Copts
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The Copts are the native Christians of Egypt (Coptic: ou.Remenkīmi
en.Ekhristianos; Egyptian
Arabic: اقباط, IPA: [ɑʔˈbɑːtˤ]),
a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt and the largest Christian group there. Christianity was the
majority religion during the 4th to 6th centuries AD and until the Muslim
conquest of Egypt[12]
and remains the faith of a significant minority population. Historically they
spoke the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian
spoken in the Roman era, but it has been near-extinct and mostly limited to
liturgical use since the 18th century. They now speak Arabic.
Copts in Egypt constitute the
largest Christian
community in the Middle East,
as well as the largest religious minority in the region, accounting for an
estimated 10% of the Egyptian population.[13]
Most Copts adhere to the Coptic
Orthodox Church of Alexandria.[14][15][16]
The remainder of around 800,000[17]
are divided between the Coptic Catholic and various Coptic Protestant churches.
Name
The word Copt was adopted in
English in the 17th century, from New Latin
Coptus, Cophtus, which is derived from Arabic
collective qubṭ, qibṭ قبط "the Copts" with nisba adjective
qubṭī, qibṭī قبطي, plural aqbāṭ أقباط; Also quftī, qiftī,
Arabic /f/ representing historical Coptic /p/. an Arabisation of the Coptic word kubti
(Bohairic) and/or kuptaion (Sahidic). The Coptic word is in turn an adaptation
of the Greek Αἰγύπτιος "Egyptian" ultimately related to Caphtor.
The term is thus ultimately derived
from the Greek designation of the native Egyptian population in Roman Egypt
(as distinct from Greeks, Romans, Jews, etc.). After the Muslim
conquest of Egypt, it became restricted to those Egyptians
adhering to the Christian religion.[18]
The Greek term for Egypt, Αἰγύπτος,
is itself derived from the Egyptian language,
but dates to a much earlier period, being attested already in Mycenean Greek
as a3-ku-pi-ti-jo (lit. "Egyptian"; used here as a
man's name). This Mycenaean form is likely from Middle Egyptian
ḥwt-k3-ptḥ ("Hut-ka-Ptah"), literally "Estate (or
'House') of the Spirit of Ptah" (cf. Akkadian āluḫi-ku-up-ta-aḫ),
the name of the temple complex of the god Ptah at Memphis.
In their own Coptic language,
the Copts referred to themselves as rem en kēme (Sahidic), lem en
kēmi (Fayyumic), rem en khēmi (Bohairic), which
literally means "people of Egypt" or "Egyptians"; cf. Egyptian rmṯ n kmt, Demotic rmt n
kmỉ.
The Arabic word qibṭ
"Copt" has also been connected to the Greek name of the town of
Κόπτος Coptos
(modern day Qifṭ; Coptic Kebt and Keft). It is possible
that this association has contributed to making Copt the settled form of
the name.[19]
In the 20th century, some Egyptian
nationalists and intellectuals in the context of Pharaonism
began using the term qubṭ in the historical sense. For example, Markos Pasha
Semeika, founder of the Coptic Museum,
addressed a group of Egyptian students saying: "All of you are Copts. Some
of you are Muslim Copts, others are Christian Copts, but all of you are
descended from the Ancient Egyptians".[20]
History
The Copts are one of the oldest
Christian communities in the Middle East. Although integrated in the larger
Egyptian nation, the Copts have survived as a distinct religious community
forming around 10–20% of the population,[14][15][17][21][22][23][24][25][26]
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.
Foundation
of the Egyptian Christian Church
According to ancient tradition, Christianity
was introduced to the Egyptians by Saint Mark in Alexandria, shortly after the ascension of Christ and during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius around
42 AD.[27]
The legacy that Saint Mark left in Egypt was a considerable Christian
community in Alexandria. From Alexandria, Christianity
spread throughout Egypt within half a century of Saint Mark's arrival in Alexandria,
as is clear from a fragment of the Gospel of John,
written in 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 Church of Rome. The Church of Alexandria is therefore the oldest Christian church in Africa.
Contributions
to Christianity
Egyptians contributed immensely to 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, Clement, Didymus, and Origen, the father of theology and who was also active in the
field of commentary and comparative Biblical studies. However, the scope of
this school was not limited to theological subjects; science, mathematics and
humanities were also taught there. The question-and-answer method of commentary
began there, and 15 centuries before Braille,
wood-carving techniques were in use there by blind scholars to read and write.
Another major contribution made by
the Egyptians to Christianity was the creation and organization of monasticism.
Worldwide Christian monasticism stems, either directly or indirectly, from the
Egyptian example. The most prominent figures of the monastic movement were Anthony the Great,
Paul of Thebes, Macarius the Great, Shenouda
the Archimandrite and Pachomius the Cenobite.
By the end of the 5th century, there were hundreds of monasteries, and
thousands of cells and caves scattered throughout the Egyptian desert. Since
then pilgrims have visited the Egyptian Desert Fathers
to emulate their spiritual, disciplined lives. 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. Saint Benedict founded the Benedictine Order
in the 6th century on the model of Saint Pachomius,
although in a stricter form.
The
Ecumenical Councils
The major contributions that the See of Alexandria
has contributed to the establishment of early Christian theology and dogma are
attested to by fact that the first three Ecumenical councils in the history of Christianity
were headed by Egyptian patriarchs. The Council of Nicaea (325 AD) was presided over by St. Alexander, Patriarch of
Alexandria, along with Saint Hosius of Córdoba. In addition, the most prominent figure of the council was
the future Patriarch of Alexandria Athanasius, who played the major role in the formulation of the Nicene Creed,
recited today in most Christian churches of different denominations. One of the
council's decisions was to entrust the Patriarch of Alexandria with calculating and annually announcing the exact date of Easter to the rest of the Christian churches. The Council
of Constantinople (381 AD) was presided over by Patriarch Timothy of Alexandria, while the Council of
Ephesus (431 AD) was presided over by Cyril of Alexandria.
Council
of Chalcedon
In 451 AD, following the Council of Chalcedon, the Church of Alexandria was divided into two branches. Those who accepted the terms
of the Council became known as Chalcedonians
or Melkites. Those
who did not abide by the Council's terms were labeled non-Chalcedonians
or Monophysites and later Jacobites after Jacob Baradaeus.
The non-Chalcedonians, however, rejected the term Monophysites
as erroneous and referred to themselves as Miaphysites.
The majority of the Egyptians belonged to the Miaphysite
branch, which led to their persecution by the Byzantines
in Egypt.
The
Arab–Muslim invasion of Egypt
In 641 AD, Egypt was invaded by the Arabs who faced off with the Byzantine
army, but found little to no resistance from the native Egyptian population.
Local resistance by the Egyptians however began to materialize shortly
thereafter and would last until at least the 9th century.[28][29]
Copts
in modern Egypt
The position of the Copts did not
begin to improve until the rule of Muhammad Ali in the early 19th century, who abolished the Jizya (a tax on non-Muslims) and allowed Egyptians (Copts as well
as Muslims) to enroll in the army. Conditions continued to improve throughout
the 19th century under the leadership of the great reformer Pope Cyril IV, and in the first half of the 20th century (known as the Golden
Age by the Copts) during Egypt's liberal period. Copts participated in the
Egyptian national movement for independence and occupied many influential
positions. Two significant cultural achievements include the founding of the 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.
Following the 1952 coup d'état
by the Free
Officers, the conditions of the Copts have
been slowly deteriorating and their human rights are often violated.
In 1952, Nasser led some army officers in a coup d'état against King Farouk,
which overthrew the Kingdom of Egypt and established a republic. Nasser's mainstream policy was pan-Arab
nationalism and socialism. The Copts were severely affected by Nasser's
nationalization policies because, though they represented about 10–20% of the
population,[30]
they were so economically prosperous that they held more than 50% of the
country's wealth. In addition, Nasser's pan-Arab policies undermined the Copts'
strong attachment to and sense of identity about their Egyptian pre-Arab, and
certainly non-Arab, identity; permits to construct churches were delayed,
Christian religious courts were closed, and the regime confiscated land and
Church properties from Copts.[30]
As a result, many Copts left their country for Australia, North America, or
Europe.[31][32][33]
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 and Eastern Rite Catholics, and other Orthodox congregations. The term Coptic remains exclusive
however to the Egyptian natives, as opposed to the Christians of non-Egyptian
origins. Some Protestant churches for instance are called "Coptic
Evangelical Church", thus helping differentiate their native Egyptian
congregations from churches attended by non-Egyptian immigrant communities such
as Europeans or Americans.
The last head of the Coptic Orthodox
Church, Pope
Shenouda III of Alexandria, died 17
March 2012. On 4 November 2012, Bishop Tawadros was chosen as the new pope of
Egypt's Coptic Christians. His name was selected from a glass bowl containing
the three shortlisted candidates by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo's St
Mark's Cathedral.[35]
Pharaonism
Many Coptic intellectuals hold to
"Pharaonism,"
which states that Coptic culture is largely derived from pre-Christian,
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. Most scholars today see Pharaonism as a late
development shaped primarily by western Orientalism,
and they doubt its validity.[36][37]
Copts
in modern Sudan
Sudan has a
native Coptic minority, although many Copts in Sudan are descended from more
recent Egyptian immigrants.[38]
Copts in Sudan live mostly in northern cities, including Al Obeid, Atbara, Dongola, Khartoum, Omdurman, Port Sudan, and Wad Medani.[38]
They number up to 500,000, or slightly over 1% of the Sudanese population.[38]
Due to their advanced education, their role in the life of the country has been
more significant than their numbers suggest.[38]
They have occasionally faced forced conversion to Islam, resulting in their emigration and decrease in number.[38]
Modern immigration of Copts to Sudan
peaked in the early 19th century, and they generally received a tolerant
welcome there. However, this was interrupted by a decade of persecution under Mahdist
rule at the end of the 19th century.[38]
As a result of this persecution, many were forced to relinquish their faith,
adopt Islam, and intermarry
with the native Sudanese. The Anglo-Egyptian invasion in 1898 allowed Copts greater religious and economic
freedom, and they extended their original roles as artisans and merchants into
trading, banking, engineering, medicine, and the civil service. Proficiency in
business and administration made them a privileged minority. However, the
return of militant Islam in the mid-1960s and subsequent demands by radicals for an Islamic
constitution prompted Copts to join in public
opposition to religious rule.[38]
Gaafar Nimeiry's introduction of Islamic Sharia law in 1983 began a new phase of oppressive treatment of
Copts, among other non-Muslims.[38]
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.[38]
In February 1991, a Coptic pilot
working for Sudan Airways was executed for illegal possession of foreign currency.[39]
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.[39]
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.[39]
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.
Today, the Coptic Church
in Sudan is officially registered with the government, and is exempt from
property tax.[38]
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.[38]
Demographics
Living in a country of Muslim
majority, the size of the population of Copts is a continuously disputed
matter, frequently for reasons of religious jealousy and animosity. Some
official estimates state that Christians represent from 5% to 10% or less of a
population of over 83 million Egyptians[21][22][23][40][41][42][43][44][26][14][15][17][24]
while other independent and Christian sources estimate much higher numbers, up
to 23% of the population.[14][15][17][21][22][23][24][25][26]
Diaspora
Outside of Egypt and Sudan, the
largest Coptic diaspora population is in the United States and Canada, US
population numbering about 200,000 (estimates of Coptic organizations ranging
as high as a million).[4][6][7][8][45]
Smaller communities (below 100,000)
are found in Australia,[10][11]
Kuwait,[46]
Libya,[47][48]
the United Kingdom,[49]
France[citation
needed], South Africa,[50][51]
and Canada.[52]
Minor communities below 10,000
people are reported from Jordan[53]
Germany[54]
Switzerland[55]
Austria[56]
and elsewhere.
It is noted that Copts also live in
Denmark, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia and Sweden.[citation
needed]
Persecution
and discrimination in Egypt
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.[57][58]
The Coptic community has been
targeted by hate crimes and physical assaults. The most significant was the
2000–01 El Kosheh attacks, in which Muslims and Christians were involved in
bloody inter-religious clashes following a dispute between a Muslim and a
Christian. "Twenty Christians and one Muslim were killed after violence
broke out in the town of el-Kosheh, 440 kilometres (270 mi) south of
Cairo".[59]
International
Christian Concern reported that in February 2001,
Muslims burned a new Egyptian church and the homes of 35 Christians, and that
in April 2001 a 14-year-old Egyptian Christian girl was kidnapped because her
parents were believed to be harboring a person who had converted from Islam to Christianity.[60]
In 2006, one person attacked three
churches in Alexandria, killing one person and injuring 5-16.[61]
The attacker was not linked to any organisation and described as
"psychologically disturbed" by the Ministry
of Interior.[62]
In May 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported increasing "waves of mob assaults" by
Muslims against Copts, forcing many Christians to flee their homes.[63]
Despite frantic calls for help, the police typically arrived after the violence
was over.[63]
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.[63]
In Marsa Matrouh, a mob of 3,000 Muslims attacked the city's Coptic
population, with 400 Copts having to barricade themselves in their church while
the mob destroyed 18 homes, 23 shops and 16 cars.[63]
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.[64]
Boutros Boutros-Ghali is a Copt who served as Egypt's foreign minister under President Anwar Sadat.
Today, only two Copts are on Egypt's governmental cabinet: Finance Minister Youssef Boutros Ghali and Environment Minister Magued George. There is also
currently one Coptic governor out of 25, that of the Upper Egyptian
governorate of Qena, and the
first Coptic governor in a few decades. 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 Christmas (January the 7th) was recognized as an official holiday.[65]
However, many Copts continue to complain of being minimally represented in law
enforcement, state security and public office, and of being discriminated
against in the workforce on the basis of their religion.[66][67]
Most Copts do not support independence or separation movement from other
Egyptians.[68]
While freedom of religion is
guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution, according to Human Rights Watch, "Egyptians are able to convert to Islam generally without difficulty, but Muslims who
convert to Christianity face difficulties in getting new identity papers and
some have been arrested for allegedly forging such documents."[69]
The Coptic community, however, takes pains to prevent conversions from
Christianity to Islam due to the ease with which Christians can often become
Muslim.[70]
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.[71]
In 2007, a Cairo administrative court denied 45 citizens the right to obtain
identity papers documenting their reversion to Christianity after converting to
Islam.[72]
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,[73][74]
but they will specify that they had adopted Islam for a brief period of time.[75]
The Egyptian Census of 1897 reported
the percentage of Non-Muslims in Urban Provinces as 14.7%( 13.2% Christians,
1.4% Jews). The Egyptian Census of 1986 reported the percentage of Non-Muslims
in Urban Provinces as 6.1%( 5.7% Christians, 0% Jews). The decline in the
Jewish representation is interpreted through the creation of the state of
Israel, and the subsequent emigration of the Egyptian Jews. There is no
explanation for a 55% decline in the percentage of Christians in Egypt. It has
been suggested that Egyptian censuses held after 1952 have been politicised to
under-represent the Christian population.
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.[76]
Coptic remained the spoken language of all Egyptians until it was slowly
replaced by Masri
(colloquial Egyptian Arabic) around 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 restricted.
Calendar
The Coptic calendar, also called the
Alexandrian calendar, is used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and also by Ethiopia as its official calendar (with different names). This calendar is based
on the ancient Egyptian calendar. To avoid the calendar creep of the latter, a reform of the
ancient Egyptian calendar was introduced at the time of Ptolemy III
(Decree of Canopus, in 238 BC) which consisted of the intercalation of a
sixth epagomenal day every fourth year. However, this reform was opposed by the
Egyptian priests, and the idea was not adopted until 25 BC, when the Roman Emperor Augustus formally
reformed the calendar of Egypt, keeping it forever synchronized with the newly introduced Julian calendar.
To distinguish it from the Ancient Egyptian calendar, which remained in use by
some astronomers until medieval times, this reformed calendar is known as the
Coptic calendar. Its years and months coincide with those of the Ethiopian calendar but have different numbers and names.
Coptic
year
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.[77]
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 AD 284, the year Diocletian
became Roman Emperor, whose reign was marked by tortures and mass executions of
Christians, especially in Egypt. Hence, the Coptic year is identified by the abbreviation
A.M. (for Anno Martyrum or "Year of the Martyrs"). The A.M.
abbreviation is also used for the unrelated Jewish year (Anno Mundi).
Every fourth Coptic year is a leap
year without exception, as in the Julian calendar, so the above
mentioned new year dates apply only between AD 1900 and 2099 inclusive in the
Gregorian Calendar. In the Julian Calendar, the new year is always 29
August, except before a Julian leap year when it's August 30. Easter is reckoned by the Julian Calendar in the Old Calendarist
way.
To obtain the Coptic year number,
subtract from the Julian year number either 283 (before the Julian new year) or
284 (after it).
Prominent
Copts
Many Copts are internationally
renowned. Some of the most well known Copts include Boutros Boutros-Ghali the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Sir Magdi Yacoub the internationally renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, Hani Azer
the world leading civil engineer, billionaire Fayez Sarofim
one of the richest men in the world, and Naguib Sawiris
the CEO of Orascom.
The entire wiki link can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copts
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