The word Copt comes from the ancient Greek word for Egypt which is Aigyptos. Aigyptos was shortened to gyptos, then gypt by the Arabs. Gypt became pronounced qibt by the Arabs by the time they conquered Egypt in the 7th Century.
The Egyptians, or the Copts, did not intermarry with Arabs in the early days of the Arab Conquest because the Copts were Christians and the Arabs were Muslims. This custom has continued until the present day. Therefore the word Copt also came to signify not only Egyptians, but Christians as well.
So the Copts are the descendants of the original inhabitants of Egypt because they did not intermarry with the Arabs, and the reason for not intermarrying was that they were Christians who did not believe in marrying people from a different religion.
When did the Copts accept Christianity?
According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the church historian, St. Mark the Apostle (known as John Mark in the Book of Acts), came to Alexandria, Egypt in 42 to preach the Gospel. By his preaching, a small group of Egyptians believed in Christ. This would make them the second oldest Christian community that is still around today after the Christian community of Syria which began in 37. From that point on, the Christian community grew in Egypt. St. Mark visited Egypt other times including one final time in 68 on Easter, where he was killed for his faith in Christ by the pagans of Alexandria. With all this, the Christian community continued to grow until by the time of the Arab Conquest the whole of Egypt was Christian.
The Coptic Church endured several waves of persecution by the Romans who were pagans, by the Byzantines when there was a split in the Christian world, and by the Arabs, Mamelukes, and Ottomans who were Muslims. Nevertheless, the Church has survived, continues to grow, and continues its faith and service until today.
The Copts believe in One Triune God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We believe that God created the universe and placed humanity in the world out of His love. He created man for fellowship with Him, but mankind fell when they disobeyed the only commandment God gave them. As a result, man became separated from God and lost his salvation.
We believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ is God who became man and saved humanity from its sins. We believe that He did this by taking our punishment on His death on the Cross and his Resurrection from the dead. We believe that the Resurrection demonstrates that He is God and our hope that we will rise again on the last day. Further, the Resurrection shows us that the judgment that was against us for sinning against God has been taken away, so He has reconciled humanity to God.
We believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ sent us the Holy Spirit after He ascended to Heaven to dwell in us and make us holy to God. For this reason we believe in living a life of holiness and struggling against sin growing everyday in the image of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We believe that Our Lord Jesus Christ will come back at the end of the world and everyone will resurrect at the end of the world. God will judge all according to their works, and those who have followed Christ will spend eternity with Him while those who have not followed Him will spend eternity away from Him in Hell.
Our document of faith is the Bible. We understand the Holy Bible through the interpretations of the Early Church Fathers who lived from the 1st Century until the 5th Century. For this reason our understanding of the Bible is traditional meaning it does not change.
We are an Apostolic Church meaning we trace back our origin to St. Mark the Apostle. Our bishops are ordained by the laying on of hands of other bishops who form a direct line from St. Mark to the present day bishops of our church, including our Archbishop and Patriarch, Pope Tawadros II.
We are a Sacramental Church meaning our worship incorporates the Seven Sacraments of the Church. The first is Baptism, whereby we put on Christ and becomes members of the Body of Christ. The second is Chrismation whereby we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us and makes us holy to God. Third is Repentance and Confession where we confess our sins to God in the presence of a priest and we receive absolution for our sins. Fourth is the Holy Eucharist, which is the crown of the sacraments where we receive the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Fifth is the sacrament of matrimony where a man and a woman become one in Christ. Sixth is the sacrament of the priesthood where an individual is called to serve the Church of God in the role of a priest or bishop. Seventh is the sacrament of Holy Unction where the sick are anointed with holy oil for healing.
The Coptic Church today has between 15 to 18 million members worldwide. It has spread from Egypt to the United States, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, and South America. There are large diasporas in the United States, Europe, and Australia. In addition, the church has made converts in Africa, and South America.
The Church continues to be an Apostolic, Traditional, and Sacramental Church. It continues the faith we received from the Apostles and we continue to pass down the faith and spread it to the ends of the world as Our Lord Jesus Christ commanded us.
