking">{{cite news | url = https://www.foxnews.com/politics/house-members-press-white-house-to-confront-egypt-on-forced-marriages/ | title = House Members Press White House to Confront Egypt on Forced Marriages | last = Abrams | first = Joseph |date = April 21, 2010 | work = ] | access-date = November 8, 2010}}</ref>

] was a Copt who served as ]'s foreign minister under President ]. Previously, only two Copts were in ]'s governmental cabinet: Finance Minister ] and Environment Minister Magued George during former president Mubarak's rule. There also used to be one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the ]ian governorate of ], and is the first Coptic governor in decades due to the higher concentration of Copts in Upper Egypt. In addition, ], ]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/01/09/african-billionaire-fortunes-decline-on-new-forbes-list-of-the-continents-richest/#6dc10049363d|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110080525/http://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2017/01/09/african-billionaire-fortunes-decline-on-new-forbes-list-of-the-continents-richest/#6dc10049363d|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 10, 2017|title=African Billionaire Fortunes Decline On New FORBES List Of The Continent's Richest|last=Vinton|first=Kate|newspaper=Forbes|access-date=10 January 2017}}</ref> and ],<ref>. ''Forbes''. March 5, 2008.</ref> who are extremely successful businessmen and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, are Copts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/africa-billionaires/list/|title=Africa's Billionaires|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2019-09-28}}</ref> In 2002, under the ] government, ] (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday.<ref>ArabicNews.com. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930211738/http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/021220/2002122025.html |date=September 30, 2007 }}. December 20, 2002.</ref> However, many Copts continue to complain of being minimally represented in higher positions in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion.<ref>Freedom House. {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20030107001824/http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/publications/endangered |date=January 7, 2003 }}</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114115428/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/egypt12212.htm |date=2008-11-14 }}. 2005</ref>

While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to ], "Egyptians are able to ] to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents."<ref> {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080928034724/http://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/egypt14701.htm |date=September 28, 2008 }}.</ref> The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ahram.org.eg/acpss/eng/ahram/2004/7/5/ARAB43.HTM |title=Egypt: National Unity and the Coptic issue. (Arab Strategic Report 2004–2005) |access-date=2007-09-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912060035/http://www.ahram.org.eg/acpss/eng/ahram/2004/7/5/ARAB43.HTM |archive-date=2007-09-12 }}</ref> Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from ] to ] (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening.<ref>. November 03, 2003</ref> In 2007, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam.<ref>Shahine, Gihan. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015153850/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/843/eg8.htm |date=October 15, 2008 }} Ahram Weekly, 3 – May 9, 2007</ref> However, in February 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the decision, allowing 12 citizens who had reverted to Christianity to re-list their religion on identity cards,<ref name="Egyptian Court Allows Return to Christianity">{{cite news | last = Audi | first = Nadim | title= Egyptian Court Allows Return to Christianity | work= ] | date= February 11, 2008 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/11/world/africa/11egypt.html?ex=1360386000&en=03faf391c4592600&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss | access-date=2008-10-07}}</ref><ref>]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121180512/http://www.pr-inside.com/egypt-court-upholds-right-of-converted-r430320.htm |date=November 21, 2011 }}. 2008-02-09.</ref> but they will specify that they had adopted Islam for a brief period of time.<ref>AFP. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416155254/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8Ro5sk6sChDNUGMQTIMBj6HsHQQ |date=April 16, 2009 }}. February, 2008.</ref>

In August 2013, following the ] and clashes between the military and Morsi supporters, there were ] on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt by ].<ref>{{cite news | last = Chulov | first = Martin | title= Egypt's Coptic Christians report fresh attacks on churches: Christian leaders blame Muslim Brotherhood supporters for arson and other attacks, including shooting death of teenage girl | work= The Guardian | date= Aug 15, 2013 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/15/egypt-coptic-christians-attacks-churches | access-date=2013-08-16}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news | last = Khairat | first = Mohamed | title= Coptic churches burn amid violence in Egypt: Coptic Christians call for greater protection as wave of violence sweeps across Egypt | work= Egyptian Streets | date= Aug 16, 2013 | url = http://egyptianstreets.com/2013/08/16/coptic-churches-burn-amid-violence-in-egypt/ | access-date=2013-08-16}}</ref> According to at least one Egyptian scholar (Samuel Tadros), the attacks are the worst violence against the Coptic Church since the 14th century.<ref name=MB-war>{{cite web | url = https://www.hudson.org/research/11318-egypt-s-coptic-christians-braced-for-persecution | title = Egypt's Coptic Christians – Braced for Persecution | last = Gilbert |first = Lela |date = 25 May 2015 | website = Hudson Institute | access-date = 17 February 2018}}</ref>

'']'' reported that "forty churches have been looted and torched, while 23 others have been attacked and heavily damaged". More than 45 churches across Egypt were attacked.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://egyptianstreets.com/2013/08/16/coptic-churches-burn-amid-violence-in-egypt/|title=Coptic churches burn amid violence in Egypt|author=Egyptian Streets|work=Egyptian Streets|date=16 August 2013}}</ref> The ] page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was "rife with false accusations meant to foment hatred against Copts". The Party's page claimed that the Coptic Church had declared "war against Islam and Muslims" and that "The Pope of the Church is involved in the removal of the first elected Islamist president. The Pope of the Church alleges Islamic Sharia is backwards, stubborn, and reactionary."{{Relevance inline|date=October 2018}} On August 15, nine Egyptian human rights groups under the umbrella group "Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights", released a statement saying, <blockquote>"In December … Brotherhood leaders began fomenting anti-Christian sectarian incitement. The anti-Coptic incitement and threats continued unabated up to the demonstrations of June 30 and, with the removal of President Morsi … morphed into sectarian violence, which was sanctioned by … the continued anti-Coptic rhetoric heard from the group's leaders on the stage … throughout the sit-in."<ref name=personal>{{cite web|title=Joint Press Release: Non-peaceful assembly does not justify collective punishment – Rights groups condemn lethal violence against those in sit-in and terrorist acts of the Muslim Brotherhood|url=http://eipr.org/en/pressrelease/2013/08/15/1782|work=15 August 2013|publisher=Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights|access-date=22 August 2013}}</ref></blockquote>

Coptic women and girls are abducted, ] and marry Muslim men.<ref name=trafficking/><ref name=bbcforcedmarriage>{{cite news | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12014779 | title = Christian minority under pressure in Egypt | date = December 17, 2010 | work = BBC News | access-date = January 1, 2011 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170322014332/http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-12014779 | archive-date = March 22, 2017 }}</ref> In 2009 the Washington, D.C. based group ] published a study of the abductions and ]s and the anguish felt by the young women because returning to Christianity is against the law. Further allegations of organised abduction of Copts, trafficking and police collusion continue in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2017/09/egypt-ex-kidnapper-admits-get-paid-every-copt-christian-girl-bring/ |title=Egypt: ex-kidnapper admits 'they get paid for every Coptic Christian girl they bring in' |date= 2017-09-14 |publisher= World Watch Monitor |access-date=2017-12-25 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180913115753/https://www.worldwatchmonitor.org/2017/09/egypt-ex-kidnapper-admits-get-paid-every-copt-christian-girl-bring/ |url-status= live |archive-date= 2018-09-13}}</ref>
In April 2010, a bipartisan group of 17 members of the U.S. Congress expressed concern to the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office about Coptic women who faced "physical and sexual violence, captivity ... exploitation in forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation, and financial benefit to the individuals who secure the forced conversion of the victim."<ref name=trafficking/>

According to the ''Egyptian NGO Association of Victims of Abduction and Forced Disappearance'', between 2011 and March 2014, around 550 Coptic girls have been kidnapped, and forced to convert to Islam. According to the same survey around 40% of the girls were raped prior to their conversion to Islam and married their captors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/557e7e814.html|title=Refworld &#124; Egypt: Situation of Coptic Christians, including treatment; state protection available (2014-May 2015)|first=United Nations High Commissioner for|last=Refugees|website=Refworld}}</ref>

==Language==
{{Main|Coptic language|Egyptian language}}
]

The ] is the most recent stage of the ]. Coptic should more correctly be used to refer to the script rather than the language itself. Even though this script was introduced as far back as the 1st century&nbsp;BC, it has been applied to the writing of the Egyptian language from the 1st century&nbsp;AD to the present day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stshenouda.com/coptlang/copthist.htm#Definition|title=The Coptic Studies' Corner|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419152624/http://www.stshenouda.com/coptlang/copthist.htm#Definition|archive-date=2012-04-19}}</ref> Coptic remained the spoken language of most Egyptians until it was slowly replaced by colloquial ] in ] and ] in ] by the end of the 17th century, although it may have survived in isolated pockets for a little longer.<ref name="Allen2010">{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=James P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lF78Max-h8MC&pg=PA2 |title=Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-139-48635-4 |edition=2nd |pages=1–2 |author-link=James Peter Allen |access-date=19 May 2014}}</ref>

Today Coptic is extinct but it is still the ] of the native Egyptian Churches (the ] and the ]). It is taught worldwide in many prestigious institutions, but its teaching within Egypt remains limited.

]
Dialects of the Coptic language:
* ]: Theban or ]ian.
* ]: The dialect of the ] and of the medieval and modern Coptic Church.
* ]
* ] (also known as Subakhmimic)
* ]
* ]

==Calendar==
{{Main|Coptic calendar}}

The ], also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the ] and also by ] as its official calendar (with different names). This ] is based on the ancient ]. To avoid the calendar creep of the latter, a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar was introduced at the time of ] (Decree of Canopus, in 238&nbsp;BC) which consisted of the intercalation of a sixth ] every fourth year. However, this reform was opposed by the Egyptian priests, and the idea was not adopted until 25&nbsp;BC, when the ] Emperor ] formally reformed the calendar of ], keeping it forever synchronized with the newly introduced ]. To distinguish it from the Ancient Egyptian calendar, which remained in use by some astronomers until medieval times, this reformed calendar is known as the Coptic calendar. Its years and months coincide with those of the ] but have different numbers and names.<ref name="calendar">{{cite web|title=The Coptic Calendar of Martyrs|url=http://www.copticchurch.net/easter.html|website=Coptic Orthodox Church Network}}</ref>

===Coptic year===
{{See also|Computus}} {{See also|Computus}}
]


The Coptic year is the extension of the ancient Egyptian civil year, retaining its subdivision into the three seasons, four months each. The three seasons are commemorated by special prayers in the Coptic liturgy. This calendar is still in use all over Egypt by farmers to keep track of the various agricultural seasons. The Coptic calendar has 13 months, 12 of 30 days each and an intercalary month at the end of the year of 5 or 6 days, depending whether the year is a leap year or not. The year starts on 29 August in the ] or on the 30th in the year before (Julian) Leap Years. The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the Julian Calendar so that the extra month always has six days in the year before a Julian Leap Year.<ref>{{cite book |last=Declercq |first=Georges |title=Anno Domini: The Origins of the Christian Era |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H8AZAAAAYAAJ |year=2000 |publisher=Isd |isbn=978-2-503-51050-7 |page=80}}</ref>
== Prominent Copts ==


The Feast of ] marks the first day of the Coptic year. Its celebration falls on the first day of the month of ], the first month of the Egyptian year, which for AD 1901 to 2098 usually coincides with 11 September, except before a Gregorian leap year when it's September 12. Coptic years are counted from 284&nbsp;AD, the year ] became Roman Emperor, whose reign was marked by tortures and mass executions of Christians, especially in Egypt. Hence, the Coptic year is identified by the abbreviation A.M. (for ''Anno Martyrum'' or "Year of the Martyrs").{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} The A.M. abbreviation is also used for the unrelated Jewish year (''Anno Mundi'').{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}
]]]


Every fourth Coptic year is a leap year ''without exception'', as in the Julian calendar, so the above-mentioned new year dates apply only between AD&nbsp;1900 and 2099 inclusive in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Julian Calendar, the new year is ''always'' 29 August, except before a Julian leap year when it's August 30. ] is reckoned by the Julian Calendar in the Old Calendarist way.
{{Main|List of prominent Copts}}


To obtain the Coptic year number, subtract from the Julian year number either 283 (before the Julian new year) or 284 (after it).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://copticchurch.net/easter.html|title=Coptic Orthodox Calendar / Easter Calculation|website=copticchurch.net|access-date=2018-03-17}}</ref>
Many Copts are internationally renowned. Some of the most well known Copts include ] the sixth ] of the ], ] an internationally renowned heart surgeon, ], a world leading civil engineer, and billionaire ], one of the richest men in the world.


== Related words == ==Genetics==
Copts are the descendants of pre-Islamic Egyptians; when Egyptian Muslims later ceased to call themselves by the demonym, the term became the distinctive name of the Christian minority.<ref name="Britannica">{{citation|title=Britannica: Copts|date=3 May 2024 |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Copt|quote=The Copts are descendants of pre-Islamic Egyptians. When Egyptian Muslims later ceased to call themselves by the demonym, the term became the distinctive name of the Christian minority.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://copticchurch.org/about/thecopts/ | title=Learn the History of the Copts &#124; What is the Coptic &#124; Coptic }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1750635219866137 | doi=10.1177/1750635219866137 | title=Icons of contention: The iconography of martyrdom and the construction of Coptic identity in post-revolutionary Egypt | date=2020 | last1=El Gendi | first1=Yosra | last2=Pinfari | first2=Marco | journal=Media, War & Conflict | volume=13 | pages=50–69 }}</ref> Most ethnic Copts are ].<ref name="Colbert">{{Cite book|last=Held|first=Colbert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WyZhDwAAQBAJ&q=%E2%80%9CMost+ethnic+Copts+are+Orthodox+in+religious+affiliation%E2%80%9C&pg=PT163|title=Middle East Patterns, Student Economy Edition: Places, People, and Politics|date=2018-10-03|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-429-97307-9|language=en}}</ref> According to Y-DNA analysis by Hassan et al. (2008), around 45% of Copts in Sudan carry the ]. The remainder mainly belong to the ] clade (21%). Both paternal lineages are common among other local ]-speaking populations (Beja, Ethiopians, Sudanese Arabs), as well as the Nubians.<ref name="Hassan2008">{{cite journal|author=Hassan, Hisham Y.|display-authors=et al|title=Y-chromosome variation among Sudanese: Restricted gene flow, concordance with language, geography, and history|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|date=2008|volume=137|issue=3|pages=316–323|url=https://www.academia.edu/download/45024883/Y-chromosome_variation_among_Sudanese_re20160423-13798-werau.pdf|access-date=14 October 2016|doi=10.1002/ajpa.20876|pmid=18618658}}{{dead link|date=July 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> E1b1b/E3b reaches its highest frequencies among North Africans, Levantine Middle Easterners, and Ethiopid East Africans.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Trombetta, Beniamino|display-authors=et al|title=Phylogeographic refinement and large scale genotyping of human Y chromosome haplogroup E provide new insights into the dispersal of early pastoralists in the African continent|journal=Genome Biology and Evolution|date=2015|volume=7|issue=7|pages=1940–1950|doi=10.1093/gbe/evv118|pmid=26108492|pmc=4524485}}</ref> The next most common haplogroups borne by Copts in Sudan are the European-linked ] clade (15%), as well as the archaic African ] lineage (15%).<ref name="Hassan2008" />
<!-- Unsourced image removed: ] -->


Maternally, Hassan (2009) found that Copts in Sudan exclusively carry various descendants of the ]. This mtDNA clade is likewise closely associated with local Afroasiatic-speaking populations, including Berbers and Ethiopid peoples. Of the N derivatives borne by Copts, ] is most frequent (28%), followed by the ] (17%).<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mohamed|first1=Hisham Yousif Hassan|title=Genetic Patterns of Y-chromosome and Mitochondrial DNA Variation, with Implications to the Peopling of the Sudan|url=http://khartoumspace.uofk.edu/bitstream/handle/123456789/6376/Genetic%20Patterns%20of%20Y-chromosome%20and%20Mitochondrial.pdf?sequence=1|publisher=University of Khartoum|access-date=13 October 2016}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref>
* From the Greek word Αίγυπτος "Aiguptos" or "Aigyptos", the name for ''Egypt'' in many ]an languages was derived.
* The word {{Unicode|''qabāṭī''}} ''قباطي'', a kind of textile import from Egypt and which was used to cover the ] since before Islam, is derived from Arabic قبط {{Unicode|''qubṭ''}}.
* The English word ''gypsy'' is derived from the ] ''egypcien'' meaning "Egyptian". Likewise, the ] word ''gitano'', also meaning ''gypsy'', derives from a common Latin source. This is due to the mistaken belief that Gypsies were of Egyptian origin. ''Gypsy'' and the (probably) related term, ''gyp'' ("to swindle or cheat") are generally viewed as being pejorative; see the article '']''.
*Medieval sources mention one of the sons of ''Mitzrayim'', who in turn descended from the Biblical ], as a possible source for the word 'Copt'.


A 2015 study by Dobon et al. identified an ancestral autosomal component of Western Eurasian origin that is common to many modern Afroasiatic-speaking populations in ]. Known as the ''Coptic'' component, it peaks among Egyptian Copts who settled in Sudan over the past two centuries. In their analysis, Sudan's Copts formed a separated group in the ], a close outlier to other Egyptians, Afro-Asiatic-speaking Northeast Africans and Middle East populations. The scientists suggest that this points to a common origin for the general population of Egypt, or Middle Eastern and North African populations. Copts in general shared the same main ancestral component with North African/Middle Eastern populations. They also associate the Coptic component with Ancient Egyptian ancestry, without the later Arabian influence that is present among other Egyptians.<ref name=Dobon2015-cae>{{cite journal|author=Begoña Dobon|display-authors=et al|title=The genetics of East African populations: a Nilo-Saharan component in the African genetic landscape|journal=Scientific Reports|date=28 May 2015|volume=5|doi=10.1038/srep09996|page=8|pmid=26017457|pmc=4446898|bibcode=2015NatSR...5E9996D|quote=The North African/Middle Eastern genetic component is identified especially in Copts. The Coptic population present in Sudan is an example of a recent migration from Egypt over the past two centuries. They are close to Egyptians in the PCA, but remain a differentiated cluster, showing their own component at k = 4 (Fig. 3). The Coptic component at k = 4 peaks highest among Copts and makes up most of their distribution while it is not predominant among Egyptians. K = 2 to K = 5 (Fig. 3) shows Egyptians distribution resemble Qatar more than Copts. Copts lack the influence found in Egyptians from Qatar, an Arabic population. It may suggest that Copts have a genetic composition that could resemble the ancestral Egyptian population, without the present strong Arab influence}}</ref>
== See also ==

{{portal|Egypt|AnkhSmall.png}}
Hollfelder et al. (2017) analysed various populations in Sudan and observed that Egyptians and Copts showed low levels of genetic differentiation and lower levels of genetic diversity compared to the northeast African groups. Copts and Egyptians displayed similar levels of European or Middle Eastern ancestry (Copts were estimated to be of 69.54% ± 2.57 European ancestry, and the Egyptians of 70.65% ± 2.47 European ancestry). The authors concluded that the Copts and the Egyptians have a common history linked to smaller population sizes, and that Sudanese Copts have remained relatively isolated since their arrival to Sudan with only low levels of admixture with local northeastern Sudanese groups.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hollfelder|first1=Nina|last2=Schlebusch|first2=Carina M.|last3=Günther|first3=Torsten|last4=Babiker|first4=Hiba|last5=Hassan|first5=Hisham Y.|last6=Jakobsson|first6=Mattias|date=2017-08-24|title=Northeast African genomic variation shaped by the continuity of indigenous groups and Eurasian migrations|journal=PLOS Genetics|language=en|volume=13|issue=8|pages=e1006976|doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1006976|pmid=28837655|pmc=5587336|issn=1553-7404|doi-access=free}}{{CC-notice|by4|url=https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1006976}}</ref>
* ]

* ]
An allele frequency comparative study conducted in 2020 between the two main Egyptian ethnic groups, Muslims and Christians, supported the conclusion that Egyptian Muslims and Egyptian Christians genetically originate from the same ancestors.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Taha|first1=Tarek|last2=Elzalabany|first2=Sagy|last3=Fawzi|first3=Sahar|last4=Hisham|first4=Ahmed|last5=Amer|first5=Khaled|last6=Shaker|first6=Olfat|date=August 2020|title=Allele frequency comparative study between the two main Egyptian ethnic groups|url=https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32521421/|journal=Forensic Science International|volume=313|pages=110348|doi=10.1016/j.forsciint.2020.110348|issn=1872-6283|pmid=32521421|s2cid=219586129}}</ref>

==Prominent Copts==
{{Main|List of Copts}}
] festival in 2009]]
]]]

Some famous Copts include:
* ], prominent civil engineer
* ], Egyptian-American musician and academic
* ], sixth ] of the ].
* ], ] actor of Coptic origins.
* ], ] actor.
* ], American Politician.
* ], heir to the Sarofim family fortune.
* ], CEO of ].
* ], ]ian-born ] businessman, investor and billionaire.
* ], Egyptian-British cardiothoracic surgeon.
* ], Egyptian-French politician.

{{clear}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Egypt|Libya|Christianity}}
{{cols|colwidth=21em}}
* ], in ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ] * ]
* ]
* ]
{{colend}}
* ], in ]

* ], currently in incubator stage
==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}


== References == ==References==
{{reflist}}


==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book |last=Betts|first=Robert B.|title=Christians in the Arab East: A Political Study|year=1978|edition=2nd rev.|location=Athens|publisher=Lycabettus Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gHstAQAAIAAJ|isbn=9780804207966}}
* Capuani, Massimo et al. ''Christian Egypt: Coptic Art and Monuments Through Two Millennia'' (2002)
* {{Cite book |last=Charles|first=Robert H.|author-link=Robert Charles (scholar)|title=The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text|year=2007|orig-year=1916|location=Merchantville, New Jersey|publisher=Evolution Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KgZ-DOr77OQC|isbn=9781889758879}}
* Courbage, Youssef and Phillipe Fargues. Judy Mabro (Translator) ''Christians and Jews Under Islam'', 1997. * Courbage, Youssef and Phillipe Fargues. Judy Mabro (Translator) ''Christians and Jews Under Islam'', 1997.
* Ibrahim, Vivian. ''The Copts of Egypt: The Challenges of Modernisation and Identity'' (I.B. Tauris, distributed by Palgrave Macmillan; 2011) 258 pages; examines historical relations between Coptic Christians and the Egyptian state and describes factionalism and activism in the community.
* Denis, E. (2000). ''Cent ans de localisation de la population chrétienne égyptienne''. Astrolabe(2).
* Kamil, Jill. ''Coptic Egypt: History and a Guide.'' Revised Ed. American University in Cairo Press, 1990. * Kamil, Jill. ''Coptic Egypt: History and a Guide.'' Revised Ed. American University in Cairo Press, 1990.
* Meinardus, Otto Friedrich August. ''Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity'' (2010)
* (1.29MB pdf file – historical development and technical discussion)
* {{cite book| editor-last=Thomas |editor-first=Martyn |title=Copts in Egypt: A Christian Minority Under Siege : Papers Presented at the First International Coptic Symposium, Zurich, September 23–25, 2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ooAaaMdOwpAC|year=2006|publisher=Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht|isbn=9783857100406}}
* (Gregorian equivalents are valid only between 1900 and 2099)
* {{Cite book |last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450–680&nbsp;A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, New York|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9780881410556}}
*
* {{Cite book |last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|author-link=George Ostrogorsky|year=1956|title=History of the Byzantine State|location=Oxford|publisher=Basil Blackwell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ}}
*
* Van Doorn-Harder, Nelly. "Finding a Platform: Studying the Copts in the 19th and 20th Centuries" ''International Journal of Middle East Studies'' (Aug 2010) 42#3 pp 479–482. Historiography
{{refend}}


==Footnotes== ==External links==
{{Reflist|2}} {{Wiktionary|Copt}}
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Latest revision as of 20:14, 24 December 2024

Ethnoreligious group in North Africa Ethnic group
Copts
ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ
Coptic diaspora
Regions with significant populations
Egypt10 million (2019)
Sudan400,000-500,000 (previously); a smaller number (as of 2018)
Libya60,000
Diaspora:1–2 million (estimates vary)
United States500,000 (2018)
Canada50,000 (2017)
Australia75,000 (2003)
France45,000 (2017)
Italy30,000
United Kingdom25,000–30,000 (2006)
United Arab Emirates10,000
Netherlands10,000
Languages
Coptic (liturgical and ancestral)
Religion
Coptic Orthodox Church
Coptic Catholic Church
This article contains Coptic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Coptic letters.
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Copts (Coptic: ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, romanized: niremənkhēmi; Arabic: الْقِبْط, romanizedal-qibṭ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to Northeast Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan, and predominantly follow the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria. They are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. Copts account for roughly 5–15 percent of the population of Egypt; while in Sudan they account for 1 percent of the population, and in Libya they similarly account for 1 percent of the population.

Originally referring to all Egyptians, the term Copt became synonymous with native Christians in light of Egypt's Islamization and Arabization after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 639–646 AD. Copts have historically spoken the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian that was spoken in late antiquity.

Following the Muslim conquest, the treatment of the Coptic Christians who refused to convert ranged from relative tolerance to open persecution. Historically, the Copts suffered from "waves of persecution giving way to relative tolerance in cycles that varied according to the local ruler and other political and economic circumstances". Persecution is significantly involved in the Copts' ethnic identity due to historic and current conflicts. Most Copts adhere to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Church. The smaller Coptic Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Church, in communion with the Holy See of Rome; others belong to the Evangelical Church of Egypt. The Copts played a central role in the Arab Renaissance as well as the modernization of Egypt and the Arab world as a whole; they also contributed to the "social and political life and key debates such as pan-Arabism, good governance, educational reform, and democracy", and they have historically flourished in business affairs.

While Coptic Christians speak the same dialects and are culturally similar to other Egyptians, they strongly oppose Arab identity and associate it with Islam and Islamism. In Egypt, Copts have a relatively higher educational attainment, a relatively higher wealth index, and a stronger representation in white-collar job types, but limited representation in military and security agencies. The majority of demographic, socio-economic, and health indicators are similar among Christians and Muslims.

Etymology

Further information: Name of Egypt

The English language adopted the word Copt in the 17th century from Neo-Latin Coptus, Cophtus, which derives from the Arabic collective qubṭ / qibṭ قبط "the Copts" with nisba adjective qubṭī, qibṭī قبطى, plural aqbāṭ أقباط; Also quftī, qiftī (where the Arabic /f/ reflects the historical Coptic /p/) an Arabisation of the Coptic word ⲁⲓⲅⲩⲡⲧⲓⲟⲛ aiguption (Bohairic) or ⲕⲩⲡⲧⲁⲓⲟⲛ kuptaion (Sahidic). The Coptic word in turn represents an adaptation of the Greek term for the indigenous people of Egypt, Aigýptios (Αἰγύπτιος).

The Greek term for Egypt, Aígyptos (Ancient Greek: Αἴγυπτος), itself derives from the Egyptian language, but dates to a much earlier period, being attested already in Mycenaean Greek as a3-ku-pi-ti-jo (lit. "Egyptian"; used here as a man's name). This Mycenaean form probably comes from Middle Egyptian ḥwt kꜣ ptḥ (reconstructed pronunciation /ħawitˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħajiʔˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħəjˌkuʔpəˈtaħ/, Egyptological pronunciation Hut-ka-Ptah), literally "estate/palace of the kꜣ ("double" spirit) of Ptah" (compare Akkadian ḫi-ku-up-ta-aḫ), the name of the temple complex of the god Ptah at Memphis (and a synecdoche for the city of Memphis and the region around it).

The term Aigýptios in Greek came to designate the native Egyptian population in Roman Egypt (as distinct from Greeks, Romans, Jews, etc.). After the Muslim conquest of Egypt (639-646) it became restricted to those Egyptians adhering to the Christian religion.

The Coptic name for Egyptians, remənkhēmi (Coptic: ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ), is realized in Fayyumic Coptic as ⲗⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲕⲏⲙⲉ lemenkēmi and as ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲕⲏⲙⲉ remənkēme in the Sahidic dialect; cf. Egyptian rmṯ n kmt, Demotic rmṯ n kmỉ.

The Arabic word qibṭ "Copt" has also been connected to the Greek name of the town of Kóptos (Koinē Greek: Κόπτος, now Qifṭ; Coptic Kebt and Keft) in Upper Egypt. This association may have contributed to making "Copt" the settled form of the name.

In the 20th century, some Egyptian nationalists and intellectuals in the context of Pharaonism began using the term qubṭ in the historical sense.

History

Main articles: Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and History of Christianity in Egypt
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. They pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church: its founder was the first in an unbroken chain of patriarchs. The main body has been out of communion with the Roman Catholic Church since the 5th century AD.

Foundation of the Christian Church in Egypt

According to ancient tradition, Christianity was introduced to present day Egypt by St. Mark in Alexandria, shortly after the ascension of Christ and during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius around 42 AD. The legacy that St. Mark left in Egypt was a considerable Christian community in Alexandria. Within half a century of St. Mark's arrival Christianity had spread throughout Egypt. This is clear from a fragment of the Gospel of John, written in Coptic and found in Upper Egypt that can be dated to the first half of the 2nd century, and the New Testament writings found in Oxyrhynchus, in Middle Egypt, which date around 200 AD. In the 2nd century, Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into Coptic (then known as Egyptian). By the beginning of the 3rd century AD, Christians constituted the majority of Egypt's population, and the Church of Alexandria was recognized as one of Christendom's four apostolic sees, second in honor only to the Church in Rome. The Church of Alexandria is therefore the oldest Christian church in Africa.

Contributions to Christianity

The Copts in Egypt contributed immensely to Christian tradition. The Catechetical School of Alexandria was the oldest school of its kind in the world. Founded around 190 AD by the scholar Pantanaeus, the school became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as Athenagoras, Clement, Didymus, and Origen, the father of theology who was also active in the field of commentary and comparative Biblical studies. However, the scope of this school was not limited to theological subjects: science, mathematics and humanities were also taught there. The question-and-answer method of commentary began there, and 15 centuries before Braille, wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read and write.

Another major contribution the Egyptian Copts made to Christianity was the creation and organization of monasticism. Worldwide Christian monasticism stems, either directly or indirectly, from the Egyptian example. The most prominent figures of the monastic movement were Anthony the Great, Paul of Thebes, Macarius the Great, Shenouda the Archimandrite and Pachomius the Cenobite.

By the end of the 5th century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. Since then pilgrims have visited the Egyptian Desert Fathers to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. St Basil the Great Archbishop of Caesarea Mazaca, and the founder and organiser of the monastic movement in Asia Minor, visited Egypt around 357 AD and his monastic rules are followed by the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Saint Jerome, who translated the Bible into Latin, came to Egypt while en route to Jerusalem around 400 AD, leaving details of his experiences in his letters. St. Benedict founded the Benedictine Order in the 6th century on the model of Saint Pachomius, although in a stricter form. Coptic Christians practice male circumcision as a rite of passage.

Coptic Greeks

Further information: Coptic Greeks
An Egyptiot man with Anubis, Ptolemaic empire

The Faiyum mummy portraits reflect the complex synthesis of the predominant Egyptian culture and that of the Hellenized Middle East.

By the time of Roman emperor Caracalla in the 2nd century AD, ethnic Egyptians could be distinguished from Egyptian Greeks only by their speech.

Egyptian Greek is the variety of Greek spoken in Egypt from antiquity until the Islamic conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. Egyptian Greek adopted many loanwords from Egyptian language; there was a great deal of intracommunity bilingualism in Egypt.

The following is an example of Egyptian Greek language, used in the Coptic Church:

ⲇⲟⲝⲁ ⲡⲁⲧⲣⲓ ⲕⲉ ⲩⲓⲱ: ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲅⲓⲱ ⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁⲧⲓ: ⲕⲉ ⲛⲩⲛ ⲕⲉ ⲁ̀ⲓ̀ ⲕⲉ ⲓⲥ ⲧⲟⲩⲥ ⲉⲱⲛⲁⲥ ⲧⲱⲛ ⲉ̀ⲱ̀ⲛⲱⲛ ⲁ̀ⲙⲏⲛ

Δόξα Πατρὶ κὲ Υἱῷ κὲ Ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι, κὲ νῦν κὲ ἀῒ κὲ ἰς τοὺς ἐῶνας τῶν ἐώνων. Ἀμήν.

Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, both now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

An Egyptiot centurionAn Egyptiot woman

According to Walker, early Ptolemaic Greek colonists married local women and adopted Egyptian religious beliefs, and by Roman times, their descendants were viewed as Egyptians by the Roman rulers, despite their own self-perception of being Greek. The dental morphology of the Roman-period Faiyum mummies was also compared with that of earlier Egyptian populations, and was found to be "much more closely akin" to that of ancient Egyptians than to Greeks or other European populations. Victor J. Katz notes that "research in papyri dating from the early centuries of the common era demonstrates that a significant amount of intermarriage took place between the Greek and Egyptian communities".

Modern day Copts use predominantly Arabic and Coptic, the latter being the direct descendent of the Ancient Egyptian language. For instance, the Lord's Prayer in the Coptic Church is recited in the native Coptic language as follows:

Ϧⲉⲛ ⲫ̀ⲣⲁⲛ ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲓⲱⲧ: ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡ̀ϣⲏⲣⲓ: ⲛⲉⲙ Ⲡⲓⲡⲛⲉⲩⲙⲁ ⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ: ⲟⲩⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲛ̀ⲟⲩⲱⲧ: Ⲁⲙⲏⲛ
Ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲛⲓⲱⲧ ⲉⲧϧⲉⲛ ⲛⲓⲫⲏⲟⲩⲓ: ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥⲧⲟⲩⲃⲟ ⲛ̀ϫⲉ ⲡⲉⲕⲣⲁⲛ: ⲙⲁⲣⲉⲥⲓ ⲛ̀ϫⲉ ⲧⲉⲕⲙⲉⲧⲟⲩⲣⲟ: ⲡⲉⲧⲉϩⲛⲁⲕ ⲙⲁⲣⲉϥϣⲱⲡⲓ
Ⲙ̀ⲫⲣⲏϯ ϧⲉⲛ ⲧ̀ⲫⲉ ⲛⲉⲙ ϩⲓϫⲉⲛ ⲡⲓⲕⲁϩⲓ
ⲡⲉⲛⲱⲓⲕ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉ ⲣⲁⲥϯ ⲙⲏⲓϥ ⲛⲁⲛ ⲙ̀ⲫⲟⲟⲩ
Ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲭⲁ ⲛⲏⲉⲧⲉⲣⲟⲛ ⲛⲁⲛ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ: ⲙ̀ⲫ̀ⲣⲏϯ ϩⲱⲛ ⲛ̀ⲧⲉⲛⲭⲱ ⲉ̀ⲃⲟⲗ ⲛ̀ⲛⲏⲉⲧⲉ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛ̀ⲧⲁⲛ ⲉⲣⲱⲟⲩ
Ⲟⲩⲟϩ ⲙ̀ⲡⲉⲣⲉⲛⲧⲉⲛ ⲉϧⲟⲩⲛ ⲉ̀ⲡⲓⲣⲁⲥⲙⲟⲥ: ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛⲁϩⲙⲉⲛ ⲉⲃⲟⲗϩⲁ ⲡⲓⲡⲉⲧϩⲱⲟⲩ
Ϧⲉⲛ Ⲡⲭ̅ⲥ̅ Ⲓⲏ̅ⲥ̅ Ⲡⲉⲛⲟ̅ⲥ̅
Ϫⲉ ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯⲙⲉⲧⲟⲩⲣⲟ ⲛⲉⲙ ϯϫⲟⲙ ⲛⲉⲙ ⲡⲓⲱⲟⲩ ϣⲁ ⲉⲛⲉϩ. Ⲁⲙⲏⲛ.

In the Name of the Father: and the Son: and the Holy Spirit: One God: Amen

Our Father Who art in heaven: hallowed be Thy name: Thy kingdom come: Thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses: as we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation: but deliver us from evil one
In Christ Jesus our Lord

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Ecumenical councils

The major contributions that the See of Alexandria has contributed to the establishment of early Christian theology and dogma are attested to by fact that the first three ecumenical councils in the history of Christianity were headed by Egyptian patriarchs. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) was presided over by St. Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria, along with Saint Hosius of Córdoba. In addition, the most prominent figure of the council was the future Patriarch of Alexandria Athanasius, who played the major role in the formulation of the Nicene Creed, recited today in most Christian churches of different denominations. One of the council's decisions was to entrust the Patriarch of Alexandria with calculating and annually announcing the exact date of Easter to the rest of the Christian churches. The Council of Constantinople (381 AD) was presided over by Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria, while the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) was presided over by Cyril of Alexandria.

Council of Chalcedon

In 451 AD, following the Council of Chalcedon, the Church of Alexandria was divided into two branches. Those who accepted the terms of the Council became known as Chalcedonians or Melkites. Those who did not abide by the council's terms were labeled non-Chalcedonians or Monophysites and later Jacobites after Jacob Baradaeus. The non-Chalcedonians, however, rejected the term Monophysites as erroneous and referred to themselves as Miaphysites. The majority of the Egyptians belonged to the Miaphysite branch, which led to their persecution by the Byzantines in Egypt.

Arab conquest of Egypt

Main article: Islamization of Egypt
The Hanging Church in Coptic Cairo

In 641 AD, Egypt was conquered by the Arabs who faced off with the Byzantine army. Local resistance by the Egyptians however began to materialize shortly thereafter and would last until at least the 9th century. Despite the political upheaval, Egypt remained mainly Christian, but Coptic Christians lost their majority status after the 14th century, as a result of the intermittent persecution and the destruction of the Christian churches there. From the Muslim conquest of Egypt onwards, the Coptic Christians were persecuted by different Muslim regimes, such as the Umayyad Caliphate, Abbasid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate, Mamluk Sultanate, and Ottoman Empire; the persecution of Coptic Christians included closing and demolishing churches, forced conversion to Islam, and heavy taxes for those who refused to convert.

Copts in modern Egypt

Main article: Copts in Egypt Further information: Christianity in Egypt
President Nasser welcomes a delegation of Coptic bishops (1965)

During the Ottoman period, Copts were classified alongside other Oriental Orthodox and Nestorian peoples under the Armenian millet.

Under Muslim rule, Christians paid special taxes, had lower access to political power, and were exempt from military service. Their position improved dramatically under the rule of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century. He abolished the Jizya (a tax on non-Muslims) and allowed Egyptians (Copts) to enroll in the army. Pope Cyril IV, who reigned from 1854–61, reformed the church and encouraged broader Coptic participation in Egyptian affairs. Khedive Isma'il Pasha, in power 1863–79, further promoted the Copts. He appointed them judges to Egyptian courts and awarded them political rights and representation in government. They flourished in business affairs.

Some Copts participated in the Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential positions. Two significant cultural achievements include the founding of the Coptic Museum in 1910 and the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies in 1954. Some prominent Coptic thinkers from this period are Salama Moussa, Louis Awad and Secretary General of the Wafd Party Makram Ebeid.

In 1952, Gamal Abdel Nasser led some army officers in a coup d'état against King Farouk, which overthrew the Kingdom of Egypt and established a republic. Nasser's mainstream policy was pan-Arab nationalism and socialism. The Copts were severely affected by Nasser's nationalization policies, though they represented about 10 to 20 percent of the population. In addition, Nasser's pan-Arab policies undermined the Copts' strong attachment to and sense of identity about their Egyptian pre-Arab, and certainly non-Arab identity which resulted in permits to construct churches to be delayed along with Christian religious courts to be closed.

Socioeconomic

In Egypt, Copts have relatively higher educational attainment, relatively higher wealth index, and a stronger representation in white collar job types than their Muslim counterparts, though they have limited representation in security agencies. The majority of demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators are similar among Copts and Muslims. Historically; many Copts were accountants, and in 1961 Coptic Christians owned 51% of the Egyptian banks. A Pew Center study about religion and education around the world in 2016, found that around 26% of Egyptian Christians obtain a university degree in institutions of higher education.

According to the scholar Andrea Rugh Copts tend to belong to the educated middle and upper-middle class, and according to scholar Lois Farag "The Copts still played the major role in managing Egypt's state finances. They held 20% of total state capital, 45% of government employment, and 45% of government salaries". According to scholar J. D. Pennington 45% of the medical doctors, 60% of the pharmacists of Egypt were Christians.

A number of Coptic business and land-owning families became very wealthy and influential such as the Egyptian Coptic Christian Sawiris family that owns the Orascom conglomerate, spanning telecommunications, construction, tourism, industries and technology. In 2008, Forbes estimated the family's net worth at $36 billion. According to scholars Maristella Botticini and Zvi Eckstein argue that Copts have relatively higher educational attainment and relatively higher wealth index, due to Coptic Christianity emphasis on literacy and that Coptic Christianity encouraged the accumulation of human capital.

Pharaonism

Main article: Pharaonism See also: Coptic identity

Many Coptic intellectuals hold to Pharaonism, which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian, Pharaonic Egyptian culture. It gives the Copts a claim to a deep heritage in Egyptian history and culture. Pharaonism was widely held by Coptic and Muslim scholars in the early 20th century, and it helped bridge the divide between those groups. Some scholars see Pharaonism as shaped by Orientalism.

Church affairs

Egyptian Coptic monks at the American Colony, Jerusalem, between 1898 and 1914.

Today, members of the non-Chalcedonian Coptic Orthodox Church constitute the majority of the Egyptian Christian population. Mainly through emigration and partly through European, American, and other missionary work and conversions, the Egyptian Christian community now also includes other Christian denominations such as Protestants (known in Arabic as Evangelicals), Roman Catholics and Eastern Rite Catholics, and other Orthodox congregations. The term Coptic remains exclusive however to the Egyptian natives, as opposed to the Christians of non-Egyptian origins. Some Protestant churches for instance are called "Coptic Evangelical Church", thus helping differentiate their native Egyptian congregations from churches attended by non-Egyptian immigrant communities such as Europeans or Americans.

The previous head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, died 17 March 2012. On 4 November 2012, Bishop Tawadros was chosen as the new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians. His name was selected from a glass bowl containing the three shortlisted candidates by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo's St Mark's Cathedral.

Copts in modern Ethiopia

Main article: Christianity in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia the Orthodox Tewahedo Church was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959 when it was granted its own patriarch by the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa Cyril VI.

Copts in modern Sudan

Main article: Copts in Sudan Further information: Christianity in Sudan
Holy Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Khartoum

Sudan has a native Coptic minority, although many Copts in Sudan are descended from more recent Egyptian immigrants. Copts in Sudan live mostly in northern cities, including Al Obeid, Atbara, Dongola, Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, and Wad Medani. Many Sudanese Copts have advanced educations. They have occasionally faced forced conversion to Islam, resulting in their emigration and decrease in number.

Modern immigration of Copts to Sudan peaked in the early 19th century, and they generally received a tolerant welcome there. However, this was interrupted by a decade of persecution under Mahdist rule at the end of the 19th century. As a result of this persecution, many were forced to relinquish their faith, adopt Islam, and intermarry with the native Sudanese population. The Anglo-Egyptian invasion in 1898 allowed Copts greater religious and economic freedom, and they extended their original roles as artisans and merchants into trading, banking, engineering, medicine, and the civil service. Proficiency in business and administration made them a privileged minority. However, the return of militant Islam in the mid-1960s and subsequent demands by radicals for an Islamic constitution prompted Copts to join in public opposition to religious rule.

Gaafar Nimeiry's introduction of Islamic Sharia law in 1983 began a new phase of oppressive treatment of Copts, among other non-Muslims. After the overthrow of Nimeiry, Coptic leaders supported a secular candidate in the 1986 elections. However, when the National Islamic Front overthrew the elected government of Sadiq al-Mahdi with the help of the military, discrimination against Copts returned in earnest. Hundreds of Copts were dismissed from the civil service and judiciary.

In February 1991, a Coptic pilot working for Sudan Airways was executed for illegal possession of foreign currency. Before his execution, he had been offered amnesty and money if he converted to Islam, but he refused. Thousands attended his funeral, and the execution was taken as a warning by many Copts, who began to flee the country.

Restrictions on the Copts' rights to Sudanese nationality followed, and it became difficult for them to obtain Sudanese nationality by birth or by naturalization, resulting in problems when attempting to travel abroad. The confiscation of Christian schools and the imposition of an Arab-Islamic emphasis in language and history teaching were accompanied by harassment of Christian children and the introduction of hijab dress laws. A Coptic child was flogged for failing to recite a Koranic verse. In contrast with the extensive media broadcasting of the Muslim Friday prayers, the radio ceased coverage of the Christian Sunday service. As the civil war raged throughout the 1990s, the government focused its religious fervor on the south. Although experiencing discrimination, the Copts and other long-established Christian groups in the north had fewer restrictions than other types of Christians in the south.

As of 2010, the Coptic Church in Sudan was officially registered with the government, and exempt from property tax. In 2005, the Sudanese government of National Unity (GNU) named a Coptic Orthodox priest to a government position, though the ruling Islamist party remained dominant.

After the 2018 Sudanese revolution, one Copt (Raja Nicola Issa Abdul-Masseh) was appointed in 2019 to the 11-member Transitional Sovereignty Council, which was convened as part of plan to transition Sudan to democracy. However, a military coup in 2019, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, dissolved the council and halted the democratic transition; Christians, including Copts, were subjected to intensified persecution during a civil war that began in 2023. Many became refugees or were internally displaced.

In 2023, Fikiru Mehari, an researcher for the Christian charity Open Doors, estimated that about 4% of Sudanese population was Christian; the majority of these were Roman Catholics and members of the Episcopal Church of Sudan with a "smattering" of Coptic Orthodox and Africa Inland Mission adherents. A 2018 report by the Minority Rights Group said Sudanese Copts had previously estimated their numbers at 400,000 to 500,000, about 1% of the Sudanese population, but that emigration and conversion (including forced conversion) to Islam had decreased their number.

Demographics

Further information: Christianity in Egypt, Christianity in Sudan, and Christianity in Libya

Living in countries with Muslim majorities (Egypt, Sudan, Libya), the size of the population of Copts is a continuously disputed matter, frequently for reasons of religious jealousy and animosity.

The Coptic population in Egypt is difficult to estimate because researchers are forbidden by Egyptian authorities to ask a survey participant's religion. As of 2019, "Copts are generally understood to make up approximately 10 percent of Egypt's population," with an estimated population of 9.5 million (figure cited in the Wall Street Journal, 2017) or 10 million (figure cited in the Associated Press, 2019). Smaller or larger figures have also been cited, in the range of "somewhere between 6% and 18% of the population," with the Egyptian government estimating lower numbers and the Coptic Orthodox Church estimating much higher numbers. A lack of definite, reliable demographic data renders all estimates uncertain. Despite challenges, Copts are well integrated in Egyptian society. The highest concentrations of Copts are in Upper Egypt, especially around Asyut and Qena.

The Coptic population in Libya is uncertain. A 2013 estimate by the U.S. Department of State placed the entire population of non-Muslim Libyans at 180,000 (roughly 3% of the country's population). However, the Coptic Orthodox Church in Libya estimated that its membership alone was 300,000, including those who do not regularly attend church services. In 2011, there were three Coptic churches in the country. From 2011 to 2015, during the Libyan civil war, at least 200,000 Christians fled Libya; during that time, Islamist militants such as the Ansar al-Sharia, Nusra Front, and Islamic State violently persecuted Copts.

Diaspora

Main article: Coptic diaspora
St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Bellaire, Texas (Greater Houston). There are about 1–2 million Egyptian born Copts living outside of Egypt, and are known as the Coptic diaspora.

Outside of the Coptic primary area of residence within parts of present-day Egypt (Copts in Egypt), Sudan (Copts in Sudan), and Libya (Copts in Libya), the largest Coptic diaspora population is located within the United States, Canada, and Australia.

The first Coptic Orthodox church in North America is St. Mark in Toronto; it was built in 1964. The first Coptic Orthodox church in the United States, also called St. Mark, was built in Jersey City, New Jersey shortly afterward. As of 2018, the Coptic American population was estimated to be more than 500,000, with more than 250 Coptic churches in the United States at the time.

In the early 2010s, the Canadian Coptic Association estimates that the population of Canadian Copts was 35,000. By 2017, there were an estimated 50,000 Canadian Copts, with more than 80% living in Ontario, many in the Greater Toronto Area.

The Coptic Australians population has been estimated at 30,000 (ABC News, 2017) to 100,000 (SBS, 2018). The first Coptic Orthodox priest in Australia arrived in 1969; the Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia is organized into two dioceses, the first based in Melbourne (diocese organized in 1999) and the second in Sydney (diocese organized in 2002). There is a single Coptic Catholic church in Australia, consecrated in 2019.

Smaller communities are found in Kuwait, the United Kingdom, France (45,000), South Africa.

Jordan has a minor community of Copts; the Jordan Times reported in 2005 that the Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in the Abdali district of Amman had 8,000 members, mostly Egyptians. As of 2012, the Lebanon's Syriac League estimated that the Coptic population in that country numbered 3,000 to 4,000. As of 2017, Germany was home to between 6,000 and 10,000 Copts. In the 2020s, the Coptic Orthodox population of Austria was estimated to be 10,000, although the 2001 Austrian census (the country's last to record religious affiliation) tallied just 1,633 Coptic Orthodox. In Switzerland, the first Copts arrived in the 1960s, mostly students and those fleeing Egypt after the 1952 revolution; the first Coptic church in Switzerland opened in 2004, when there were approximately 1,000 Copts in the country. In Israel, there were approximately 1,000 Copts as of 2014, mostly residing in Jerusalem.

Persecution and discrimination in Egypt

Main articles: Persecution of Copts and Religion in Egypt
Part of a series of articles on the
Modern persecution
of Coptic Christians
Overview
Terrorist attacks
Figures

Religious freedom in Egypt is hampered to varying degrees by discriminatory and restrictive government policies. Coptic Christians, being the largest religious minority in Egypt, are also negatively affected. Copts have faced increasing marginalization after the 1952 coup d'état led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. Until recently, Christians were required to obtain presidential approval for even minor repairs in churches. Although the law was eased in 2005 by handing down the authority of approval to the governors, Copts continue to face many obstacles and restrictions in building new churches. These restrictions do not apply for building mosques. Copts face ethnic and racial discrimination as they are called Adma Zarqa or blue bone and كوفت From Coptic ⲅⲩⲡⲧⲓⲟⲥ (guptios, “Copt”). Hence a doublet of قبطي (ʔibṭi) and in fact the more native form, but apparently adopted by the Arabs in a mocking manner and is still used today by racists in Egypt.

The Coptic community has been targeted by hate crimes by Islamic extremists. The most significant was the 2000–01 El Kosheh attacks, in which Muslims and Christians were involved in bloody inter-religious clashes following a dispute between a Muslim and a Christian. "Twenty Christians and one Muslim were killed after violence broke out in the town of el-Kosheh, 440 kilometres (270 mi) south of Cairo". In February 2001 a new Coptic church and 35 houses belonging to Christians were burned.

In 2006, one person attacked three churches in Alexandria, killing one person and injuring 5–16. The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as "psychologically disturbed" by the Ministry of Interior. In May 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported increasing waves of mob attacks by Muslims against Copts. Despite frantic calls for help, the police typically arrived after the violence was over. The police also coerced the Copts to accept "reconciliation" with their attackers to avoid prosecuting them, with no Muslims convicted for any of the attacks. In Marsa Matrouh, a Bedouin mob of Muslims tried to attack Copts, with 400 Copts having to barricade themselves in their church while the mob destroyed 18 homes, 23 shops and 16 cars.

Members of U.S. Congress have expressed concern about human trafficking of Coptic women and girls who are victims of abductions, forced conversion to Islam, sexual exploitation and forced marriage to Muslim men.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali was a Copt who served as Egypt's foreign minister under President Anwar Sadat. Previously, only two Copts were in Egypt's governmental cabinet: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Environment Minister Magued George during former president Mubarak's rule. There also used to be one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the Upper Egyptian governorate of Qena, and is the first Coptic governor in decades due to the higher concentration of Copts in Upper Egypt. In addition, Naguib Sawiris, Nassef Sawiris and Samih Sawiris, who are extremely successful businessmen and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, are Copts. In 2002, under the Mubarak government, Coptic Christmas (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday. However, many Copts continue to complain of being minimally represented in higher positions in law enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated against in the workforce on the basis of their religion.

While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents." The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become Muslim. Public officials, being conservative themselves, intensify the complexity of the legal procedures required to recognize the religion change as required by law. Security agencies will sometimes claim that such conversions from Islam to Christianity (or occasionally vice versa) may stir social unrest, and thereby justify themselves in wrongfully detaining the subjects, insisting that they are simply taking steps to prevent likely social troubles from happening. In 2007, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to Islam. However, in February 2008 the Supreme Administrative Court overturned the decision, allowing 12 citizens who had reverted to Christianity to re-list their religion on identity cards, but they will specify that they had adopted Islam for a brief period of time.

In August 2013, following the 3 July 2013 coup and clashes between the military and Morsi supporters, there were widespread attacks on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt by Sunni Muslims. According to at least one Egyptian scholar (Samuel Tadros), the attacks are the worst violence against the Coptic Church since the 14th century.

USA Today reported that "forty churches have been looted and torched, while 23 others have been attacked and heavily damaged". More than 45 churches across Egypt were attacked. The Facebook page of the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party was "rife with false accusations meant to foment hatred against Copts". The Party's page claimed that the Coptic Church had declared "war against Islam and Muslims" and that "The Pope of the Church is involved in the removal of the first elected Islamist president. The Pope of the Church alleges Islamic Sharia is backwards, stubborn, and reactionary." On August 15, nine Egyptian human rights groups under the umbrella group "Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights", released a statement saying,

"In December … Brotherhood leaders began fomenting anti-Christian sectarian incitement. The anti-Coptic incitement and threats continued unabated up to the demonstrations of June 30 and, with the removal of President Morsi … morphed into sectarian violence, which was sanctioned by … the continued anti-Coptic rhetoric heard from the group's leaders on the stage … throughout the sit-in."

Coptic women and girls are abducted, forced to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men. In 2009 the Washington, D.C. based group Christian Solidarity International published a study of the abductions and forced marriages and the anguish felt by the young women because returning to Christianity is against the law. Further allegations of organised abduction of Copts, trafficking and police collusion continue in 2017.

In April 2010, a bipartisan group of 17 members of the U.S. Congress expressed concern to the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Office about Coptic women who faced "physical and sexual violence, captivity ... exploitation in forced domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation, and financial benefit to the individuals who secure the forced conversion of the victim."

According to the Egyptian NGO Association of Victims of Abduction and Forced Disappearance, between 2011 and March 2014, around 550 Coptic girls have been kidnapped, and forced to convert to Islam. According to the same survey around 40% of the girls were raped prior to their conversion to Islam and married their captors.

Language

Main articles: Coptic language and Egyptian language
Coptic and Arabic inscriptions in an Old Cairo church

The Coptic language is the most recent stage of the Egyptian language. Coptic should more correctly be used to refer to the script rather than the language itself. Even though this script was introduced as far back as the 1st century BC, it has been applied to the writing of the Egyptian language from the 1st century AD to the present day. Coptic remained the spoken language of most Egyptians until it was slowly replaced by colloquial Egyptian Arabic in Lower Egypt and Sa'idi Arabic in Upper Egypt by the end of the 17th century, although it may have survived in isolated pockets for a little longer.

Today Coptic is extinct but it is still the liturgical language of the native Egyptian Churches (the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Coptic Catholic Church). It is taught worldwide in many prestigious institutions, but its teaching within Egypt remains limited.

Leaf from a Coptic manuscript, 6th-14th century, Metropolitan museum of art, NYC

Dialects of the Coptic language:

Calendar

Main article: Coptic calendar

The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and also by Ethiopia as its official calendar (with different names). This calendar is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar. To avoid the calendar creep of the latter, a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar was introduced at the time of Ptolemy III (Decree of Canopus, in 238 BC) which consisted of the intercalation of a sixth epagomenal day every fourth year. However, this reform was opposed by the Egyptian priests, and the idea was not adopted until 25 BC, when the Roman Emperor Augustus formally reformed the calendar of Egypt, keeping it forever synchronized with the newly introduced Julian calendar. To distinguish it from the Ancient Egyptian calendar, which remained in use by some astronomers until medieval times, this reformed calendar is known as the Coptic calendar. Its years and months coincide with those of the Ethiopian calendar but have different numbers and names.

Coptic year

See also: Computus
Coptic Orthodox Cross with traditional Coptic script reading: 'Jesus Christ, the Son of God'

The Coptic year is the extension of the ancient Egyptian civil year, retaining its subdivision into the three seasons, four months each. The three seasons are commemorated by special prayers in the Coptic liturgy. This calendar is still in use all over Egypt by farmers to keep track of the various agricultural seasons. The Coptic calendar has 13 months, 12 of 30 days each and an intercalary month at the end of the year of 5 or 6 days, depending whether the year is a leap year or not. The year starts on 29 August in the Julian Calendar or on the 30th in the year before (Julian) Leap Years. The Coptic Leap Year follows the same rules as the Julian Calendar so that the extra month always has six days in the year before a Julian Leap Year.

The Feast of Neyrouz marks the first day of the Coptic year. Its celebration falls on the first day of the month of Thout, the first month of the Egyptian year, which for AD 1901 to 2098 usually coincides with 11 September, except before a Gregorian leap year when it's September 12. Coptic years are counted from 284 AD, the year Diocletian became Roman Emperor, whose reign was marked by tortures and mass executions of Christians, especially in Egypt. Hence, the Coptic year is identified by the abbreviation A.M. (for Anno Martyrum or "Year of the Martyrs"). The A.M. abbreviation is also used for the unrelated Jewish year (Anno Mundi).

Every fourth Coptic year is a leap year without exception, as in the Julian calendar, so the above-mentioned new year dates apply only between AD 1900 and 2099 inclusive in the Gregorian Calendar. In the Julian Calendar, the new year is always 29 August, except before a Julian leap year when it's August 30. Easter is reckoned by the Julian Calendar in the Old Calendarist way.

To obtain the Coptic year number, subtract from the Julian year number either 283 (before the Julian new year) or 284 (after it).

Genetics

Copts are the descendants of pre-Islamic Egyptians; when Egyptian Muslims later ceased to call themselves by the demonym, the term became the distinctive name of the Christian minority. Most ethnic Copts are Coptic Oriental Orthodox Christians. According to Y-DNA analysis by Hassan et al. (2008), around 45% of Copts in Sudan carry the Haplogroup J. The remainder mainly belong to the E1b1b clade (21%). Both paternal lineages are common among other local Afroasiatic-speaking populations (Beja, Ethiopians, Sudanese Arabs), as well as the Nubians. E1b1b/E3b reaches its highest frequencies among North Africans, Levantine Middle Easterners, and Ethiopid East Africans. The next most common haplogroups borne by Copts in Sudan are the European-linked R1b clade (15%), as well as the archaic African B lineage (15%).

Maternally, Hassan (2009) found that Copts in Sudan exclusively carry various descendants of the macrohaplogroup N. This mtDNA clade is likewise closely associated with local Afroasiatic-speaking populations, including Berbers and Ethiopid peoples. Of the N derivatives borne by Copts, U6 is most frequent (28%), followed by the haplogroup T (17%).

A 2015 study by Dobon et al. identified an ancestral autosomal component of Western Eurasian origin that is common to many modern Afroasiatic-speaking populations in Northeast Africa. Known as the Coptic component, it peaks among Egyptian Copts who settled in Sudan over the past two centuries. In their analysis, Sudan's Copts formed a separated group in the PCA, a close outlier to other Egyptians, Afro-Asiatic-speaking Northeast Africans and Middle East populations. The scientists suggest that this points to a common origin for the general population of Egypt, or Middle Eastern and North African populations. Copts in general shared the same main ancestral component with North African/Middle Eastern populations. They also associate the Coptic component with Ancient Egyptian ancestry, without the later Arabian influence that is present among other Egyptians.

Hollfelder et al. (2017) analysed various populations in Sudan and observed that Egyptians and Copts showed low levels of genetic differentiation and lower levels of genetic diversity compared to the northeast African groups. Copts and Egyptians displayed similar levels of European or Middle Eastern ancestry (Copts were estimated to be of 69.54% ± 2.57 European ancestry, and the Egyptians of 70.65% ± 2.47 European ancestry). The authors concluded that the Copts and the Egyptians have a common history linked to smaller population sizes, and that Sudanese Copts have remained relatively isolated since their arrival to Sudan with only low levels of admixture with local northeastern Sudanese groups.

An allele frequency comparative study conducted in 2020 between the two main Egyptian ethnic groups, Muslims and Christians, supported the conclusion that Egyptian Muslims and Egyptian Christians genetically originate from the same ancestors.

Prominent Copts

Main article: List of Copts
Halim El-Dabh at a Cleveland festival in 2009
Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Some famous Copts include:

See also

Footnotes

  1. In 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that "the vast majority of Egypt's estimated 9.5 million Christians, approximately 10% of the country's population, are Orthodox Copts." In 2019, the Associated Press cited an estimate of 10 million Copts in Egypt. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported: "The Egyptian government estimates about 5 million Copts, but the Coptic Orthodox Church says 15-18 million. Reliable numbers are hard to find but estimates suggest they make up somewhere between 6% and 18% of the population." In 2004, BBC News reported that Copts were 5–10% of the Egyptian population. The CIA World Factbook reported a 2015 estimate that 10% of the Egyptian population is Christian (including both Copts and non-Copts). In 2017, the Minority Rights Group reported that figures for the population of Egyptian Copts "range between 4.7 and 7.1 million, comprising between six and nine per cent of the population, though some estimates put the proportion at as much as 10 to 20 per cent."

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