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{{short description|An ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Copts
| native_name = '''{{Coptic|ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ}}''' {{BR}} <small>NiRemenkīmi enKhristianos</small>
| native_name_lang = cop
| image = Coptic flag.svg
| caption = The [[Coptic flag]]
| population = 5–20 million<ref name="Montreal Gazette">{{cite news|title=Coptic Orthodox Christmas to be low-key – Tight security: On alert after bombing in Egypt|url=https://montrealgazette.com/life/Montreal+Coptic+Orthodox+Christmas/4054183/story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223234517/http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Montreal%2BCoptic%2BOrthodox%2BChristmas/4054183/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 February 2011|accessdate=5 January 2011|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|date=4 January 2011}}</ref> (estimates vary)
| region1 = '''Traditional areas of Coptic settlement:'''
| pop1 = 5–20 million
| region2 = {{Flagcountry|Egypt}}
| pop2 = 5–20 million (estimates vary)
| ref2 = {{refn|Official population counts put the number of Copts at around 10-15% percent of the population, while some Coptic voices claim figures as high as 23 percent. 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), while other 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 percent and 20 percent,<ref>{{cite news |title=Egyptian Coptic protesters freed |newspaper=BBC |date=22 December 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4117831.stm |accessdate=}}</ref> for example the CIA World Factbook estimated 10% are Christian {{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html |title=Egypt |date= |work=The World Factbook |publisher=[[CIA]] |accessdate=27 August 2010}}, {{cite web |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386 |title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt |author1=Khairi Abaza |author2=Mark Nakhla |date=25 October 2005 |publisher=The Washington Institute |accessdate=27 August 2010}}, 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, [[Pope Shenouda III]] and Bishop Morkos, bishop of [[Shubra]], 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. {{cite web |url=http://www.unitedcopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3073&Itemid=71 |title=? |date=29 October 2008 |publisher=United Copts of Great Britain |accessdate=27 August 2010}} and {{cite web |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/08/28/55639.html |title=? |publisher=العربية.نت |accessdate=27 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603215320/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/08/28/55639.html |archive-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=dead }} Furthermore, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy {{cite web |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386 |title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt |author1=Khairi Abaza |author2=Mark Nakhla |date=25 October 2005 |publisher= |accessdate=27 August 2010}} Encyclopædia Britannica (1985), and Macropædia (15th ed., Chicago) estimate the percentage of Copts in Egypt to be up to 20 percent of the Egyptian population.}}
| region3 = {{Flagcountry|Sudan}}
| pop3 = c. 500,000
| ref3 = <ref name="unhcr1">Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Sudan : Copts, 2008, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49749ca6c.html [accessed 21 December 2010]</ref>
| region4 = {{flagcountry|Libya}}
| pop4 = 60,000
| 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>
| region5 = '''Diaspora:'''
| pop5 = 1–2 million (estimates vary)
| region6 = {{Flagcountry|USA}}
| pop6 = c. 200,000 – 1 million
| ref6 = <ref name="2009 American Community Survey">[https://www.census.gov 2009 American Community Survey] , U.S. Census Bureau "All Egyptians including Copts 197,160"</ref><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?''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=Coptic Credit Union}}</ref><ref name="Pittsburgh Tribune 2007">{{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''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=Pittsburgh Tribune (2007)|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319010757/http://sce.uhcl.edu/akladios/Magdy%20Akladios%20Website/Links%20For%20Church/Copticsflocktowelcome.doc|archivedate=March 19, 2009}}</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'' |accessdate=June 21, 2009 |publisher=JS Online (2005) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821115518/http://www3.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=373326 |archivedate=August 21, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="US-Copts">{{cite web|url=http://www.copts.com/english/CoptsDiaspora.aspx |title=''Coptic Diaspora''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=US-Copts Association (2007) |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220180014/http://www.copts.com/english/CoptsDiaspora.aspx |archivedate = 2007-02-20}}</ref>
| region7 = {{Flagcountry|Canada}}
| pop7 = c. 200,000
| ref7 = <ref name="Montreal Gazette" /><ref name="elaph.com">[http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2011/1/622635.html] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107131052/http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2011/1/622635.html |date=January 7, 2011 }}</ref>
| region8 = {{Flagcountry|Australia}}
| pop8 = c. 75,000 (2003)
| 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|France}}
| pop9 = c. 45,000 (2017)
| ref9 = <ref name="la-croix.com">In the year 2017, there was an estimated 45,000 Copts in France: {{cite web|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}}</ref>
| region10 = {{Flagcountry|Italy}}
| pop10 = c. 30,000
| ref10 = <ref name="CESNUR – Centro studi sulle nuove religioni (Center for Studies on New Religions)">{{cite web|url=http://www.cesnur.org/religioni_italia/o/ortodossia_16.htm|title=Le religioni in Italia: La Chiesa copta|publisher=}}</ref>
| region11 = {{Flagcountry|United Arab Emirates}}
| pop11 = c. 10,000
| ref11 = <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|accessdate=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>
| region12 = {{flagcountry|Jordan}}
| pop12 = 8,000+ (2005)
| ref12 = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm |title=King commends Coptic Church's role in promoting coexistence |publisher=Jordanembassyus.org |date=June 3, 2005 |accessdate=November 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926234617/http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm |archivedate=September 26, 2011 }}</ref>}}
| region13 = {{flagcountry|Kenya}}
| pop13 = 8,000+
| ref13 = {{lower|<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2" /><ref name="CopticMission" />}}
| region14 = {{flagcountry|Lebanon}}
| pop14 = 3,000–4,000 (2012)
| ref14 = {{lower|<ref name="state2">{{cite news|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/nea/208400.htm |title=Lebanon: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom |agency=U.S. Department of State |date=20 May 2013 |accessdate=6 December 2015}}</ref>}}
| region15 = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop15 = 3,000
| ref15 = {{lower|<ref name=autogenerated4>[http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_112.html Adherents.com: By Location]</ref>}}
| region16 = {{flagcountry|Austria}}
| pop16 = 2,000 (2001)
| ref16 = {{lower|<ref name="Austria 2004">[http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf Austria 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614212516/http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf |date=2007-06-14 }} Religious Freedom news</ref>}}
| region17 = {{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
| pop17 = 1,000 (2004)
| ref17 = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5090250 |title=Orthodox Copts open church in Switzerland |publisher=Swissinfo.org |date=July 17, 2004 |accessdate=November 18, 2011}}</ref>}}
| region18 = {{flagcountry|UK}}
| pop18 = 25,000 – 30,000 (2006)
| ref18 = {{lower|<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=Archived copy |accessdate=2008-08-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121192147/http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2631&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle |archivedate=2009-01-21 }} plus another 5,000 – 10,000 Copts who are directly under the [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_86.html British Orthodox Church (1999 figures)]</ref>}}
| langs = [[Coptic language|Coptic]] (liturgical and ancestral)<br>{{hlist|[[Egyptian Arabic]]|[[Sa'idi Arabic]]}}
| rels = [[Christianity]]<br />(Predominantly: [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodoxy]],<br />also [[Coptic Catholic Church|Coptic Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism in Egypt|Protestantism]])
| related_groups =
}}
The '''Copts''' ({{lang-cop|ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ|translit=NiRemenkīmi enKhristianos}}; {{lang-ar|الْقِبْط}}, {{transl|arz|al-Qibṭ}}) are an [[ethnoreligious group]] indigenous to [[North Africa]]<ref>[[#Minahan|Minahan 2002]], p. 467</ref> who primarily inhabit the area of modern [[Egypt]], where they are the largest [[Christianity in Egypt|Christian denomination]] in the country. Copts are also the largest Christian denomination in [[Christianity in Sudan|Sudan]] and [[Christianity in Libya|Libya]]. Historically, they spoke the [[Coptic language]], a direct descendant of the [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic Egyptian]] that was spoken in [[late antiquity]].
[[Copts in Egypt]] constitute the largest [[Christianity in the Middle East|Christian population in the Middle East]] and North Africa, as well as the largest religious minority in the region, accounting for roughly 5-20% of the [[demographics of Egypt|Egyptian population]], although the exact percentage is unknown as researchers are forbidden by authorities to ask about religion.<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> [[Copts in Sudan]] constitute the largest [[Christianity in Sudan|Christian community in Sudan]],<ref name="unhcr1" /> and [[Copts in Libya]] constitute the largest [[Christianity in Libya|Christian community in Libya]], accounting for an estimated 1% of their respective populations.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
Most Copts adhere to the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], an [[Oriental Orthodox]] church.<ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt" /><ref name="FCO/Egypt/" /><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 [[Coptic Catholic Church]] is an [[Eastern Catholic church]] in communion with the [[Roman Catholic Church]].
Copts of Egyptian ancestry maintain a distinct ethnic identity from [[Muslim]] Egyptians, and generally reject an [[Arabs|Arab identity]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arab or Copt? Rami Malek Oscar win sparks debate|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2019/2/25/arab-or-copt-rami-malek-oscar-win-sparks-debate|last=Khalil|first=Sarah|website=alaraby|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> Genetically, Copts are a distinct population, albeit more closely related to the Muslims of Egypt than to any other population.<ref>{{cite journal |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 |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 |issue=1 |doi=10.1038/srep09996 |language=En |issn=2045-2322|pmc=4446898 }}</ref> There is considerable diversity within the Coptic ethno-religious group, with cultural, linguistic, and genetic differences existing between Copts from southern and northern Egypt.
{{contains Coptic text}}
{{Religion in Egypt}}
{{Copts}}
== Etymology ==
{{further|Name of Egypt}}
The English language adopted the word ''Copt'' in the 17th century from [[New Latin]] ''Coptus, Cophtus'', which derives from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] collective {{transl|ar|qubṭ / qibṭ}} {{lang|ar|قبط|rtl=yes}} "the Copts" with [[Arabic grammar#nisba|nisba]] 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}} represents the historical Coptic {{IPAslink|p}}) an Arabisation of the [[Coptic language|Coptic]] word ''kubti'' ([[Coptic language#Bohairic|Bohairic]]) or ''kuptaion'' ([[Coptic language#Sahidic|Sahidic]]). 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>{{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|accessdate= 16 October 2016}}</ref>
The Greek term for Egypt, ''Aigýptos'' ({{lang-grc|Αἴγυπτος}}), itself derives from the [[Egyptian language]], but dates to a much earlier period, being attested already in [[Mycenaean Greek]] as ''a<sub>3</sub>-ku-pi-ti-jo'' (lit. "Egyptian"; used here as a man's name). This Mycenaean form is likely from [[Middle Egyptian]] {{lang|egy-Latn|[[wikt:ḥwt kꜣ ptḥ#Egyptian|ḥwt kꜣ ptḥ]]}} (reconstructed pronunciation /ħawitˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħajiʔˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħəjˌkuʔpəˈtaħ/, [[Egyptological pronunciation]] ''Hut-ka-Ptah''), literally "estate/palace of the [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#kꜣ "double"|kꜣ]] ("double" spirit) of [[Ptah]]" (compare [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] {{lang|akk-Latn|<sup>ālu</sup>ḫi-ku-up-ta-aḫ}}), the name of the temple complex of the god [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis, Egypt|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.<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." [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9026216 Coptic Orthodox Church]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. 2007</ref>
In Coptic, Copts referred to themselves as ''ni rem en kīmi en khristianos'' ({{lang-cop|ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ}}), which literally means "Christian people of Egypt" or "Christian Egyptians". The Coptic name for [[Egyptians]], ''rem en kīmi'' ({{lang-cop|Ⲣⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ}}), is realized in the [[Coptic language#Fayyumic|Fayyumic Coptic]] as ''lem en kēmi'', or ''rem en khēmi'' in the Bohairic dialect; cf. Egyptian {{lang|egy-Latn|rmṯ n [[Km (hieroglyph)|kmt]]}}, Demotic {{lang|egy-Latn|rmṯ n kmỉ}}.
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 ({{lang-grc-koi|Κόπτος}}, now [[Qift|Qifṭ]]; Coptic ''Kebt'' and ''Keft'') in [[Upper Egypt]]. This association may have contributed to making "Copt" the settled form of the name.<ref>[[OED]] s.v. "Copt".</ref>
In the 20th century some Egyptian nationalists and intellectuals in the context of [[Pharaonism]] 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}} ''[National Trends in Modern Literature]''. Vol. 2. Cairo, 1954.</ref>
== History ==
{{Main|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|History of Christianity in Egypt}}
[[File:StMarkcoptic.jpg|280px|thumb|left|Coptic icon of [[Mark the Evangelist|St. Mark]]]]
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 [[Religion in Egypt|religious community]] 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/" /><ref name="nlgsolutions1">[http://www.nlgsolutions.com/packages/show_country.asp?countryid=EG NLG Solutions] {{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> though estimates vary. They pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church whose founder was the first in an unbroken chain of patriarchs. The main body for 16 centuries has been out of communion with both the Roman Catholic Church (in Rome) and the various Eastern orthodox churches.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}
=== Foundation of the Christian Church in Egypt ===
According to ancient tradition, [[Christianity]] was introduced within present day [[Egypt]] by [[Mark the Evangelist|Saint Mark]] in [[Alexandria]], shortly after the ascension of [[Christ]] and during the reign of the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[emperor]] [[Claudius]] around 42 AD.<ref>[[Eusebius of Caesarea]], 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 AD. "Two Thousand years of Coptic Christianity" Otto F.A. Meinardus p. 28.</ref> The legacy that [[Mark the Evangelist|Saint Mark]] left in [[Egypt]] was a considerable Christian community in [[Alexandria]]. From Alexandria, [[Christianity]] spread throughout [[Egypt]] within half a century of [[Mark the Evangelist|Saint Mark]]'s arrival in [[Alexandria]], as is clear from a fragment of the [[Gospel of John]], written in [[Coptic language|Coptic]], which was found in [[Upper Egypt]] and 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 the year 200 AD. In the 2nd century, [[Christianity]] began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into the local language, today known as the [[Coptic language]], but known as the ''Egyptian language'' at the time. 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 [[Roman Catholic Church|Church of Rome]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}} The [[Church of Alexandria]] is therefore the oldest Christian church in Africa.
=== Contributions to Christianity ===
The Copts in Egypt contributed immensely to [[Christianity|Christian]] tradition. The [[Catechetical]] School of Alexandria was the oldest catechetical school in the world. Founded around 190 AD by the scholar [[Pantanaeus]], the school of Alexandria became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as [[Athenagoras of Athens|Athenagoras]], [[Clement of Alexandria|Clement]], [[Didymus the Blind|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 made by the Copts in Egypt 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|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. [[Saint Basil|Saint 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 and left details of his experiences in his letters. [[Benedict of Nursia|Saint Benedict]] founded the [[Benedictine Order]] in the 6th century on the model of [[Saint Pachomius]], although in a stricter form. [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Christians]] practice male [[circumcision]] 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>
=== 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 council]]s in the history of [[Christianity]] were headed by Egyptian patriarchs. The [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] (325 AD) was presided over by [[Pope Alexander I of Alexandria|St. Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria]], along with [[Hosius of Córdoba|Saint Hosius of Córdoba]]. In addition, the most prominent figure of the council was the future [[Patriarch of Alexandria]] [[Athanasius 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 [[First Council of Constantinople|Council of Constantinople]] (381 AD) was presided over by [[Timothy of Alexandria|Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria]], while the [[First Council of Ephesus|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 [[Chalcedonian]]s or [[Melkites]]. Those who did not abide by the Council's terms were labeled [[non-Chalcedonian]]s or [[Monophysites]] and later Jacobites after [[Jacob Baradaeus]]. The [[non-Chalcedonian]]s, however, rejected the term [[Monophysites]] as erroneous and referred to themselves as [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysites]]. The majority of the [[Egyptians]] belonged to the [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite]] branch, which led to their persecution by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] in [[Egypt]].
=== Arab conquest of Egypt ===
{{Main|Islamization of Egypt}}
[[File:Kairo Hanging Church BW 1.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[The Hanging Church]] in [[Coptic Cairo]].|left]]
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.<ref>Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (2 vols., Bulaq, 1854), by [[Al-Maqrizi]]</ref><ref>Chronicles, by [[John of Nikiû]]</ref>
=== Copts in modern Egypt ===
{{Main|Copts in Egypt}}
{{further|Christianity in Egypt}}
[[File:Copts-with-Nasser-1965.jpg|180px|thumb|left|President Nasser welcomes a delegation of Coptic bishops (1965)]]
Under Muslim rule, Christians paid special taxes and had lower access to political power, but were exempt from military service. Their position improved dramatically under the rule of [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|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 of Alexandria|Pope Cyril IV]], 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.<ref>Todros, ch 3–4. {{dead link|date=October 2018}}</ref>
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 [[Farouk of Egypt|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.<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 />
==== Pharaonism ====
{{Main|Pharaonism}}
Many Coptic intellectuals hold to [[Pharaonism]], which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian, [[Pharaoh|Pharaonic]] culture, and is not indebted to Greece. 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]].<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}}</ref>
=== Church affairs ===
[[File:Coptic monks.jpg|thumb|Egyptian Coptic monks at the [[American Colony, Jerusalem]], 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://www.google.com/books?id=KMLTAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=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>]]
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 Catholic]]s and [[Eastern Rite Catholic]]s, and other [[Orthodox Christianity|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 American
In 2005, a group of Coptic activists created a [[Coptic flag|flag]] to represent Copts worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://freecopts.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=38|title=Freecopts.net|website=freecopts.net|access-date=2018-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017064123/http://freecopts.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=38|archive-date=2015-10-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The previous head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, [[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria]], died 17 March 2012. On 4 November 2012, [[Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria|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 [[Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo|St Mark's Cathedral]].<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|accessdate=4 November 2012|date=4 November 2012|work=BBC News}}</ref>
=== Copts in modern Sudan ===
{{Main|Copts in Sudan}}
{{further|Christianity in Sudan}}
[[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 [[Al Obeid]], [[Atbara]], [[Dongola]], [[Khartoum]], [[Omdurman]], [[Port Sudan]], and [[Wad Medani]].<ref name="unhcr1" /> They number up to 500,000, or slightly over 1 percent of the Sudanese population.<ref name="unhcr1" /> Due to their advanced education, their role in the life of the country has been more significant than their numbers suggest.<ref name="unhcr1" /> They have occasionally faced forced conversion to [[Islam]], resulting in their emigration and decrease in number.<ref name="unhcr1" />
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 [[History of Mahdist Sudan|Mahdist rule]] at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="unhcr1" /> As a result of this persecution, many were forced to relinquish their faith, adopt [[Islam]], and intermarry with the native Sudanese. The [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan|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 [[Islamism|militant Islam]] in the mid-1960s and subsequent demands by radicals for an [[Sharia|Islamic constitution]] prompted Copts to join in public opposition to religious rule.<ref name="unhcr1" />
[[Gaafar Nimeiry]]'s introduction of Islamic [[Sharia]] 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 [[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.<ref name="unhcr1" />
In February 1991, a Coptic pilot working for [[Sudan Airways]] was executed for illegal possession of foreign currency.<ref name="sudanupdate1">{{cite web|url=http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/PEOPLES/COPTS.HTM|title=Copts|publisher=}}</ref> 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.<ref name="sudanupdate1" />
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.<ref name="sudanupdate1" /> 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 fervour 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 Sudan|south]].
Today, the [[Coptic Church]] in Sudan is officially registered with the government, and is exempt from property tax.<ref name="unhcr1" /> In 2005, the Sudanese government of National Unity (GNU) named a [[Coptic Orthodox]] priest to a government position, though the ruling Islamist party's continued dominance under the GNU provides ample reason to doubt its commitment to broader religious or ethnic representation.<ref name="unhcr1" />
=== Copts in modern Libya ===
{{Main|Copts in Libya}}
{{further|Christianity in Libya}}
The largest Christian group in Libya is the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]], with a population of 60,000.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} The Coptic Church is known to have historical roots in Libya long before the Arabs advanced westward from Egypt into Libya.
== 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 [[Copts in Egypt|in Egypt]] 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|website=|access-date=|quote=Egyptian authorities prevent surveyors from asking a participant's religion when doing research.}}</ref> although official estimates state that Coptic Christians represent 10 to 15 percent <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= [[United States Department of State]]}}</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=[[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|Foreign and Commonwealth Office -UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121212135632/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt|archivedate=December 12, 2012}}</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=[[Central Intelligence Agency|American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]]}}</ref><ref name="IPS News">[http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32988 IPS News] . Retrieved 09-27-2008.</ref><ref name="christianpost.com">Chan, Kenneth. [http://www.christianpost.com/article/20041207/thousands-protest-egypt-s-neglect-of-coptic-persecution.htm Thousands Protest Egypt's Neglect of Coptic Persecution]". ''[[The Christian Post]]''. December 7, 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2008.</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=[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4117831.stm |title=Egyptian Coptic protesters freed |date=22 December 2004 |work= |publisher=BBC |accessdate=27 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=157751&issueno=8872 |title=Research in population and demography of France estimates the coptic population to be |publisher=Institut National Etudes Démographiques |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206155030/http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3 |archive-date=2007-12-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1097/9710087.html |title=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 |date= |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=10 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="msn encarta/Egypt">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557408_3/Egypt.html|title=Egypt from "msn encarta"|date=September 30, 2008|publisher=[[Microsoft Encarta|Encarta]]|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5kwQyp3zM?url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557408_3/Egypt.html|archivedate=2009-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> while other independent and Christian sources estimate much higher numbers, up to 25 percent of the population.<ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt" /><ref name="FCO/Egypt/" /><ref name="The world factbook/Egypt/" /><ref name="IPS News" /><ref name="christianpost.com" /><ref name="washingtoninstitute.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386|title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt|publisher=}}</ref>
The Coptic population [[Copts in Sudan|in Sudan]] is at about half a million or 1 percent of Sudanese population.<ref name="unhcr1" />
The Coptic population [[Copts in Libya|in Libya]] is about over 60,000 or 1 percent of Libyan population.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/libya-religious-freedom-report-2004 |title=Reports on Religious Freedom: Libya |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |accessdate=2018-03-11}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2018}}
=== Diaspora ===
{{Main|Coptic diaspora}}
[[File:StMarkCopticOrthodoxChurchBellaireTX0.JPG|thumb|180px|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 numbers of the Censuses in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and [[Australia]] are not fully correct since many Copts listed themselves in the 2011 Census mistakenly as either Egyptians, Sudanese, Libyans, Americans, Canadians or Australians and by this way reducing the Coptic population in the 2011 Census in the United States, Canada, and Australia respectively.
Nevertheless, the [[Coptic American|Coptic American (US)]] population is estimated to number about 200,000 (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging as high as a million).<ref name="2009 American Community Survey" /><ref name="Pittsburgh Tribune 2007" /><ref name="JS Online" /><ref name="US-Copts" /> 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copticcu.com/WhyCCU.html|title=''Why CCU?''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=Coptic Credit Union}}</ref> The [[Copts in Canada|Coptic Canadian]] population is estimated to number about 50,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3704|title=Protest Egyptian government allowing criminal attacks on Coptic Christians|publisher=}}</ref> (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging as high as 200,000).<ref name="Montreal Gazette" /><ref name="elaph.com" /> The [[Copts in Australia|Coptic Australian]] population is estimated to number about 100,000<ref name="parliament.nsw.gov.au" /><ref name="coptic.org.au">{{cite web|title=Diocese of Australia|url=http://www.coptic.org.au/|website=Diocese of Australia}}</ref> (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging as high as 100,000).
Smaller communities are found in [[Kuwait]],<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|language=en-US}}</ref> the United Kingdom,<ref>Copts number at least 20,000 in Britain [http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2631&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle middle school ireland marriages family at middlekilleavy.com] {{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 [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_86.html British Orthodox Church (1999 figures)]</ref>
France (45,000),<ref name="la-croix.com" /> South Africa.<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2">[http://www.copticafrica.org/bookcomehelp3.htm Come Across And Help Us Book 2] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008090221/http://www.copticafrica.org/bookcomehelp3.htm |date=October 8, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="CopticMission">[http://www.copticmission.org/copticmission CopticMission] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131014720/http://www.copticmission.org/copticmission |date=January 31, 2011 }}</ref>
Minor communities below 10,000 people are reported from [[Jordan]] (8,000 Copts),<ref>[http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm King commends Coptic Church's role in promoting coexistence] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926234617/http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm |date=September 26, 2011 }}</ref> [[Lebanon]] (3,000 – 4,000 Copts),<ref name="state2">{{cite news|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/nea/208400.htm |title=Lebanon: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom |agency=U.S. Department of State |date=20 May 2013 |accessdate=6 December 2015}}</ref> [[Germany]] (3,000 Copts),<ref name=autogenerated4>[http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_112.html Adherents.com: By Location]</ref> [[Austria]] (2,000 Copts),<ref name="Austria 2004">[http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf Austria 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614212516/http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf |date=2007-06-14 }} Religious Freedom news</ref> Switzerland (1,000 Copts),<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5090250|title=Orthodox Copts open church in Switzerland|last=Burnand|first=Frédéric|work=SWI swissinfo.ch|access-date=2018-03-17|language=en}}</ref> and elsewhere.
It is noted that Copts also live in Denmark, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.
== Persecution and discrimination in Egypt ==
{{Main|Persecution of Copts|Religion in Egypt}}
{{Modern persecution of Coptic Christians}}
[[Freedom of religion|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.<ref>WorldWide Religious News. [http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=19813&sec=36&cont=3 Church Building Regulations Eased] {{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>Compass Direct News. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171018141554/http://www.compassdirect.org/en/newslongen.php?idelement=4132&id=17&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=25 Church Building Regulations Eased]. December 13, 2005.</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|publisher=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&sjid=RggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6308,5873985&dq=international-christian-concern&hl=en |title=Copts Under Fire |publisher=The Free Lance-Star |date=November 23, 2002 |accessdate=August 2, 2015}}</ref>
In 2006, one person attacked three churches in [[Alexandria]], 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= [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] | date=April 15, 2006 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/1515829/Coptic-Christians-attacked-in-churches.html|accessdate=2008-10-07 | location=London}}</ref> The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as "psychologically disturbed" by the [[Ministry of Interior (Egypt)|Ministry of Interior]].<ref>BBC. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4911346.stm Egypt church attacks spark anger], April 15, 2006.</ref> In May 2010, [[The Wall Street Journal]] 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| publisher= The Wall Street Journal | date=May 18, 2010 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703745904575248301172607696|accessdate=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 [[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.<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 = http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/21/house-members-press-white-house-confront-egypt-forced-marriages/ | title = House Members Press White House to Confront Egypt on Forced Marriages | last = Abrams | first = Joseph |date = April 21, 2010 | work = foxnews.com | accessdate = November 8, 2010}}</ref>
[[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] is 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 use to be one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the [[upper Egypt]]ian 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]], an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, is a Copt. In 2002, under the [[Mubarak]] government, [[Coptic calendar|Coptic Christmas]] (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday.<ref>ArabicNews.com. [http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/021220/2002122025.html Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday] {{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. [http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/publications/endangered Egypt's Endangered Christians.] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20030107001824/http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/publications/endangered |date=January 7, 2003 }}</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch. [https://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/egypt12212.htm Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114115428/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/egypt12212.htm |date=2008-11-14 }}. 2005</ref> Most Copts do not support independence or separation movement from other Egyptians.<ref>[http://www.cpr-government.org/index_English.htm Coptic Pharaonic Republic] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218014241/http://www.cpr-government.org/index_English.htm |date=February 18, 2009 }}</ref>
While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to [[Human Rights Watch]], "Egyptians are able to [[Religious conversion|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."<ref>[https://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/egypt14701.htm Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt] {{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) |accessdate=2007-09-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912060035/http://www.ahram.org.eg/acpss/eng/ahram/2004/7/5/ARAB43.HTM |archivedate=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 [[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.<ref>[http://www.comeandsee.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=502 Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity]. 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. [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/843/eg8.htm "Fraud, not Freedom".] {{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= [[The New York Times]] | 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 | accessdate=2008-10-07}}</ref><ref>[[Associated Press]]. [http://www.pr-inside.com/egypt-court-upholds-right-of-converted-r430320.htm Egypt court upholds right of converted Muslims to return to Christianity] {{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. [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8Ro5sk6sChDNUGMQTIMBj6HsHQQ Egypt allows converts to revert to Christianity on ID] {{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 [[2013 Egyptian coup d'état|3 July 2013 Coup]] and clashes between the military and Morsi supporters, there were [[2013 Egyptian coup d'état#Violence against Coptic Christians|widespread attacks]] on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt by [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]].<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 | accessdate=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/ | accessdate=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>
''[[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.<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}}</ref> 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."{{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|accessdate=22 August 2013}}</ref></blockquote>
== Language ==
{{Main|Coptic language|Egyptian language}}
[[File:Coptic and Arabic inscriptions in an Old Cairo church.jpg|thumb|223px|right|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stshenouda.com/coptlang/copthist.htm#Definition|title=The Coptic Studies' Corner|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419152624/http://www.stshenouda.com/coptlang/copthist.htm#Definition|archivedate=2012-04-19}}</ref> 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 the native language of only about 300 Copts around the world. It is also 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.
Dialects of the Coptic language:
* [[Sahidic]]: Theban or [[Upper Egypt]]ian.
* [[Bohairic]]: The dialect of the [[Nile Delta]] and of the medieval and modern Coptic Church.
* [[Akhmimic]]
* [[Lycopolitan]] (also known as Subakhmimic)
* [[Fayyumic]]
* [[Oxyrhynchite]]
== Calendar ==
{{Main|Coptic calendar}}
The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] and also by [[Ethiopian calendar|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 Empire|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.<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}}
[[File:Coptic cross.svg|left|220px|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. 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 [[Nowruz]].<ref name="calendar" /> 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 [[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").{{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 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).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://copticchurch.net/easter.html|title=Coptic Orthodox Calendar / Easter Calculation|website=copticchurch.net|access-date=2018-03-17}}</ref>
== Genetics ==
According to Y-DNA analysis by Hassan et al. (2008), around 45% of Copts in Sudan carry the [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|haplogroup J]]. The remainder mainly belong to the [[Haplogroup E-M215 (Y-DNA)|E1b1b]] clade (21%). Both paternal lineages are common among other local [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]]-speaking populations (Beja, Ethiopians, Sudanese Arabs), as well as many 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|accessdate=14 October 2016|doi=10.1002/ajpa.20876|pmid=18618658}}{{dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</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|url=}}</ref> The next most common haplogroups borne by Copts are the European-linked [[Haplogroup R1b|R1b]] clade (15%), as well as the archaic African [[Haplogroup B-M60|B]] lineage (15%).<ref name="Hassan2008" />
Maternally, Hassan (2009) found that Copts in Sudan exclusively carry various descendants of the [[Haplogroup N (mtDNA)|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, [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)|U6]] is most frequent (28%), followed by the haplogroup [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T]] (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|accessdate=13 October 2016}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
A 2015 study by Dobon et al. identified an ancestral autosomal component of West 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. Copts also formed a separated group in [[principal component analysis|PCA]], a close outlier to other Egyptians, Afro-Asiatic-speaking Northeast Africans and Middle East populations. The Coptic component evolved out of a main Northeast African and Middle Eastern ancestral component that is shared by other Egyptians and also found at high frequencies among other Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations in Northeast Africa (~70%). The scientists suggest that this points to a common origin for the general population of Egypt.<ref name=Dobon2015>{{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|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09996.pdf|accessdate=13 June 2015|pages=9996|pmid=26017457|pmc=4446898}}</ref> 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|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09996.pdf|accessdate=13 June 2015|page=8|pmid=26017457|pmc=4446898|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). 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>
== Prominent Copts ==
[[File:Halim El-Dabh2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Halim El-Dabh at a [[Cleveland]] festival in 2009.]]
[[File:Naelachohanboutrosghali-2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]]]]{{Main|List of Copts}}
Some famous Copts include:
* [[Hani Azer]], prominent civil engineer
* [[Halim El-Dabh]], Egyptian-American musician and academic
* [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], the sixth [[United Nations Secretary-General|Secretary-General]] of the [[United Nations]].
* [[Rami Malek]], an [[Egyptian-American]] actor of Coptic origins.
* [[Mena Massoud]], an [[Egyptian-Canadian]] actor.
* [[Dina Powell]], American Politician.
* [[Fayez Sarofim]], heir to the Sarofim family fortune.
* [[Naguib Sawiris]], the CEO of [[Orascom]].
* [[Magdi Yacoub]], Egyptian-British cardiothoracic surgeon.
{{clear}}
== See also ==
{{Portal|Egypt|Libya|Christianity}}
{{Div col}}
* [[Aigyptos]], in [[Greek mythology]]
* [[Coptic art]]
* [[Coptic Catholic Church]]
* [[Coptic diaspora]]
* [[Coptic flag]]
* [[Coptic identity]]
* [[Coptic language]]
* [[Coptic Museum]]
* [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]]
* [[Coptic Saints]]
* [[Coptology]]
* [[Christianity in Egypt]]
* [[Christianity in Sudan]]
* [[Christianity in Libya]]
* [[List of Copts|List of prominent Copts worldwide]]
{{Div col end}}
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|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) [https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Egypt-Monuments-Through-Millennia/dp/0814624065/ excerpt and text search]
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Charles|first=Robert H.|authorlink=Robert Charles (scholar)|title=The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text|year=2007|origyear=1916|location=Merchantville, NJ|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.
* 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.
* 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)
* {{cite book|author=Thomas, Martyn, ed.|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}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9780881410556}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|authorlink=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}}
== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Copt}}
* [http://directory.nihov.org/ Worldwide Coptic Directory]
* [http://www.coptsunited.com/ Copts United Newspaper]
* [http://www.coptic-cairo.com/ Coptic Cairo]
* [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5636.htm U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Report: Egypt]
{{Copts footer}}
{{Eastern Christianity footer}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Copts| ]]
[[Category:Egyptian Christians]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of North Africa]]
[[Category:Coptic Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Egypt]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Sudan]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Libya]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Egypt]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Sudan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Libya]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:North African people]]
[[Category:Ethnoreligious groups]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]' |
New page wikitext, after the edit (new_wikitext) | '{{pp|small=yes}}
{{sprotected2}}
{{short description|An ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group = Copts
| native_name = '''{{Coptic|ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ}}''' {{BR}} <small>NiRemenkīmi enKhristianos</small>
| native_name_lang = cop
| image = Coptic flag.svg
| caption = The [[Coptic flag]]
| population = 5–20 million<ref name="Montreal Gazette">{{cite news|title=Coptic Orthodox Christmas to be low-key – Tight security: On alert after bombing in Egypt|url=https://montrealgazette.com/life/Montreal+Coptic+Orthodox+Christmas/4054183/story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110223234517/http://www.montrealgazette.com/life/Montreal%2BCoptic%2BOrthodox%2BChristmas/4054183/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 February 2011|accessdate=5 January 2011|newspaper=Montreal Gazette|date=4 January 2011}}</ref> (estimates vary)
| region1 = '''Traditional areas of Coptic settlement:'''
| pop1 = 5–20 million
| region2 = {{Flagcountry|Egypt}}
| pop2 = 5–20 million (estimates vary)
| ref2 = {{refn|Official population counts put the number of Copts at around 10-15% percent of the population, while some Coptic voices claim figures as high as 23 percent. 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), while other 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 percent and 20 percent,<ref>{{cite news |title=Egyptian Coptic protesters freed |newspaper=BBC |date=22 December 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4117831.stm |accessdate=}}</ref> for example the CIA World Factbook estimated 10% are Christian {{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html |title=Egypt |date= |work=The World Factbook |publisher=[[CIA]] |accessdate=27 August 2010}}, {{cite web |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386 |title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt |author1=Khairi Abaza |author2=Mark Nakhla |date=25 October 2005 |publisher=The Washington Institute |accessdate=27 August 2010}}, 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, [[Pope Shenouda III]] and Bishop Morkos, bishop of [[Shubra]], 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. {{cite web |url=http://www.unitedcopts.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3073&Itemid=71 |title=? |date=29 October 2008 |publisher=United Copts of Great Britain |accessdate=27 August 2010}} and {{cite web |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/08/28/55639.html |title=? |publisher=العربية.نت |accessdate=27 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100603215320/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/08/28/55639.html |archive-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=dead }} Furthermore, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy {{cite web |url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386 |title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt |author1=Khairi Abaza |author2=Mark Nakhla |date=25 October 2005 |publisher= |accessdate=27 August 2010}} Encyclopædia Britannica (1985), and Macropædia (15th ed., Chicago) estimate the percentage of Copts in Egypt to be up to 20 percent of the Egyptian population.}}
| region3 = {{Flagcountry|Sudan}}
| pop3 = c. 500,000
| ref3 = <ref name="unhcr1">Minority Rights Group International, World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Sudan : Copts, 2008, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49749ca6c.html [accessed 21 December 2010]</ref>
| region4 = {{flagcountry|Libya}}
| pop4 = 60,000
| 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>
| region5 = '''Diaspora:'''
| pop5 = 1–2 million (estimates vary)
| region6 = {{Flagcountry|USA}}
| pop6 = c. 200,000 – 1 million
| ref6 = <ref name="2009 American Community Survey">[https://www.census.gov 2009 American Community Survey] , U.S. Census Bureau "All Egyptians including Copts 197,160"</ref><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?''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=Coptic Credit Union}}</ref><ref name="Pittsburgh Tribune 2007">{{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''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=Pittsburgh Tribune (2007)|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090319010757/http://sce.uhcl.edu/akladios/Magdy%20Akladios%20Website/Links%20For%20Church/Copticsflocktowelcome.doc|archivedate=March 19, 2009}}</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'' |accessdate=June 21, 2009 |publisher=JS Online (2005) |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110821115518/http://www3.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=373326 |archivedate=August 21, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="US-Copts">{{cite web|url=http://www.copts.com/english/CoptsDiaspora.aspx |title=''Coptic Diaspora''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=US-Copts Association (2007) |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070220180014/http://www.copts.com/english/CoptsDiaspora.aspx |archivedate = 2007-02-20}}</ref>
| region7 = {{Flagcountry|Canada}}
| pop7 = c. 200,000
| ref7 = <ref name="Montreal Gazette" /><ref name="elaph.com">[http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2011/1/622635.html] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107131052/http://www.elaph.com/Web/news/2011/1/622635.html |date=January 7, 2011 }}</ref>
| region8 = {{Flagcountry|Australia}}
| pop8 = c. 75,000 (2003)
| 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|France}}
| pop9 = c. 45,000 (2017)
| ref9 = <ref name="la-croix.com">In the year 2017, there was an estimated 45,000 Copts in France: {{cite web|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}}</ref>
| region10 = {{Flagcountry|Italy}}
| pop10 = c. 30,000
| ref10 = <ref name="CESNUR – Centro studi sulle nuove religioni (Center for Studies on New Religions)">{{cite web|url=http://www.cesnur.org/religioni_italia/o/ortodossia_16.htm|title=Le religioni in Italia: La Chiesa copta|publisher=}}</ref>
| region11 = {{Flagcountry|United Arab Emirates}}
| pop11 = c. 10,000
| ref11 = <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|accessdate=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>
| region12 = {{flagcountry|Jordan}}
| pop12 = 8,000+ (2005)
| ref12 = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm |title=King commends Coptic Church's role in promoting coexistence |publisher=Jordanembassyus.org |date=June 3, 2005 |accessdate=November 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926234617/http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm |archivedate=September 26, 2011 }}</ref>}}
| region13 = {{flagcountry|Kenya}}
| pop13 = 8,000+
| ref13 = {{lower|<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2" /><ref name="CopticMission" />}}
| region14 = {{flagcountry|Lebanon}}
| pop14 = 3,000–4,000 (2012)
| ref14 = {{lower|<ref name="state2">{{cite news|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/nea/208400.htm |title=Lebanon: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom |agency=U.S. Department of State |date=20 May 2013 |accessdate=6 December 2015}}</ref>}}
| region15 = {{flagcountry|Germany}}
| pop15 = 3,000
| ref15 = {{lower|<ref name=autogenerated4>[http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_112.html Adherents.com: By Location]</ref>}}
| region16 = {{flagcountry|Austria}}
| pop16 = 2,000 (2001)
| ref16 = {{lower|<ref name="Austria 2004">[http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf Austria 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614212516/http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf |date=2007-06-14 }} Religious Freedom news</ref>}}
| region17 = {{flagcountry|Switzerland}}
| pop17 = 1,000 (2004)
| ref17 = {{lower|<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5090250 |title=Orthodox Copts open church in Switzerland |publisher=Swissinfo.org |date=July 17, 2004 |accessdate=November 18, 2011}}</ref>}}
| region18 = {{flagcountry|UK}}
| pop18 = 25,000 – 30,000 (2006)
| ref18 = {{lower|<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=Archived copy |accessdate=2008-08-16 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090121192147/http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2631&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle |archivedate=2009-01-21 }} plus another 5,000 – 10,000 Copts who are directly under the [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_86.html British Orthodox Church (1999 figures)]</ref>}}
| langs = [[Coptic language|Coptic]] (liturgical and ancestral)<br>{{hlist|[[Egyptian Arabic]]|[[Sa'idi Arabic]]}}
| rels = [[Christianity]]<br />(Predominantly: [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodoxy]],<br />also [[Coptic Catholic Church|Coptic Catholicism]] and [[Protestantism in Egypt|Protestantism]])
| related_groups =
}}
The '''Copts''' ({{lang-cop|ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ|translit=NiRemenkīmi enKhristianos}}; {{lang-ar|الْقِبْط}}, {{transl|arz|al-Qibṭ}}) are an [[ethnoreligious group]] indigenous to [[North Africa]]<ref>[[#Minahan|Minahan 2002]], p. 467</ref> who primarily inhabit the area of modern [[Egypt]], where they are the largest [[Christianity in Egypt|Christian denomination]] in the country. Copts are also the largest Christian denomination in [[Christianity in Sudan|Sudan]] and [[Christianity in Libya|Libya]]. Historically, they spoke the [[Coptic language]], a direct descendant of the [[Demotic (Egyptian)|Demotic Egyptian]] that was spoken in [[late antiquity]].
[[Copts in Egypt]] constitute the largest [[Christianity in the Middle East|Christian population in the Middle East]] and North Africa, as well as the largest religious minority in the region, accounting for roughly 5-20% of the [[demographics of Egypt|Egyptian population]], although the exact percentage is unknown as researchers are forbidden by authorities to ask about religion.<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> [[Copts in Sudan]] constitute the largest [[Christianity in Sudan|Christian community in Sudan]],<ref name="unhcr1" /> and [[Copts in Libya]] constitute the largest [[Christianity in Libya|Christian community in Libya]], accounting for an estimated 1% of their respective populations.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}}
Most Copts adhere to the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria]], an [[Oriental Orthodox]] church.<ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt" /><ref name="FCO/Egypt/" /><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 [[Coptic Catholic Church]] is an [[Eastern Catholic church]] in communion with the [[Roman Catholic Church]].
Copts of Egyptian ancestry maintain a distinct ethnic identity from [[Muslim]] Egyptians, and generally reject an [[Arabs|Arab identity]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arab or Copt? Rami Malek Oscar win sparks debate|url=https://english.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2019/2/25/arab-or-copt-rami-malek-oscar-win-sparks-debate|last=Khalil|first=Sarah|website=alaraby|language=en|access-date=2020-05-28}}</ref> but they also have a [[Pharaonism|national identity]] shared with other Egyptians.<ref name=":0">Images as Messengers of Coptic Identity An Example from Contemporary Egypt. RAGNHILD BJERRE FINNE STAD</ref> Copts and Egyptian Muslims are recognized as being physically indistinguishable,<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Gurr|first=Ted Robert|url=https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=6-hEA_wWpyMC&pg=PA138&dq=Egyptian+copts+and+Egyptiam+Muslims+are+recognized+as+being+physically+indistinguishable&hl=ar&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiB14C4_oLqAhV6BWMBHR4iDEcQ6AEINDAB#v=onepage&q=Egyptian%20copts%20and%20Egyptiam%20Muslims%20are%20recognized%20as%20being%20physically%20indistinguishable&f=false|title=Peoples Versus States: Minorities at Risk in the New Century|date=2000|publisher=US Institute of Peace Press|isbn=978-1-929223-02-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Banjo|first=Omotayo O.|url=https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=eD1DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA151&dq=Egyptian+copts+and+Egyptiam+Muslims+are+recognized+as+being+physically+indistinguishable&hl=ar&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiB14C4_oLqAhV6BWMBHR4iDEcQ6AEIKzAA#v=onepage&q=Egyptian%20copts%20and%20Egyptiam%20Muslims%20are%20recognized%20as%20being%20physically%20indistinguishable&f=false|title=Contemporary Christian Culture: Messages, Missions, and Dilemmas|last2=Williams|first2=Kesha Morant|date=2017-11-30|publisher=Lexington Books|isbn=978-1-4985-5390-2|language=en}}</ref> as both are "mostly descendants of the [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|pre-641]] Coptic population".<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Saleh|first=Mohamed|date=2018/06|title=On the Road to Heaven: Taxation, Conversions, and the Coptic-Muslim Socioeconomic Gap in Medieval Egypt|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-economic-history/article/on-the-road-to-heaven-taxation-conversions-and-the-copticmuslim-socioeconomic-gap-in-medieval-egypt/3407860149F95ACC44E489D1D7F526FB/core-reader|journal=The Journal of Economic History|language=en|volume=78|issue=2|pages=394–434|doi=10.1017/S0022050718000190|issn=0022-0507}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Shatzmiller|first=Maya|url=https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=82jaiJ48vZQC&pg=PA64&dq=It+is+arguable+that+a+majority+of+Egyptian+Muslims+are+themselves+descended+from+Coptic+blood&hl=ar&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4pJCfioPqAhWwxIUKHWgYCdAQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=It%20is%20arguable%20that%20a%20majority%20of%20Egyptian%20Muslims%20are%20themselves%20descended%20from%20Coptic%20blood&f=false|title=Nationalism and Minority Identities in Islamic Societies|date=2005|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-2848-2|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Dickinson|first=Eliot|url=https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=YWaZ1mRuKksC&pg=PA1941&dq=%22egyptian+muslims%22+%22may+legitimately+claim%22&hl=ar&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwid4qXQjYPqAhXYDGMBHZXnD50Q6AEIKTAA#v=onepage&q=%22egyptian%20muslims%22%20%22may%20legitimately%20claim%22&f=false|title=Copts in Michigan|date=2008-06-23|publisher=MSU Press|isbn=978-0-87013-909-3|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{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> In all secular aspects of life, their culture is the same.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Field|first=Michael|url=https://books.google.com.eg/books?id=mzuJAO7gTmoC&pg=PA11&dq=In+most+cases+Copts+and+Egyptian+Muslims+live+side+by+side&hl=ar&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiE3ZvQg4PqAhV_aRUIHTDLAjAQ6AEIJzAA#v=onepage&q=In%20most%20cases%20Copts%20and%20Egyptian%20Muslims%20live%20side%20by%20side&f=false|title=Inside the Arab World|date=1996|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-45521-4|language=en}}</ref> In Egypt, Copts have relatively higher educational attainment, and a stronger representation in [[White-collar worker|white collar job]] types, but limited representation in security agencies. The majority of demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators are similar among Copts and Muslims.<ref>Mohamoud YA, Cuadros DF, Abu-Raddad LJ. Characterizing the Copts in Egypt: Demographic, socioeconomic and health indicators, QScience Connect 2013:22 <nowiki>http://dx.doi.org/10.5339/connect.2013.22</nowiki></ref>
{{contains Coptic text}}
{{Religion in Egypt}}
{{Copts}}
== Etymology ==
{{further|Name of Egypt}}
The English language adopted the word ''Copt'' in the 17th century from [[New Latin]] ''Coptus, Cophtus'', which derives from the [[Arabic language|Arabic]] collective {{transl|ar|qubṭ / qibṭ}} {{lang|ar|قبط|rtl=yes}} "the Copts" with [[Arabic grammar#nisba|nisba]] 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}} represents the historical Coptic {{IPAslink|p}}) an Arabisation of the [[Coptic language|Coptic]] word ''kubti'' ([[Coptic language#Bohairic|Bohairic]]) or ''kuptaion'' ([[Coptic language#Sahidic|Sahidic]]). 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>{{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|accessdate= 16 October 2016}}</ref>
The Greek term for Egypt, ''Aigýptos'' ({{lang-grc|Αἴγυπτος}}), itself derives from the [[Egyptian language]], but dates to a much earlier period, being attested already in [[Mycenaean Greek]] as ''a<sub>3</sub>-ku-pi-ti-jo'' (lit. "Egyptian"; used here as a man's name). This Mycenaean form is likely from [[Middle Egyptian]] {{lang|egy-Latn|[[wikt:ḥwt kꜣ ptḥ#Egyptian|ḥwt kꜣ ptḥ]]}} (reconstructed pronunciation /ħawitˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħajiʔˌkuʀpiˈtaħ/ → /ħəjˌkuʔpəˈtaħ/, [[Egyptological pronunciation]] ''Hut-ka-Ptah''), literally "estate/palace of the [[Ancient Egyptian concept of the soul#kꜣ "double"|kꜣ]] ("double" spirit) of [[Ptah]]" (compare [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] {{lang|akk-Latn|<sup>ālu</sup>ḫi-ku-up-ta-aḫ}}), the name of the temple complex of the god [[Ptah]] at [[Memphis, Egypt|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.<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." [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9026216 Coptic Orthodox Church]. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''. 2007</ref>
In Coptic, Copts referred to themselves as ''ni rem en kīmi en khristianos'' ({{lang-cop|ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ}}), which literally means "Christian people of Egypt" or "Christian Egyptians". The Coptic name for [[Egyptians]], ''rem en kīmi'' ({{lang-cop|Ⲣⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ}}), is realized in the [[Coptic language#Fayyumic|Fayyumic Coptic]] as ''lem en kēmi'', or ''rem en khēmi'' in the Bohairic dialect; cf. Egyptian {{lang|egy-Latn|rmṯ n [[Km (hieroglyph)|kmt]]}}, Demotic {{lang|egy-Latn|rmṯ n kmỉ}}.
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 ({{lang-grc-koi|Κόπτος}}, now [[Qift|Qifṭ]]; Coptic ''Kebt'' and ''Keft'') in [[Upper Egypt]]. This association may have contributed to making "Copt" the settled form of the name.<ref>[[OED]] s.v. "Copt".</ref>
In the 20th century some Egyptian nationalists and intellectuals in the context of [[Pharaonism]] 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}} ''[National Trends in Modern Literature]''. Vol. 2. Cairo, 1954.</ref>
== History ==
{{Main|Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|History of Christianity in Egypt}}
[[File:StMarkcoptic.jpg|280px|thumb|left|Coptic icon of [[Mark the Evangelist|St. Mark]]]]
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 [[Religion in Egypt|religious community]] 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/" /><ref name="nlgsolutions1">[http://www.nlgsolutions.com/packages/show_country.asp?countryid=EG NLG Solutions] {{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> though estimates vary. They pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church whose founder was the first in an unbroken chain of patriarchs. The main body for 16 centuries has been out of communion with both the Roman Catholic Church (in Rome) and the various Eastern orthodox churches.{{citation needed|date=May 2015}}
=== Foundation of the Christian Church in Egypt ===
According to ancient tradition, [[Christianity]] was introduced within present day [[Egypt]] by [[Mark the Evangelist|Saint Mark]] in [[Alexandria]], shortly after the ascension of [[Christ]] and during the reign of the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[emperor]] [[Claudius]] around 42 AD.<ref>[[Eusebius of Caesarea]], 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 AD. "Two Thousand years of Coptic Christianity" Otto F.A. Meinardus p. 28.</ref> The legacy that [[Mark the Evangelist|Saint Mark]] left in [[Egypt]] was a considerable Christian community in [[Alexandria]]. From Alexandria, [[Christianity]] spread throughout [[Egypt]] within half a century of [[Mark the Evangelist|Saint Mark]]'s arrival in [[Alexandria]], as is clear from a fragment of the [[Gospel of John]], written in [[Coptic language|Coptic]], which was found in [[Upper Egypt]] and 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 the year 200 AD. In the 2nd century, [[Christianity]] began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into the local language, today known as the [[Coptic language]], but known as the ''Egyptian language'' at the time. 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 [[Roman Catholic Church|Church of Rome]].{{Citation needed|date=May 2016}} The [[Church of Alexandria]] is therefore the oldest Christian church in Africa.
=== Contributions to Christianity ===
The Copts in Egypt contributed immensely to [[Christianity|Christian]] tradition. The [[Catechetical]] School of Alexandria was the oldest catechetical school in the world. Founded around 190 AD by the scholar [[Pantanaeus]], the school of Alexandria became an important institution of religious learning, where students were taught by scholars such as [[Athenagoras of Athens|Athenagoras]], [[Clement of Alexandria|Clement]], [[Didymus the Blind|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 made by the Copts in Egypt 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|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. [[Saint Basil|Saint 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 and left details of his experiences in his letters. [[Benedict of Nursia|Saint Benedict]] founded the [[Benedictine Order]] in the 6th century on the model of [[Saint Pachomius]], although in a stricter form. [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Christians]] practice male [[circumcision]] 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>
=== 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 council]]s in the history of [[Christianity]] were headed by Egyptian patriarchs. The [[First Council of Nicaea|Council of Nicaea]] (325 AD) was presided over by [[Pope Alexander I of Alexandria|St. Alexander, Patriarch of Alexandria]], along with [[Hosius of Córdoba|Saint Hosius of Córdoba]]. In addition, the most prominent figure of the council was the future [[Patriarch of Alexandria]] [[Athanasius 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 [[First Council of Constantinople|Council of Constantinople]] (381 AD) was presided over by [[Timothy of Alexandria|Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria]], while the [[First Council of Ephesus|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 [[Chalcedonian]]s or [[Melkites]]. Those who did not abide by the Council's terms were labeled [[non-Chalcedonian]]s or [[Monophysites]] and later Jacobites after [[Jacob Baradaeus]]. The [[non-Chalcedonian]]s, however, rejected the term [[Monophysites]] as erroneous and referred to themselves as [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysites]]. The majority of the [[Egyptians]] belonged to the [[Miaphysitism|Miaphysite]] branch, which led to their persecution by the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] in [[Egypt]].
=== Arab conquest of Egypt ===
{{Main|Islamization of Egypt}}
[[File:Kairo Hanging Church BW 1.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[The Hanging Church]] in [[Coptic Cairo]].|left]]
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.<ref>Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar (2 vols., Bulaq, 1854), by [[Al-Maqrizi]]</ref><ref>Chronicles, by [[John of Nikiû]]</ref>
=== Copts in modern Egypt ===
{{Main|Copts in Egypt}}
{{further|Christianity in Egypt}}
[[File:Copts-with-Nasser-1965.jpg|180px|thumb|left|President Nasser welcomes a delegation of Coptic bishops (1965)]]
Under Muslim rule, Christians paid special taxes and had lower access to political power, but were exempt from military service. Their position improved dramatically under the rule of [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|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 of Alexandria|Pope Cyril IV]], 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.<ref>Todros, ch 3–4. {{dead link|date=October 2018}}</ref>
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 [[Farouk of Egypt|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.<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 />
==== Pharaonism ====
{{Main|Pharaonism}}
Many Coptic intellectuals hold to [[Pharaonism]], which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian, [[Pharaoh|Pharaonic]] culture, and is not indebted to Greece. 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]].<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}}</ref>
=== Church affairs ===
[[File:Coptic monks.jpg|thumb|Egyptian Coptic monks at the [[American Colony, Jerusalem]], 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://www.google.com/books?id=KMLTAAAAMAAJ|accessdate=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>]]
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 Catholic]]s and [[Eastern Rite Catholic]]s, and other [[Orthodox Christianity|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 American
In 2005, a group of Coptic activists created a [[Coptic flag|flag]] to represent Copts worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://freecopts.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=38|title=Freecopts.net|website=freecopts.net|access-date=2018-03-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017064123/http://freecopts.net/english/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14&Itemid=38|archive-date=2015-10-17|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The previous head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, [[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria]], died 17 March 2012. On 4 November 2012, [[Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria|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 [[Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo|St Mark's Cathedral]].<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|accessdate=4 November 2012|date=4 November 2012|work=BBC News}}</ref>
=== Copts in modern Sudan ===
{{Main|Copts in Sudan}}
{{further|Christianity in Sudan}}
[[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 [[Al Obeid]], [[Atbara]], [[Dongola]], [[Khartoum]], [[Omdurman]], [[Port Sudan]], and [[Wad Medani]].<ref name="unhcr1" /> They number up to 500,000, or slightly over 1 percent of the Sudanese population.<ref name="unhcr1" /> Due to their advanced education, their role in the life of the country has been more significant than their numbers suggest.<ref name="unhcr1" /> They have occasionally faced forced conversion to [[Islam]], resulting in their emigration and decrease in number.<ref name="unhcr1" />
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 [[History of Mahdist Sudan|Mahdist rule]] at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="unhcr1" /> As a result of this persecution, many were forced to relinquish their faith, adopt [[Islam]], and intermarry with the native Sudanese. The [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan|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 [[Islamism|militant Islam]] in the mid-1960s and subsequent demands by radicals for an [[Sharia|Islamic constitution]] prompted Copts to join in public opposition to religious rule.<ref name="unhcr1" />
[[Gaafar Nimeiry]]'s introduction of Islamic [[Sharia]] 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 [[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.<ref name="unhcr1" />
In February 1991, a Coptic pilot working for [[Sudan Airways]] was executed for illegal possession of foreign currency.<ref name="sudanupdate1">{{cite web|url=http://www.sudanupdate.org/REPORTS/PEOPLES/COPTS.HTM|title=Copts|publisher=}}</ref> 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.<ref name="sudanupdate1" />
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.<ref name="sudanupdate1" /> 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 fervour 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 Sudan|south]].
Today, the [[Coptic Church]] in Sudan is officially registered with the government, and is exempt from property tax.<ref name="unhcr1" /> In 2005, the Sudanese government of National Unity (GNU) named a [[Coptic Orthodox]] priest to a government position, though the ruling Islamist party's continued dominance under the GNU provides ample reason to doubt its commitment to broader religious or ethnic representation.<ref name="unhcr1" />
=== Copts in modern Libya ===
{{Main|Copts in Libya}}
{{further|Christianity in Libya}}
The largest Christian group in Libya is the [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]], with a population of 60,000.{{citation needed|date=May 2019}} The Coptic Church is known to have historical roots in Libya long before the Arabs advanced westward from Egypt into Libya.
== 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 [[Copts in Egypt|in Egypt]] 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|website=|access-date=|quote=Egyptian authorities prevent surveyors from asking a participant's religion when doing research.}}</ref> although official estimates state that Coptic Christians represent 10 to 15 percent <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= [[United States Department of State]]}}</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=[[Foreign and Commonwealth Office|Foreign and Commonwealth Office -UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs]]|url-status=dead|archiveurl=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20121212135632/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/country-profiles/middle-east-north-africa/egypt|archivedate=December 12, 2012}}</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=[[Central Intelligence Agency|American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)]]}}</ref><ref name="IPS News">[http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=32988 IPS News] . Retrieved 09-27-2008.</ref><ref name="christianpost.com">Chan, Kenneth. [http://www.christianpost.com/article/20041207/thousands-protest-egypt-s-neglect-of-coptic-persecution.htm Thousands Protest Egypt's Neglect of Coptic Persecution]". ''[[The Christian Post]]''. December 7, 2004. Retrieved 28 September 2008.</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=[[Washington Institute for Near East Policy]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4117831.stm |title=Egyptian Coptic protesters freed |date=22 December 2004 |work= |publisher=BBC |accessdate=27 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3&article=157751&issueno=8872 |title=Research in population and demography of France estimates the coptic population to be |publisher=Institut National Etudes Démographiques |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071206155030/http://www.asharqalawsat.com/leader.asp?section=3 |archive-date=2007-12-06 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1097/9710087.html |title=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 |date= |work=The Washington Post |accessdate=10 October 2008}}</ref><ref name="msn encarta/Egypt">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557408_3/Egypt.html|title=Egypt from "msn encarta"|date=September 30, 2008|publisher=[[Microsoft Encarta|Encarta]]|archiveurl=https://www.webcitation.org/5kwQyp3zM?url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761557408_3/Egypt.html|archivedate=2009-10-31|url-status=dead}}</ref> while other independent and Christian sources estimate much higher numbers, up to 25 percent of the population.<ref name="U.S.Dept of State/Egypt" /><ref name="FCO/Egypt/" /><ref name="The world factbook/Egypt/" /><ref name="IPS News" /><ref name="christianpost.com" /><ref name="washingtoninstitute.org">{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=2386|title=The Copts and Their Political Implications in Egypt|publisher=}}</ref>
The Coptic population [[Copts in Sudan|in Sudan]] is at about half a million or 1 percent of Sudanese population.<ref name="unhcr1" />
The Coptic population [[Copts in Libya|in Libya]] is about over 60,000 or 1 percent of Libyan population.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/libya-religious-freedom-report-2004 |title=Reports on Religious Freedom: Libya |publisher=Jewish Virtual Library |accessdate=2018-03-11}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2018}}
=== Diaspora ===
{{Main|Coptic diaspora}}
[[File:StMarkCopticOrthodoxChurchBellaireTX0.JPG|thumb|180px|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 numbers of the Censuses in the [[United States]], [[Canada]], and [[Australia]] are not fully correct since many Copts listed themselves in the 2011 Census mistakenly as either Egyptians, Sudanese, Libyans, Americans, Canadians or Australians and by this way reducing the Coptic population in the 2011 Census in the United States, Canada, and Australia respectively.
Nevertheless, the [[Coptic American|Coptic American (US)]] population is estimated to number about 200,000 (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging as high as a million).<ref name="2009 American Community Survey" /><ref name="Pittsburgh Tribune 2007" /><ref name="JS Online" /><ref name="US-Copts" /> 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.copticcu.com/WhyCCU.html|title=''Why CCU?''|accessdate=June 21, 2009|publisher=Coptic Credit Union}}</ref> The [[Copts in Canada|Coptic Canadian]] population is estimated to number about 50,000<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/3704|title=Protest Egyptian government allowing criminal attacks on Coptic Christians|publisher=}}</ref> (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging as high as 200,000).<ref name="Montreal Gazette" /><ref name="elaph.com" /> The [[Copts in Australia|Coptic Australian]] population is estimated to number about 100,000<ref name="parliament.nsw.gov.au" /><ref name="coptic.org.au">{{cite web|title=Diocese of Australia|url=http://www.coptic.org.au/|website=Diocese of Australia}}</ref> (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging as high as 100,000).
Smaller communities are found in [[Kuwait]],<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|language=en-US}}</ref> the United Kingdom,<ref>Copts number at least 20,000 in Britain [http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2631&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle middle school ireland marriages family at middlekilleavy.com] {{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 [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_86.html British Orthodox Church (1999 figures)]</ref>
France (45,000),<ref name="la-croix.com" /> South Africa.<ref name="Come Across And Help Us Book 2">[http://www.copticafrica.org/bookcomehelp3.htm Come Across And Help Us Book 2] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008090221/http://www.copticafrica.org/bookcomehelp3.htm |date=October 8, 2008 }}</ref><ref name="CopticMission">[http://www.copticmission.org/copticmission CopticMission] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110131014720/http://www.copticmission.org/copticmission |date=January 31, 2011 }}</ref>
Minor communities below 10,000 people are reported from [[Jordan]] (8,000 Copts),<ref>[http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm King commends Coptic Church's role in promoting coexistence] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926234617/http://www.jordanembassyus.org/06032005001.htm |date=September 26, 2011 }}</ref> [[Lebanon]] (3,000 – 4,000 Copts),<ref name="state2">{{cite news|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2012/nea/208400.htm |title=Lebanon: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor – 2012 Report on International Religious Freedom |agency=U.S. Department of State |date=20 May 2013 |accessdate=6 December 2015}}</ref> [[Germany]] (3,000 Copts),<ref name=autogenerated4>[http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_112.html Adherents.com: By Location]</ref> [[Austria]] (2,000 Copts),<ref name="Austria 2004">[http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf Austria 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070614212516/http://www.hrwf.net/religiousfreedom/news/2004PDF/Austria_2004.pdf |date=2007-06-14 }} Religious Freedom news</ref> Switzerland (1,000 Copts),<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.swissinfo.org/eng/swissinfo.html?siteSect=105&sid=5090250|title=Orthodox Copts open church in Switzerland|last=Burnand|first=Frédéric|work=SWI swissinfo.ch|access-date=2018-03-17|language=en}}</ref> and elsewhere.
It is noted that Copts also live in Denmark, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.
== Persecution and discrimination in Egypt ==
{{Main|Persecution of Copts|Religion in Egypt}}
{{Modern persecution of Coptic Christians}}
[[Freedom of religion|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.<ref>WorldWide Religious News. [http://www.wwrn.org/article.php?idd=19813&sec=36&cont=3 Church Building Regulations Eased] {{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>Compass Direct News. [https://web.archive.org/web/20171018141554/http://www.compassdirect.org/en/newslongen.php?idelement=4132&id=17&critere=&countryname=&rowcur=25 Church Building Regulations Eased]. December 13, 2005.</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|publisher=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&sjid=RggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=6308,5873985&dq=international-christian-concern&hl=en |title=Copts Under Fire |publisher=The Free Lance-Star |date=November 23, 2002 |accessdate=August 2, 2015}}</ref>
In 2006, one person attacked three churches in [[Alexandria]], 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= [[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]] | date=April 15, 2006 | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/1515829/Coptic-Christians-attacked-in-churches.html|accessdate=2008-10-07 | location=London}}</ref> The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as "psychologically disturbed" by the [[Ministry of Interior (Egypt)|Ministry of Interior]].<ref>BBC. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4911346.stm Egypt church attacks spark anger], April 15, 2006.</ref> In May 2010, [[The Wall Street Journal]] 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| publisher= The Wall Street Journal | date=May 18, 2010 | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703745904575248301172607696|accessdate=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 [[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.<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 = http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/04/21/house-members-press-white-house-confront-egypt-forced-marriages/ | title = House Members Press White House to Confront Egypt on Forced Marriages | last = Abrams | first = Joseph |date = April 21, 2010 | work = foxnews.com | accessdate = November 8, 2010}}</ref>
[[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]] is 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 use to be one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the [[upper Egypt]]ian 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]], an extremely successful businessman and one of the world's 100 wealthiest people, is a Copt. In 2002, under the [[Mubarak]] government, [[Coptic calendar|Coptic Christmas]] (January 7) was recognized as an official holiday.<ref>ArabicNews.com. [http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/021220/2002122025.html Copts welcome Presidential announcement on Eastern Christmas Holiday] {{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. [http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/publications/endangered Egypt's Endangered Christians.] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20030107001824/http://www.freedomhouse.org/religion/publications/endangered |date=January 7, 2003 }}</ref><ref>Human Rights Watch. [https://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/egypt12212.htm Egypt: Overview of human rights issues in Egypt] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081114115428/http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/18/egypt12212.htm |date=2008-11-14 }}. 2005</ref> Most Copts do not support independence or separation movement from other Egyptians.<ref>[http://www.cpr-government.org/index_English.htm Coptic Pharaonic Republic] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090218014241/http://www.cpr-government.org/index_English.htm |date=February 18, 2009 }}</ref>
While freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to [[Human Rights Watch]], "Egyptians are able to [[Religious conversion|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."<ref>[https://hrw.org/englishwr2k7/docs/2007/01/11/egypt14701.htm Human Rights Watch. World report 2007: Egypt] {{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) |accessdate=2007-09-12 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912060035/http://www.ahram.org.eg/acpss/eng/ahram/2004/7/5/ARAB43.HTM |archivedate=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 [[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.<ref>[http://www.comeandsee.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=502 Egypt: Egypt Arrests 22 Muslim converts to Christianity]. 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. [http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/843/eg8.htm "Fraud, not Freedom".] {{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= [[The New York Times]] | 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 | accessdate=2008-10-07}}</ref><ref>[[Associated Press]]. [http://www.pr-inside.com/egypt-court-upholds-right-of-converted-r430320.htm Egypt court upholds right of converted Muslims to return to Christianity] {{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. [http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8Ro5sk6sChDNUGMQTIMBj6HsHQQ Egypt allows converts to revert to Christianity on ID] {{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 [[2013 Egyptian coup d'état|3 July 2013 Coup]] and clashes between the military and Morsi supporters, there were [[2013 Egyptian coup d'état#Violence against Coptic Christians|widespread attacks]] on Coptic churches and institutions in Egypt by [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]].<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 | accessdate=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/ | accessdate=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>
''[[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.<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}}</ref> 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."{{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|accessdate=22 August 2013}}</ref></blockquote>
== Language ==
{{Main|Coptic language|Egyptian language}}
[[File:Coptic and Arabic inscriptions in an Old Cairo church.jpg|thumb|223px|right|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stshenouda.com/coptlang/copthist.htm#Definition|title=The Coptic Studies' Corner|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419152624/http://www.stshenouda.com/coptlang/copthist.htm#Definition|archivedate=2012-04-19}}</ref> 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 the native language of only about 300 Copts around the world. It is also 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.
Dialects of the Coptic language:
* [[Sahidic]]: Theban or [[Upper Egypt]]ian.
* [[Bohairic]]: The dialect of the [[Nile Delta]] and of the medieval and modern Coptic Church.
* [[Akhmimic]]
* [[Lycopolitan]] (also known as Subakhmimic)
* [[Fayyumic]]
* [[Oxyrhynchite]]
== Calendar ==
{{Main|Coptic calendar}}
The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the [[Coptic Orthodox Church]] and also by [[Ethiopian calendar|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 Empire|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.<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}}
[[File:Coptic cross.svg|left|220px|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. 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 [[Nowruz]].<ref name="calendar" /> 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 [[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").{{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 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).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://copticchurch.net/easter.html|title=Coptic Orthodox Calendar / Easter Calculation|website=copticchurch.net|access-date=2018-03-17}}</ref>
== Genetics ==
According to Y-DNA analysis by Hassan et al. (2008), around 45% of Copts in Sudan carry the [[Haplogroup J (Y-DNA)|haplogroup J]]. The remainder mainly belong to the [[Haplogroup E-M215 (Y-DNA)|E1b1b]] clade (21%). Both paternal lineages are common among other local [[Afroasiatic languages|Afroasiatic]]-speaking populations (Beja, Ethiopians, Sudanese Arabs), as well as many 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|accessdate=14 October 2016|doi=10.1002/ajpa.20876|pmid=18618658}}{{dead link|date=January 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</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|url=}}</ref> The next most common haplogroups borne by Copts are the European-linked [[Haplogroup R1b|R1b]] clade (15%), as well as the archaic African [[Haplogroup B-M60|B]] lineage (15%).<ref name="Hassan2008" />
Maternally, Hassan (2009) found that Copts in Sudan exclusively carry various descendants of the [[Haplogroup N (mtDNA)|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, [[Haplogroup U (mtDNA)|U6]] is most frequent (28%), followed by the haplogroup [[Haplogroup T (mtDNA)|T]] (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|accessdate=13 October 2016}}{{Dead link|date=March 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
A 2015 study by Dobon et al. identified an ancestral autosomal component of West 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. Copts also formed a separated group in [[principal component analysis|PCA]], a close outlier to other Egyptians, Afro-Asiatic-speaking Northeast Africans and Middle East populations. The Coptic component evolved out of a main Northeast African and Middle Eastern ancestral component that is shared by other Egyptians and also found at high frequencies among other Afro-Asiatic-speaking populations in Northeast Africa (~70%). The scientists suggest that this points to a common origin for the general population of Egypt.<ref name=Dobon2015>{{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|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09996.pdf|accessdate=13 June 2015|pages=9996|pmid=26017457|pmc=4446898}}</ref> 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|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/srep09996.pdf|accessdate=13 June 2015|page=8|pmid=26017457|pmc=4446898|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). 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>
== Prominent Copts ==
[[File:Halim El-Dabh2.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Halim El-Dabh at a [[Cleveland]] festival in 2009.]]
[[File:Naelachohanboutrosghali-2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]]]]{{Main|List of Copts}}
Some famous Copts include:
* [[Hani Azer]], prominent civil engineer
* [[Halim El-Dabh]], Egyptian-American musician and academic
* [[Boutros Boutros-Ghali]], the sixth [[United Nations Secretary-General|Secretary-General]] of the [[United Nations]].
* [[Rami Malek]], an [[Egyptian-American]] actor of Coptic origins.
* [[Mena Massoud]], an [[Egyptian-Canadian]] actor.
* [[Dina Powell]], American Politician.
* [[Fayez Sarofim]], heir to the Sarofim family fortune.
* [[Naguib Sawiris]], the CEO of [[Orascom]].
* [[Magdi Yacoub]], Egyptian-British cardiothoracic surgeon.
{{clear}}
== See also ==
{{Portal|Egypt|Libya|Christianity}}
{{Div col}}
* [[Aigyptos]], in [[Greek mythology]]
* [[Coptic art]]
* [[Coptic Catholic Church]]
* [[Coptic diaspora]]
* [[Coptic flag]]
* [[Coptic identity]]
* [[Coptic language]]
* [[Coptic Museum]]
* [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Orthodox Church]]
* [[Coptic Saints]]
* [[Coptology]]
* [[Christianity in Egypt]]
* [[Christianity in Sudan]]
* [[Christianity in Libya]]
* [[List of Copts|List of prominent Copts worldwide]]
{{Div col end}}
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist|2}}
== Further reading ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|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) [https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Egypt-Monuments-Through-Millennia/dp/0814624065/ excerpt and text search]
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Charles|first=Robert H.|authorlink=Robert Charles (scholar)|title=The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text|year=2007|origyear=1916|location=Merchantville, NJ|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.
* 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.
* 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)
* {{cite book|author=Thomas, Martyn, ed.|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}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Meyendorff|first=John|author-link=John Meyendorff|year=1989|title=Imperial unity and Christian divisions: The Church 450–680 A.D.|series=The Church in history|volume=2|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6J_YAAAAMAAJ|isbn=9780881410556}}
* {{Cite book|ref=harv|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|authorlink=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}}
== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|Copt}}
* [http://directory.nihov.org/ Worldwide Coptic Directory]
* [http://www.coptsunited.com/ Copts United Newspaper]
* [http://www.coptic-cairo.com/ Coptic Cairo]
* [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5636.htm U.S. Department of State International Religious Freedom Report: Egypt]
{{Copts footer}}
{{Eastern Christianity footer}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Copts| ]]
[[Category:Egyptian Christians]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of North Africa]]
[[Category:Coptic Orthodox Church]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Egypt]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Sudan]]
[[Category:Oriental Orthodoxy in Libya]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Egypt]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Sudan]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Libya]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:North African people]]
[[Category:Ethnoreligious groups]]
[[Category:Ancient peoples]]' |
All external links in the new text (all_links) | [
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