Coptic Orthodox Church

Definition and Meaning

"Copt" refers to an Egyptian, and especially to an Egyptian Christian. The term is generally understood to derive from the Greek word for "Egyptian." The Coptic Orthodox Church is the principal church of Egyptian Christianity, and its head is called the "Pope of Alexandria." Together with the Armenian, Syriac, and Ethiopian churches, it belongs to Oriental Orthodoxy. Oriental Orthodoxy is a distinct family of churches whose theological tradition differs from that of the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Greek and Russian traditions.

Biblical and Historical Background

The Coptic Church traces its origin to the tradition that Mark preached the gospel in Alexandria. It also venerates as holy sites the places associated with the flight of the infant Jesus, Mary, and Joseph into Egypt (the Flight into Egypt, Matthew 2:13-15).

In the early church, Alexandria was a center of theology. Athanasius, who opposed Arianism, was bishop there. The desert monastic movement is also generally held to have begun in Egypt.

In 451 the Council of Chalcedon defined Christ as having two natures, divine and human, in one person. The Coptic Church did not accept this formula and held to the expression "one nature of the incarnate Word." For this reason, other churches have often called its position "Monophysitism" (the claim that Christ has only one nature, the divine). The Coptic Church rejects this label, explaining that its position means the divine and human natures were united into one without mixture or loss, and calls its position "Miaphysitism." In 1973, Pope Paul VI of the Roman Catholic Church and Coptic Pope Shenouda III issued a joint declaration on Christology. The Coptic Orthodox Church is a member church of the World Council of Churches.

In Muslim-majority Egypt, Coptic Christians are a minority. They have drawn international attention through reports of persecution and terrorism, such as the 2015 execution of Egyptian Coptic Christians and others by the Islamic State (IS) in Libya.

In the Korean Church

The Coptic Orthodox Church's organized presence and activity in Korea are not widely known. Korean Protestants encounter the Coptic Church mainly through pilgrimages to Egypt. Pilgrims visit Coptic churches and monasteries in Old Cairo associated with the tradition of the Flight into Egypt.

Korean Protestant denominations generally follow the Christology of the Council of Chalcedon. Accordingly, theological education presents the Coptic Church as one of the ancient churches that did not accept the Chalcedonian Definition. By contrast, denominations involved in the ecumenical movement and the National Council of Churches in Korea sometimes refer to it as a partner church within the World Council of Churches. This difference is also connected to the differing views of the denominations on the WCC controversy. Intercessory prayer for Coptic Christians as members of a persecuted church is also offered in Korean churches regardless of denomination.