The Coptic Church is the national church of Christians in Egypt. According to legend, it was founded by the Evangelist Mark and now belongs to the so-called eastern branch Orthodox Christianity. The Copts themselves prefer to call themselves followers of the ancient apostolic church.
Who are Copts?
Copts are considered direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians. Their language has many similarities with Egypt, and Louis Champollion successfully used it in the initial deciphering of hieroglyphs. Today, the Coptic language has practically fallen into disuse and is preserved only in church services.
Currently, it is customary to call all followers of Christian teachings living in Egypt and Ethiopia Copts. Very often, a Copt can be distinguished from a Muslim by a tattoo of a cross on the wrist. It is not obligatory, but is present among most Egyptian Christians.
History of the Coptic Church
According to legend, the first Christian community in Egypt was founded by Saint Mark, who first visited Alexandria around 47-48 AD. He became its first bishop, and twenty years later he died at the hands of the Romans. Some of his relics are still kept in the Coptic temple in Alexandria.
Officially Coptic Orthodox Church appeared in 451, after IV Chalcedon. Then the Patriarch of Alexandria refused to condemn Monophysitism as a heresy and was forced to declare the separation of his church. After this, as long as Egypt remained part of Byzantine Empire, Copts were persecuted as heretics.
After the conquest of the country by the Arabs, and later Ottoman Empire For many centuries, the Coptic Church suffered severe oppression from Muslims, who destroyed temples and persecuted clergy and parishioners.
Beliefs and rituals
The doctrine of the Coptic Church is based on moderate Monophysitism. Monophysites recognize only the divine nature of Jesus Christ and deny that he was ever human. They believed that the human nature He inherited from his mother dissolved into his divine essence “like a drop of honey in the ocean.” The Orthodox Church claims that Christ had a dual nature, that is, he was a real man, while remaining a god. It was these purely theological disagreements that at one time led to a schism between the two Eastern churches.
The rituals and holidays of the Egyptian Church are in many ways similar to the Orthodox. 7 major and 7 minor holidays of the Lord are solemnly celebrated.
Copts deeply revere the Mother of God. In her honor in church calendar There are 32 holidays, the main ones being Christmas. Holy Mother of God, Introduction to the Temple and Assumption.
Religious Copts fast for most of the year. They have 4 large posts and several small ones. Besides fast days are always Wednesday and Friday.
The church liturgy has retained much from the monastic service of the times of early Christianity. And due to the fact that the Coptic language has practically fallen out of use and is incomprehensible to a large number of parishioners, it is usually held in two languages - Coptic and Arabic. Services are held 7 times a day.
Coptic temples
The main temple of the Coptic Church today is the huge Cathedral of St. Mark in Alexandria. In the same city there is also the ancient, miraculously preserved Church of Peter and Paul.
In addition, Coptic temples exist in other cities of Egypt. Special attention deserves the majestic Coptic Church in Hurghada, which is one of the main attractions of the city. The architecture of the temple harmoniously combines the features of Christian and Muslim art, and the large iconostasis is decorated with three rows of ancient icons brought from Europe. To avoid clashes with Muslim religious fanatics, the church is surrounded by a fairly high wall. Nevertheless, it is open to tourists, and its ministers are very welcoming to representatives of any Christian denomination.
The decoration of Coptic churches, as a rule, is not excessively luxurious. The walls are simply plastered, and frescoes are extremely rare. The iconostasis consists of carved icons only on top. Coptic religious painting also has a number of significant features. The figures of people here are depicted as flat and disproportionate, and the details are described very poorly. In general, it resembles a drawing made by a child’s hand.
Inside the churches there are rows of benches - unlike Orthodox churches, where parishioners always listen to the service while standing.
The cross, as a rule, is oriented in two directions at once, and therefore is always visible, no matter from which side of the temple the observer is located.
When entering the temple, it is customary to take off your shoes. Men pray separately from women.
Structure of the Coptic Church
Today the Coptic Church in Egypt consists of 26 dioceses. It is governed by His Holiness the Pope, Patriarch of Alexandria. He is elected to general meeting bishops, where laymen are also present, who are invited by 12 people from each diocese. Before his election, the patriarch does not necessarily have to have the rank of bishop; he can even be a simple monk. The final choice of the head of the Church from the presented candidates is left to fate itself, that is, lots are cast. The patriarch thus elected cannot be removed, and only he has the right to ordain new bishops.
The Coptic Church has its own schools, and Lately here the institution of monasticism began to be revived. Today in Egypt there are 12 male and 6 female Coptic monasteries. Most of them are located in the oasis of Wadi en Natrun, a hundred kilometers from Cairo. There are also very tiny monasteries where only 3-4 monks live.
Another difference between the Coptic Church and others is the hermit monks who still exist, leading a solitary ascetic lifestyle far in the desert.
The main theological seminary of the Copts is located in the very capital of Egypt, not far from the Cathedral of St. Brand. Since 1954, the Coptic Church has also had its own Institute of Higher Studies, which studies Egyptian Christian culture.
Church today
The followers of the church live mainly in Egypt. According to data for 1995, their number exceeds 8 million people, and about 2 million more are in the Coptic diaspora around the world.
The Church maintains close relations with other Monophysite churches - Armenian, Ethiopian, Syrian, Malankara and Eritrean.
Not long ago, the Patriarch of Alexandria visited Russia, which is a sure sign good relations between the two branches of Orthodoxy and attempts to bring them closer together. It was initiated by the Coptic Church. In Moscow, the head of Egyptian Christians met with Patriarch Kirill and visited several churches and monasteries in the capital.
Throughout its history, the Coptic Empire has never known easy times. It still remains a small island of Christianity in the middle of the Muslim world. But despite everything, it continues to exist and develop, carefully preserving traditions and instilling faith in the hearts of its parishioners.
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HISTORY OF THE COPTICS
Copts are believed to be direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians. The word "Copt" itself comes from the Greek "aygyuptos" and simply means "Egyptian". But today only special groups of the Christian population of North Africa - mainly Egypt and Ethiopia - are called Copts.
In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria. Through this port, Greeks and Macedonians began to enter the country in a wide stream. Alexandria at the beginning of our era was one of the centers of the Mediterranean, a place where Egyptian and Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures met.
From this time on, only Greeks could hold official positions. Greek, which the Egyptians did not know, became the official language. The lot of the indigenous people, farmers and artisans remained only hard work, taxes and duties. The Romans conquered Egypt in 30 BC. Restrictions for Egyptians have become even stricter. For the new owners, Egypt was a breadbasket. They sought to export as much grain as possible. The number of taxes and duties, not only monetary, but also bread, wine, vegetable oil, wood and other natural products, reached 450! Unable to bear this, the Egyptians rebelled in 165, 181-184 AD. The rebels were brutally dealt with.
In the 2nd century AD, Christianity began to spread in Egypt. Alexandria became the center for the spread of the new religion. Thanks to the activities of the first Christian settlements that arose here, the city was among the five first Christian capitals - along with Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome and Constantinople. It is believed that it was the Alexandrian school of theology (Clement, Origen, Cyril) that tried to instill a philosophical language in Christianity.
The Coptic Church was founded by St. Evangelist Mark. He arrived in Africa in 47-48 and preached in Alexandria, then the capital of Egypt. In 69 St. Mark was tortured by the Romans. Copts believe St. Mark as his first patriarch. Some of his relics are kept in the Coptic temple in Alexandria.
The spread of Christianity in Egypt was facilitated primarily by its proximity to the Holy Land and the presence of holy places directly related to Holy Scripture: it was on the banks of the Nile that little Jesus hid for almost four years along with the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph from the persecution of King Herod. And today, the places where the Holy Family stayed are the subject of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world.
In 213, when suppressing another uprising of the Egyptians, the Romans even destroyed irrigation canals, dooming farmers to hunger and suffering. Emperor Decius in 250 decided to exterminate Christianity, forcing all Christians to perform pagan rituals under a special commission. Those who refused were sent to prison, starved and beheaded, burned at the stake, or thrown to be devoured by wild animals. Women martyrs were executed in a terrible way: they were tied to the tops of two date palms bent to the ground and, suddenly released, were torn in half.
In 258, Emperor Valerian issued a decree to execute all Christian priests, and noble Christians were deprived of their property and turned into slaves for refusing to sacrifice.
The terrible torment remained in the memory of the Egyptian people, and later they began to count time according to the “era of martyrs” - from August 28, 284, the date of Emperor Diocletian’s accession to the throne.
Many Copts were in Roman service and, not without success, spread Christianity throughout the vast great empire. With a legion from Egyptian Thebes in 285, Saint Maurice came to Helvetia (Switzerland), and his remains rest in the abbey of the same name in the Swiss canton of Valais. His compatriots Felix, Regula and Exuperius, beheaded by order of a Roman official in the Swiss canton of Glarus, were buried in Zurich. These Coptic missionaries became a symbol of Zurich, and they found a place on the city's coat of arms. Syrian and Coptic monks reached Ireland, and early Celtic churches are strikingly similar in architecture to Coptic temples.
The official date of the appearance of the Coptic Church is 451 - the year of the schism that occurred at the Council of Chalcedon. The Christological teaching of the Monophysites, to some extent due to opposition to Byzantine domination, was rejected by the majority of the Egyptian hierarchy and believers. Attempts to forcefully impose the decisions of the Council only strengthened resistance. Ultimately, a special Monophysite Coptic Church arose (the Arabs and Greeks called the Egyptians “Copts”) with its own liturgical and theological tradition.
Most Copts call themselves Orthodox, but in the world they are considered representatives of the “ancient eastern” or “pre-Chalcedonian” churches.
Copts were highly revered in Egypt. Even more than a century after the Arab conquest of the country in 639 - 641, their position remained relatively prosperous: no one demanded a forced renunciation of Christianity, the Coptic language was used in official documents.
But already under the Abbasids (750-1258), the life of the Copts became more difficult. Although they continue to occupy positions of responsibility, discriminatory laws passed after 850 complicate their situation, but not so much that the Copts disappear completely. By the middle of the 9th century, Copts found themselves a minority in Egypt. Although Islamic rule was accompanied by frequent persecution of the Copts, there were also periods of relative freedom, and then the Church flourished again and created outstanding theological and spiritual works on Arabic.
STUDY OF COPTICS
Although travelers of the 16th and 17th centuries repeatedly wrote about the amazing Christian minority in the middle Muslim country, the study of Coptic culture goes back about one and a half centuries. Suffice it to say that when Auguste Mariette founded the Egyptian Antiquities Service in Cairo in 1858, Roman and Coptic Egypt was not at all in his sphere of interest. But his employees, Albert Gayet and Jean Kleda, spent many years in tireless searches and excavations. The results of their labors are divided between the Paris and Cairo collections. It’s nice that another name that has gone down in the history of archeology is associated with Russia: Vladimir von Bock contributed a lot to the current Coptic riches of the Hermitage and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.
COPTIC LANGUAGE
The Coptic language is the last stage of development of the language of the ancient Egyptians and was used by François Champollion in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Coptic letters are similar to Greek, and many words are borrowed from the Greek language.
After the terrible persecution of Christians under Diocletian, by whose decree thousands of men and women with children were betrayed after torture painful death, in 313, Emperor Constantine the Great declared himself a Christian and issued a decree on religious confession.
By this time, Christianity in Egypt had already become widespread. The question arose about translating the Bible into the language of the Egyptians, who did not know Greek. And the common people of Egypt did not know Egyptian demotic (hieroglyphic) writing, since it required special and lengthy training. The translators had to create an alphabet of 24 Greek letters and 6 new signs for sounds that were not in the Greek language. And from the beginning of the 4th century, Christian Egyptians, or “Coptics,” as they were later called, familiar with the alphabet, could read the Holy Scriptures.
In 641, Egypt was conquered by the Arabs and the Coptic language was dropped from official use.
In 1517, power in Egypt passed into the hands of the Turks, persecution and oppression led to the fact that in the 17th century the Coptic language ceased to be spoken...
Coptic literature has reached us, in which great place occupied by stories about religious martyrs (martyria) and biographies of the first figures of the Coptic Church. This literature is an important source for studying early history Christianity.
Coptic scholars, fearing for the fate of the Coptic language, published grammar textbooks, but this did not help. Worship in the Coptic church is conducted in the Coptic language, but those praying often no longer understand what they hear. Sometimes they use the Bible, in which the text is given in parallel in two languages. And the priests first read the text in Coptic, and then in Arabic.
COPTIC CHURCH
Creed of the Coptic Church
Copts are Monophysites, that is, they believe that Christ had a single, divine essence, denying the fullness of the human nature of the Savior. The Coptic Church belongs to the Eastern, Orthodox branch of Christianity, and in this sense the Copts are very close to traditional Orthodoxy. But there are many differences between Orthodoxy and Egyptian Christianity - both in theology and in traditions.
Monophysitism(from Greek monos, one; and physis, nature), a movement in early Christianity based on the belief that Christ had only one nature.
The Monophysites recognized that Christ, the Son of God, assumed human nature, but the latter was absorbed by his Divinity, so that the nature of Christ should be considered as a divine nature, however, possessing human properties.
This was a contrast to Nestorianism, which emphasized the human essence of Christ. Monophysitism rejected the possibility of transformation of the Logos in man, and therefore denied Salvation. The doctrine was first approved by the Council of Ephesus in 449, and then condemned by the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451). Supporters of this trend are called Monophysites, Monophysites, although they do not recognize this term and call themselves either Orthodox or followers of the Apostolic Church. The movement was formed in 433 in the Middle East, but officially separated from the rest of Christianity in 451, after the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon adopted the Deophisite doctrine (the doctrine of the two natures of Jesus Christ) and condemned Monophysitism as a heresy.
At the Council of Chalcedon it was proclaimed that Christ is the one and only Son of God, “perfect in Godhead and perfect in humanity,” “ true God and true man... of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father in Divinity and consubstantial with us in humanity.” He is “one and the same Christ” and “only begotten Son,” “in two natures unfused, untransformed, inseparable, inseparable. At the same time, the difference of natures does not disappear through the connection, but the peculiarity of each nature is even more preserved.”
The founder of the movement was Archimandrite Eutyches (c. 378-454) - abbot of one of the large monasteries in Constantinople. Eutyches taught that at first the two natures of Christ existed separately - God and man, but after their union at the Incarnation only one began to exist. Subsequently, apologists for Monophysitism either completely denied the presence of any human element in the nature of Christ, or argued that the human nature in Christ was completely absorbed by the divine nature, or believed that the human or divine nature in Christ was combined into something different from each of them.
However, there is an opinion that the main contradictions between Monophysitism and Orthodoxy were rather not doctrinal, but cultural, ethnic, and perhaps political in nature: Monophysitism united forces dissatisfied with the strengthening of Byzantine influence. Of the ecumenical councils, Monophysites recognize only three: Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431).
The traditions in the Monophysite churches are very close to the Orthodox, differing only in certain details. Give them general characteristics difficult, since they vary markedly in individual Monophysite denominations, the main of which are:
1) Kop Orthodox Church (including Nubian and Ethiopian),
2) Syrian Orthodox (Fkovite) Church,
3) Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Coptic Church is in communion with other Monophysite churches - Armenian and Syrian, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malankara.
The canon law of the Coptic Church rests on the Kormcha, compiled by Michael, Bishop of Damietta (Ibn al-Assal), in the 13th century. and consisting of pseudo-apostolic decrees that passed through the Monophysite hands of conciliar acts, the rules of deanery of the patriarchs Benjamin, Christodoulus, Gabriel, etc.
Coptic temples
The ancient ecclesiastical center is Alexandria. There are the graves of all the primates of the Church, starting from St. Brand. The current center of the Coptic Church is located in Cairo, near the Demerdesh metro station. Giant Cathedral of St. Mark, ancient temple of St. Peter and Paul, many services and buildings.
Coptic churches were simply removed. For example, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. The Mark in Cairo, founded in 1969, on the 1900th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Coptic Church, has whitewashed walls without frescoes. The main part of the iconostasis is simply carved wooden panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and only the top row is the actual icons. Sometimes icons are hung on the walls of temples, as in the famous Hanging Church in Old Cairo. Frescoes are found only occasionally. The iconography is special. People's figures are depicted flat, proportions are not respected, details are not recorded, as in children's drawings.
Perhaps the most significant internal difference is that most temples have benches. Crosses also have an unconventional shape for us - they are oriented in two directions, so that no matter which side you look at, the Cross is visible.
When entering the temple, Copts take off their shoes. They pray seven times a day, facing east, always wearing hats. They fast most of the year. There are seven great and five small holidays in the year, and five fasts.
But in general, Coptic temples are similar to everyone else Orthodox churches, especially inside - an altar oriented to the east, soleya, iconostasis, paintings, candles, utensils.
In old churches, a few icons are sometimes placed at the top of the altar carved partition, replacing the iconostasis and sometimes completely devoid of icons. Of the ancient temples, the churches of Old Cairo are especially noteworthy, for example Al-Moallaq (6th century), St. Sergius, Much. Mercury.
Men in the temple are separated from women by a partition; there is no altar in the altar; crayfish with relics are sometimes placed on choirs. The utensils and vestments are similar to the Orthodox, but simplified for everyday services; An “ephod” cloth is placed on the head and shoulders. The services are the same as in the Orthodox Church; A special feature is the rite of morning and evening incense, performed before the liturgy and vespers on Sundays and holidays.
Liturgics
Liturgical uniformity was introduced in the 12th century. the reform of Gabriel ibn Tureik; Until this time, the ranks were even closer to the Greek ones. The northern (Boheir) dialect was made the common Egyptian liturgical language; Previously, Sahidic was also used in the south, and even earlier - Greek, in which several exclamations are still pronounced at the liturgy and some chants are sung.
Until the 17th century, Coptic was not only a liturgical language, but also an everyday language, but now it has been completely replaced by Arabic. The influence of Arabs and Islam was also evident in rituals. Of the numerous liturgies, three have survived, those attributed to Basil the Great, Cyril of Alexandria and Gregory the Theologian. Their main difference from the Orthodox is the absence of the Cherubic Song and 4 New Testament readings (Epistle of Paul, Council Epistles, Acts, Gospel).
The Liturgy is celebrated on one of the three brought leavened prosphoras, with 12 printed crosses and the Trisagion. The oblivion of the Coptic language forced to give way to Arabic. Reading of Holy Scripture takes place in two languages; some chants are only in Arabic; all liturgical books are printed in two languages with parallel texts, the ritual part is in one Arabic.
The dominant type of chants is the so-called. psalia, a type of short stanzas or doxologies arranged in the Greek alphabet. Some chants and prayers were borrowed from the Orthodox Church after the division. Church singing is based on osmoglasis. Sistrums and tympani are used.
The church year begins on August 29 (1 Toga) and includes 7 great holidays (Annunciation, Nativity of Christ, Epiphany, Entry into Jerusalem, Resurrection of Christ, Ascension, Pentecost), 7 minor ones and 5 fasts (except for our 4 “Shsheviy” - in the week corresponding to our Publican and Pharisee).
At matins Palm Sunday there is a consecration of the tree and procession; in the first three days Holy Week and on Great Friday there is no liturgy, but long hours; On Maundy Thursday the feet are washed. On Pentecost, the rite of kneeling is performed with the same prayers as ours. The great blessing of water on the day of Epiphany is also similar to ours. The seven sacraments are dogmatically and liturgically similar to the Orthodox.
The custom is to baptize boys on the 40th day, girls on the 80th day; baptism may be preceded by circumcision, more as a relic of Egyptian paganism than as a religious rite.
Prayer for the departed (commemoration on the 3rd, 7th, 30th and 40th days) and veneration of saints, especially the Mother of God, are recognized.
The rite of their liturgy is more ancient than ours; the laity receive communion like the clergy, taking the Holy Gifts (Body of Christ) in their hands and drinking from the Holy Chalice (from the hands of the priest). Shoes are removed before communion. Confession is required. Coptic priests wear crosses, usually made of leather, and turban caps; they are also approached for blessings.
Monasticism
The Egyptians gave the Christian world monasticism - a tradition that has become an integral part of Russian Orthodox culture.
The first monastery was founded in the Egyptian Eastern Desert by St. Anthony the Great at the beginning of the 4th century and still exists today. Almost simultaneously with it, the monastery of St. Pavel. On the banks of the Nile such saints, revered by Russians as Venerable Macarius Egyptian, St. Catherine, Mary of Egypt.
Currently, there is a clear revival of monasticism, and many young monks are engaged in agriculture and publishing activities, the ancient monasteries are being repopulated. There are twelve in the Church monasteries with 600 monks and six convents with 300 nuns. Most of the monasteries are concentrated in Wadi al-Natrun, 60 miles northwest of Cairo. The regime in the monasteries is very strict: the monks eat mainly bread and water and pray a lot.
Dad
The Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria bore (and bears) the title of pope from much earlier times than the bishop of Rome. Since 536, the Copts have elected their patriarch, who, together with the synod, is located in Cairo.
The pope-patriarch is elected for life at a local council from the most famous monastery confessors who have lived for many years in the desert. After this, he becomes the leader of the nation and enjoys unquestioned authority.
The current Pope Shenouda III (born 1923, elected 1971) is the head of the Coptic Church and the only spiritual leader of the entire people. His title: POPE OF Alexandria, Patriarch of the See of St. Brand.
Dad is accessible, especially to people who come from afar. Every week he, accompanied by the episcopate, holds meetings with the people in St. Mark's Cathedral. The huge temple is filled with people, the pope sits down at the table on the salt, pronounces a spiritual word for about 40 minutes and then, without preparation, for about an hour answers notes that have been dropped in advance into a special vessel standing in the temple.
Cemetery
The Coptic cemetery is very different from ours. Crypt graves are small, sometimes elegantly decorated chapel houses without a roof (it is not needed, since it rains 3-4 times a year). People come here for the whole day to be with their deceased relatives. Here they pray and cook food. You can even live here. Graves in Islamic cemeteries are approximately the same, only with different symbolism. During the wars they were populated by refugees.
Spiritual training
There are many Coptic Sunday schools in Egypt. The main theological seminary of the Coptic Church is located in Cairo near St. Mark's Cathedral. Almost half of the priests graduated from this seminary. Many lay people study here in evening courses Holy Bible and theology. Founded in 1954, the Coptic Institute of Higher Studies is located in the patriarchate and is an important ecumenical center for the study of the Coptic Christian tradition.
The problem of the Coptic Church is Muslim fundamentalism
The rise of Muslim fundamentalism in Egypt is creating new problems for the Coptic Church. Following anti-Coptic fundamentalist protests in the late 1970s, President Sadat placed Pope Shenouda III under house arrest in a monastery in 1981 and did not release him until 1985. It is believed that the government took this measure to demonstrate its impartiality towards the conflicting parties. However, this kind of interference in the affairs of the Coptic Church worried many Christians in Egypt.
Church expansion
Meanwhile, in last years one can feel the revival of Coptic church life in the world and the growth of its influence. On July 19, 1994, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate accepted the small Orthodox Church of the British Isles under its jurisdiction as a separate diocese covering Great Britain and Ireland. This Church was renamed the British Orthodox Church, and its primate, Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury, received the new name Abba Seraphim El Suriani.
Coptic Church and Russian Orthodox Church
The Coptic Church is the direct predecessor of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 5th century, after Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire, a schism occurred in the Alexandrian Church. The Byzantines formed their own church, and a second, Greek, patriarchate arose in Alexandria. Well, from Byzantium in the 10th century, Christianity came to the Russian lands.
Since 1824, many monks of various orders and American elders visited Egypt with Bibles in Arabic, thus wanting to contribute to the revival of the Coptic Church. The Coptic Church gravitated towards Orthodoxy, began to seek reconciliation with the Orthodox Church and even called itself Orthodox. However, the unification of both churches has not yet occurred.
There is now an active dialogue between the Coptic Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate.
Signs and Wonders
Egypt lives an active spiritual life. Many signs and wonders are still happening today.
Thus, in the suburbs of the Egyptian capital Cairo, since April 1968, a strange phenomenon could be observed above the roofs of two Coptic churches, which puzzled both believers and skeptics a lot. The radiant vision of the Virgin Mary, constantly appearing in the early morning hours, appeared for the first time over the Coptic Church of St. Mary in Zeitoun. For three years, thousands of people sought to see this phenomenon. Numerous healings of the sick, including Muslims, have been recorded. Last appearing in 1971, the vision materialized again in 1986 over the Church of St. Demian, a Coptic temple outside Cairo.
Eyewitnesses said that it was often accompanied by smoking incense smoke and the dome of the church seemed to flash with light when the vision was above it. There were so many people gathering in front of the church that the police had to take action to prevent riots.
Coptic Orthodox Church
Copts are believed to be direct descendants of the ancient Egyptians. The word "Copt" itself comes from the Greek "aygyuptos" and simply means "Egyptian". But today only special groups of the Christian population of North Africa - mainly Egypt and Ethiopia - are called Copts.
In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered Egypt and founded Alexandria. Through this port, Greeks and Macedonians began to enter the country in a wide stream. Alexandria at the beginning of our era was one of the centers of the Mediterranean, a place where Egyptian and Greek, Roman and Jewish cultures met.
From this time on, only Greeks could hold official positions. Greek, which the Egyptians did not know, became the official language. The lot of the indigenous people, farmers and artisans remained only hard work, taxes and duties. The Romans conquered Egypt in 30 BC. Restrictions for Egyptians have become even stricter. For the new owners, Egypt was a breadbasket. They sought to export as much grain as possible. The number of taxes and levies, not only monetary, but also for bread, wine, vegetable oil, wood and other natural products, reached 450! Unable to bear this, the Egyptians rebelled in 165, 181-184 AD. The rebels were brutally dealt with.
In the 2nd century AD, Christianity began to spread in Egypt. Alexandria became the center for the spread of the new religion. Thanks to the activities of the first Christian settlements that arose here, the city was among the five first Christian capitals - along with Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome and Constantinople. It is believed that it was the Alexandrian school of theology (Clement, Origen, Cyril) that tried to instill a philosophical language in Christianity.
The Coptic Church was founded by St. Evangelist Mark. He arrived in Africa in 47-48 and preached in Alexandria, then the capital of Egypt. In 69 St. Mark was tortured by the Romans. Copts believe St. Mark as his first patriarch. Some of his relics are kept in the Coptic temple in Alexandria.
The spread of Christianity in Egypt was facilitated primarily by its proximity to the Holy Land and the presence of holy places directly related to Holy Scripture: it was on the banks of the Nile that little Jesus hid for almost four years along with the Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph from the persecution of King Herod. And today, the places where the Holy Family stayed are the subject of pilgrimage for Christians from all over the world.
In 213, when suppressing another uprising of the Egyptians, the Romans even destroyed irrigation canals, dooming farmers to hunger and suffering. Emperor Decius in 250 decided to exterminate Christianity, forcing all Christians to commit pagan rituals. Those who refused were sent to prison, starved and beheaded, burned at the stake or thrown to be devoured wild animals. Women martyrs were executed in a terrible way: they were tied to the tops of two date palms bent to the ground and, suddenly released, were torn in half.
In 258, Emperor Valerian issued a decree to execute all Christian priests, and noble Christians were deprived of their property and turned into slaves for refusing to sacrifice.
The terrible torment remained in the memory of the Egyptian people, and later they began to count time according to the “era of martyrs” - from August 28, 284, the date of Emperor Diocletian’s accession to the throne.
Many Copts were in Roman service and, not without success, spread Christianity throughout the vast empire. With a legion from Egyptian Thebes in 285, Saint Maurice came to Helvetia (Switzerland), and his remains rest in the abbey of the same name in the Swiss canton of Valais. His compatriots Felix, Regula and Exuperius, beheaded by order of a Roman official in the Swiss canton of Glarus, were buried in Zurich. These Coptic missionaries became a symbol of Zurich, and they found a place on the city's coat of arms. Syrian and Coptic monks reached Ireland, and early Celtic churches are strikingly similar in architecture to Coptic temples.
The official date of the appearance of the Coptic Church is 451 - the year of the schism that occurred at the Council of Chalcedon. The Christological teaching of the Monophysites, to some extent due to opposition to Byzantine domination, was rejected by the majority of the Egyptian hierarchy and believers. Attempts to forcefully impose the decisions of the Council only strengthened resistance. Ultimately, a special Monophysite Coptic Church arose (the Arabs and Greeks called the Egyptians “Copts”) with its own liturgical and theological tradition.
Most Copts call themselves Orthodox, but in the world they are considered representatives of the “ancient eastern” or “pre-Chalcedonian” churches.
Copts were highly revered in Egypt. Even more than a century after Arab conquest country over the years, their situation remained relatively prosperous: no one demanded a forcible renunciation of Christianity, the Coptic language was used in official documents.
But already under the Abbasids () the life of the Copts became more difficult. Although they continue to occupy positions of responsibility, discriminatory laws passed after 850 complicate their situation, but not so much that the Copts disappear completely. By the middle of the 9th century, Copts found themselves a minority in Egypt. Although Islamic rule was accompanied by frequent persecution of Copts, there were also periods of relative freedom, and then the Church again flourished and produced outstanding theological and spiritual works in Arabic.
Study of Copts
Although travelers of the 16th and 17th centuries repeatedly wrote about a surprising Christian minority in the midst of a Muslim country, the study of Coptic culture goes back about a century and a half. Suffice it to say that when Auguste Mariette founded the Egyptian Antiquities Service in Cairo in 1858, Roman and Coptic Egypt was not at all in his sphere of interest. But his employees, Albert Gayet and Jean Kleda, spent many years in tireless searches and excavations. The results of their labors are divided between the Paris and Cairo collections. It’s nice that another name that has gone down in the history of archeology is associated with Russia: Vladimir von Bock contributed a lot to the current Coptic riches of the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum.
Coptic language
The Coptic language is the last stage of development of the language of the ancient Egyptians and was used by François Champollion in deciphering ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Coptic letters are similar to Greek, and many words are borrowed from the Greek language.
After the terrible persecution of Christians under Diocletian, by whose decree Christians, thousands of men and women with children, were put to painful death after torture, in 313 Emperor Constantine the Great declared himself a Christian and issued a decree on confession of religion.
By this time, Christianity in Egypt had already become widespread. The question arose about translating the Bible into the language of the Egyptians, who did not know Greek. And the common people of Egypt did not know Egyptian demotic (hieroglyphic) writing, since it required special and lengthy training. The translators had to create an alphabet of 24 Greek letters and 6 new signs for sounds that were not in the Greek language. And from the beginning of the 4th century, Christian Egyptians, or “Coptics,” as they were later called, familiar with the alphabet, could read the Holy Scriptures.
In 641, Egypt was conquered by the Arabs and the Coptic language was dropped from official use.
In 1517, power in Egypt passed into the hands of the Turks, persecution and oppression led to the fact that in the 17th century the Coptic language ceased to be spoken...
Coptic literature has reached us, in which stories about religious martyrs (martyriyas) and biographies of the first figures of the Coptic church occupy a large place. This literature is an important source for the study of the early history of Christianity.
Coptic scholars, fearing for the fate of the Coptic language, published grammar textbooks, but this did not help. Worship in the Coptic church is conducted in the Coptic language, but those praying often no longer understand what they hear. Sometimes they use the Bible, in which the text is given in parallel in two languages. And the priests first read the text in Coptic, and then in Arabic.
Creed of the Coptic Church
Copts are Monophysites, that is, they believe that Christ had a single, divine essence, denying the fullness of the human nature of the Savior. The Coptic Church belongs to the Eastern, Orthodox branch of Christianity, and in this sense the Copts are very close to traditional Orthodoxy. But there are many differences between Orthodoxy and Egyptian Christianity - both in theology and in traditions.
Monophysitism (from the Greek monos, one; and physis, nature), a movement in early Christianity based on the belief that Christ had only one nature.
The Monophysites recognized that Christ, the Son of God, assumed human nature, but the latter was absorbed by his Divinity, so that the nature of Christ should be considered as a divine nature, however, possessing human properties.
This was a contrast to Nestorianism, which emphasized the human essence of Christ. Monophysitism rejected the possibility of transformation of the Logos in man, and therefore denied Salvation. The doctrine was first approved by the Council of Ephesus in 449, and then condemned by the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon (451). Supporters of this trend are called Monophysites, Monophysites, although they do not recognize this term and call themselves either Orthodox or followers of the Apostolic Church. The movement was formed in 433 in the Middle East, but officially separated from the rest of Christianity in 451, after the Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon adopted the Deophisite doctrine (the doctrine of the two natures of Jesus Christ) and condemned Monophysitism as a heresy.
At the Council of Chalcedon, it was proclaimed that Christ is the one and only Son of God, “perfect in Divinity and perfect in humanity,” “true God and true man... of rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father in Divinity and consubstantial with us in humanity.” . He is “one and the same Christ” and “only begotten Son,” “in two natures unfused, untransformed, inseparable, inseparable. At the same time, the difference of natures does not disappear through the connection, but the peculiarity of each nature is even more preserved.”
The founder of the movement was Archimandrite Eutyches (c. 378-454) - abbot of one of the large monasteries in Constantinople. Eutyches taught that at first the two natures of Christ existed separately - God and man, but after their union at the Incarnation only one began to exist. Subsequently, apologists for Monophysitism either completely denied the presence of any human element in the nature of Christ, or argued that the human nature in Christ was completely absorbed by the divine nature, or believed that the human or divine nature in Christ was combined into something different from each of them.
However, there is an opinion that the main contradictions between Monophysitism and Orthodoxy were rather not doctrinal, but cultural, ethnic, and perhaps political in nature: Monophysitism united forces dissatisfied with the strengthening of Byzantine influence. Of the ecumenical councils, Monophysites recognize only three: Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431).
The traditions in the Monophysite churches are very close to the Orthodox, differing only in certain details. It is difficult to give their general characteristics, since they vary markedly in individual Monophysite denominations, the main of which are:
1) Kop Orthodox Church (including Nubian and Ethiopian),
2) Syrian Orthodox (Fkovite) Church,
3) Armenian Apostolic Church.
The Coptic Church is in communion with other Monophysite churches - Armenian and Syrian, Ethiopian, Eritrean and Malankara.
The canon law of the Coptic Church rests on the Kormcha, compiled by Michael, Bishop of Damietta (Ibn al-Assal), in the 13th century. and consisting of pseudo-apostolic decrees that passed through the Monophysite hands of conciliar acts, the rules of deanery of the patriarchs Benjamin, Christodoulus, Gabriel, etc.
Coptic temples
The ancient ecclesiastical center is Alexandria. There are the graves of all the primates of the Church, starting from St. Brand. The current center of the Coptic Church is located in Cairo, near the Demerdesh metro station. Giant Cathedral of St. Mark, ancient temple of St. Peter and Paul, many services and buildings.
Coptic churches were simply removed. For example, in the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. The Mark in Cairo, founded in 1969, on the 1900th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Coptic Church, has whitewashed walls without frescoes. The main part of the iconostasis is simply carved wooden panels inlaid with mother-of-pearl, and only the top row is the actual icons. Sometimes icons are hung on the walls of temples, as in the famous Hanging Church in Old Cairo. Frescoes are found only occasionally. The iconography is special. People's figures are depicted flat, proportions are not respected, details are not recorded, as in children's drawings.
Perhaps the most significant internal difference is that most temples have benches. Crosses also have an unconventional shape for us - they are oriented in two directions, so that no matter which side you look at, the Cross is visible.
When entering the temple, Copts take off their shoes. They pray seven times a day, facing east, always wearing hats. They fast most of the year. There are seven great and five small holidays in the year, and five fasts.
But in general, Coptic churches are similar to all Orthodox churches, especially inside - the altar, oriented to the east, solea, iconostasis, paintings, candles, utensils.
In old churches, a few icons are sometimes placed at the top of the altar carved partition, replacing the iconostasis and sometimes completely devoid of icons. Of the ancient temples, the churches of Old Cairo are especially noteworthy, for example Al-Moallaq (6th century), St. Sergius, Much. Mercury.
Men in the temple are separated from women by a partition; there is no altar in the altar; crayfish with relics are sometimes placed on choirs. The utensils and vestments are similar to the Orthodox, but simplified for everyday services; An “ephod” cloth is placed on the head and shoulders. The services are the same as in the Orthodox Church; A special feature is the rite of morning and evening incense, performed before the liturgy and vespers on Sundays and holidays.
Liturgics
Liturgical uniformity was introduced in the 12th century. the reform of Gabriel ibn Tureik; Until this time, the ranks were even closer to the Greek ones. The northern (Boheir) dialect was made the common Egyptian liturgical language; Previously, Sahidic was also used in the south, and even earlier - Greek, in which several exclamations are still pronounced at the liturgy and some chants are sung.
Until the 17th century, Coptic was not only a liturgical language, but also an everyday language, but now it has been completely replaced by Arabic. The influence of Arabs and Islam was also evident in rituals. Of the numerous liturgies, three have survived, those attributed to Basil the Great, Cyril of Alexandria and Gregory the Theologian. Their main difference from the Orthodox is the absence of the Cherubic Song and 4 New Testament readings (Epistle of Paul, Council Epistles, Acts, Gospel).
The Liturgy is celebrated on one of the three brought leavened prosphoras, with 12 printed crosses and the Trisagion. The oblivion of the Coptic language forced to give way to Arabic. Reading of Holy Scripture takes place in two languages; some chants are only in Arabic; all liturgical books are printed in two languages with parallel texts, the ritual part is in one Arabic.
The dominant type of chants is the so-called. psalia, a type of short stanzas or doxologies arranged in the Greek alphabet. Some chants and prayers were borrowed from the Orthodox Church after the division. Church singing is based on osmoglasis. Sistrums and tympani are used.
Monasticism
The Egyptians gave the Christian world monasticism - a tradition that has become an integral part of Russian Orthodox culture.
The first monastery was founded in the Egyptian Eastern Desert by St. Anthony the Great at the beginning of the 4th century and still exists today. Almost simultaneously with it, the monastery of St. Pavel. On the banks of the Nile such saints, revered by Russians as St. Macarius of Egypt, St. Catherine, Mary of Egypt.
Currently, there is a clear revival of monasticism, and there are many young monks involved in agriculture and publishing activities, repopulate ancient monasteries. The Church has twelve monasteries with 600 monks and six nunneries with 300 nuns. Most of the monasteries are concentrated in Wadi al-Natrun, 60 miles northwest of Cairo. The regime in the monasteries is very strict: the monks eat mainly bread and water and pray a lot.
Dad
The Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria bore (and bears) the title of pope from much earlier times than the bishop of Rome. Since 536, the Copts have elected their patriarch, who, together with the synod, is located in Cairo.
The pope-patriarch is elected for life at a local council from the most famous monastery confessors who have lived for many years in the desert. After this, he becomes the leader of the nation and enjoys unquestioned authority.
The current Pope Shenouda III (born 1923, elected 1971) is the head of the Coptic Church and the only spiritual leader of the entire people. His title: POPE OF Alexandria, Patriarch of the See of St. Brand.
Dad is accessible, especially to people who come from afar. Every week he, accompanied by the episcopate, holds meetings with the people in St. Mark's Cathedral. The huge temple is filled with people, the pope sits down at the table on the salt, pronounces a spiritual word for about 40 minutes and then, without preparation, for about an hour answers notes that have been dropped in advance into a special vessel standing in the temple.
Cemetery
The Coptic cemetery is very different from ours. Crypt graves are small, sometimes elegantly decorated chapel houses without a roof (it is not needed, since it rains 3-4 times a year). People come here for the whole day to be with their deceased relatives. Here they pray and cook food. You can even live here. Graves in Islamic cemeteries are approximately the same, only with different symbolism. During the wars they were populated by refugees.
Spiritual training
There are many Coptic Sunday schools in Egypt. The main theological seminary of the Coptic Church is located in Cairo near St. Mark's Cathedral. Almost half of the priests graduated from this seminary. Many lay people study Scripture and theology in evening courses here. Founded in 1954, the Coptic Institute of Higher Studies is located in the patriarchate and is an important ecumenical center for the study of the Coptic Christian tradition.
The problem of the Coptic Church is Muslim fundamentalism
The rise of Muslim fundamentalism in Egypt is creating new problems for the Coptic Church. Following anti-Coptic fundamentalist protests in the late 1970s, President Sadat placed Pope Shenouda III under house arrest in a monastery in 1981 and did not release him until 1985. It is believed that the government took this measure to demonstrate its impartiality towards the conflicting parties. However, this kind of interference in the affairs of the Coptic Church worried many Christians in Egypt.
Church expansion
Meanwhile, in recent years there has been a revival of Coptic church life in the world and the growth of its influence. On July 19, 1994, the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate accepted the small Orthodox Church of the British Isles under its jurisdiction as a separate diocese covering Great Britain and Ireland. This Church was renamed the British Orthodox Church, and its primate, Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury, received the new name Abba Seraphim El Suriani.
Coptic Church and Russian Orthodox Church
The Coptic Church is the direct predecessor of the Russian Orthodox Church. In the 5th century, after Egypt became part of the Byzantine Empire, a schism occurred in the Alexandrian Church. The Byzantines formed their own church, and a second, Greek, patriarchate arose in Alexandria. Well, from Byzantium in the 10th century, Christianity came to the Russian lands.
Since 1824, many monks of various orders and American elders visited Egypt with Bibles in Arabic, thus wanting to contribute to the revival of the Coptic Church. The Coptic Church gravitated towards Orthodoxy, began to seek reconciliation with the Orthodox Church and even called itself Orthodox. However, the unification of both churches has not yet occurred.
There is now an active dialogue between the Coptic Patriarchate and the Moscow Patriarchate.
Signs and Wonders
Egypt lives an active spiritual life. Many signs and wonders are still happening today.
Thus, in the suburbs of the Egyptian capital Cairo, since April 1968, a strange phenomenon could be observed above the roofs of two Coptic churches, which puzzled both believers and skeptics a lot. The radiant vision of the Virgin Mary, constantly appearing in the early morning hours, appeared for the first time over the Coptic Church of St. Mary in Zeitoun. For three years, thousands of people sought to see this phenomenon. Numerous healings of the sick, including Muslims, have been recorded. Last time, appearing in 1971, the vision materialized again in 1986 over the Church of St. Demian, a Coptic temple outside the city limits of Cairo.
Eyewitnesses said that it was often accompanied by smoking incense smoke and the dome of the church seemed to flash with light when the vision was above it. There were so many people gathering in front of the church that the police had to take action to prevent riots.
Musad Sadiq, a journalist who covered the story for a Cairo newspaper, reported that the vision once lasted as long as 20 minutes. Although scientists have tried to present this phenomenon as a visual illusion, mass hallucinations, a natural optical phenomenon, or even simply as electrical discharges on the dome of a temple, no one has been able to give a clear explanation of the phenomenon.
Coptic community
By official statistics, Copts make up about 8-9% of Egypt's population. There is not a single Copt in the country's leadership.
Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East and are a visible and active minority in Egypt. According to the Coptic Church itself, more than 10 million believers belong to it.
Copts live primarily in cities and regions. There are several Coptic areas in Cairo. They can be distinguished by the abundance of temples (and there are about 1000 of them in Egypt), portraits of Pope Shenouda or the previous Pope Cyril in shops and pharmacies. Driving around Cairo you can often see bell towers and crosses above the domes. There are also several cities, mostly inhabited by Copts.
There is also a significant Coptic diaspora, whose representatives live in Europe, Africa, Australia and America
Elena Terekhova
Coptic Church located in Alexandria, it is a Christian church in Egypt and belongs to the ancient Eastern Orthodox churches. She obeys three Ecumenical Councils, recognizes the traditional theological school, does not belong to the family of churches of the Byzantine tradition.
Tradition says that this school was founded by the Apostle Mark. It now consists of 400 communities, many of them located in Egypt and its diaspora. The Church has the character of Judaism, ancient egypt- circumcision not only of men, but also of women. This tradition was borrowed from Muslims. Until 2012, the Coptic Church was led by Pope Shenouda III.
The Coptic Church has a history of spiritual prosperity, which is associated with exploits, tragic events, and conflicts related to the military situation. Copts are descendants of the ancient Egyptians. The writing of their language resembles hieroglyphs. In the 4th century there were about a million Coptic Christians. The faith was spread by the followers of Christ, who were persecuted at that time. The spread of Christianity in Egypt was facilitated by preaching in the Egyptian language.
In addition, sermons were translated into all Coptic dialects. Anyone wishing to become a member of the Orthodox community had to speak the language. The Coptic Church has features that are not at all reminiscent of the academic Christianity of Alexandria.
For this reason, relations between Coptic and Greek Christians remain tense. The fact is that there was a struggle in the country between wealthy Greek pagans and Coptic followers. Alexandrian theology had a certain mystical orientation.
Jesus Christ was perceived as God in the flesh. Christianity in Egypt had its followers for the reason that this country was located next to the Holy Land. On the banks of the Nile, the Baby Jesus and his Mother hid from Herod for four years.
Coptic Church- Eastern branch of Orthodoxy. But we have many differences with this direction. Coptic churches are decorated very simply, there are no frescoes or paintings on the walls, the iconostases mainly have ordinary wooden panels decorated with mother-of-pearl, only in the top row are icons. In Coptic iconography, images are painted flatly, proportions are most often not observed, and details are not given special importance. The images are reminiscent of children's drawings... But the iconography produces a very strong emotional impression, most likely because it has nothing superfluous.
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Orthodox churches and temples belong to the Byzantine tradition, or Greek Orthodox. They are divided into world ones, which include the Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and the Greek Orthodox.