Coptic Christians?

MrZetterlund · #1 Mar 26, '12, 8:00 am

I often hear about "Coptic Christians" who are from Egypt on the news. What is a Coptic Christian, and how similar are they to Catholics?

Thanks, Jared Z.

SonCatcher · #2 Mar 26, '12, 10:15 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrZetterlund

I often hear about "Coptic Christians" who are from Egypt on the news. What is a Coptic Christian, and how similar are they to Catholics?

Thanks, Jared Z.

I think they are also referred to Oriental Orthodox (not to be confused with Eastern

). The Coptic Church is an apostolic church that became separated sometime before the Byzantine Church. They have valid Sacraments and there is a subgroup that is in Communion with Rome.

hazcompat · #3 Mar 26, '12, 11:05 am

google this

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE
COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

S. MARK TO THEONAS (300)
ARABIC TEXT EDITED, TRANSLATED, AND ANNOTATED
BY B. EVETTS

peace

RyanBlack · #4 Mar 26, '12, 12:05 pm

The Coptic Orthodox are indeed one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. This communion of churches did not accept the Council of Chalcedon (451), which they were unable to reconcile with the christological dogmas of the Council of Ephesus (431). They are not, nor have they ever been, Monophysites. Unlike the followers of the Eutychian heresy, which was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon, they do not deny that Christ has a human nature consubstantial with ours.

MrZetterlund · #5 Mar 27, '12, 7:44 am

So they have a valid Sacramental system and are similar to Catholics in practice? Well thats good to know.

Aelred Minor · #6 Mar 29, '12, 12:05 pm

Let me point out that while the vast majority of Coptic Christians are Oriental Orthodox, there are some Eastern Catholics and I believe Eastern Orthodox who will also refer to themselves as "Copts." In the case of the Coptic Catholic Church, they still use the Alexandrian liturgy, and I assume they retain other aspects of Coptic traditions.

Also it bears remembering that the word "Coptic" can also have an ethnic connotation. The Copts are still, evidently, genetically distinct from the Arabs who conquered and took over Egypt, and the Coptic language is just what the language of the Ancient Egyptians has evolved into over the Millennia. Indeed the word "Copt" is just an alternate version of the word "Egyptian." Used in the ethnic sense one could theoretically speak of Muslim Copts or atheist Copts, just as there can be Christian Arabs or atheist Arabs, though I don't know if non-Christians of this ethnicity are in the habit of continuing to call themselves Coptic.

Aelred Minor · #7 Mar 29, '12, 12:15 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by RyanBlack

The Coptic Orthodox are indeed one of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. This communion of churches did not accept the Council of Chalcedon (451), which they were unable to reconcile with the christological dogmas of the Council of Ephesus (431). They are not, nor have they ever been, Monophysites. Unlike the followers of the Eutychian heresy, which was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon, they do not deny that Christ has a human nature consubstantial with ours.

In a narrowly literal sense, at the very least, the Oriental Orthodox were and remain Monophysites, since if you ask them how many natures Jesus Christ has they will answer, "one." However, what they mean by this is very different from what other Monophysites like the Eutychians or Apollonarians believed (those two were very different from each other, but each in different ways ended up denying the full humanity of Jesus, which the Oriental Orthodox don't). For this reason the word "Miaphysite" is today generally preferred to "Monophysite", though again going by a literal definition of Monophysitism, Miaphysitism would be one variation of it.

Leigh01 · #8 Jul 16, '12, 12:59 am

Sometime....! I read many time books which is written on coptic christians... And I also want to know about coptic christians. They have much diffrent events then other cast parties.. Also have diffrent leaving style then others.

Credo ergo sum · #9 Jul 16, '12, 1:08 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aelred Minor

In a narrowly literal sense, at the very least, the Oriental Orthodox were and remain Monophysites, since if you ask them how many natures Jesus Christ has they will answer, "one." However, what they mean by this is very different from what other Monophysites like the Eutychians or Apollonarians believed (those two were very different from each other, but each in different ways ended up denying the full humanity of Jesus, which the Oriental Orthodox don't). For this reason the word "Miaphysite" is today generally preferred to "Monophysite", though again going by a literal definition of Monophysitism, Miaphysitism would be one variation of it.

Miaphysite comes from St. Cyril's famous formula mia physis tou Theou Logou sesarkomenè, one incarnate nature of God the Word. Does that mean St. Cyril was a "monophysite"?

dzheremi · #10 Jul 16, '12, 1:33 am

For the sake of your sanity, please leave it alone, Credo.

Some people cannot help themselves.

But in case anyone is curious what the Copts believe and say about themselves, here is HG Bishop Youssef of the Southern U.S. Diocese responding to the false charge of "monophysitism", which is something we have never believed and will never believe. It is against our Christology just as much as dyophysitism, and for a similar reason, too (because the divinity and the humanity united in Christ are not separated, so how could one be taken away or destroyed?).