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Copts
ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙ'ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ
'ⲛ'Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ'ⲁⲛⲟⲥ
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Top row (left to right)
Saint Mary of Egypt • Boutros Boutros Ghali • Ester Fanous • Saint Maurice
Bottom row (left to right)
Makram Pasha Ebeid • Meriam George • Saint Paul the Hermit and Saint Anthony the Great • Pope Cyril VI |
Total population
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8,000,000 to 18,000,000 (estimates vary)
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Founder
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Regions with significant populations
| Egypt |
8,300,000 to 18,000,000
(see Religion in Egypt) |
[1] |
| United States |
300,000 - 1,000,000 |
[2] |
| Australia |
70,000+ (2003) |
[3] [4] |
| Kuwait |
65,000 |
[5] |
| Canada |
50,000+ (2008 est.) |
[6] |
| United Kingdom |
25,000 - 30,000 (2006) |
[7] |
| South Africa |
15,000+ |
[8][9] |
| Kenya |
8,000+ |
[8][9] |
| Jordan |
8,000+ (2005) |
[10] |
| Germany |
3,000 - 5,000 (2005) |
[11] |
| Austria |
2,000 (2001) |
[12] |
| Switzerland |
1,000 (2004) |
[13] |
| France |
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| New Zealand |
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| Netherlands |
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| Brazil |
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| Italy |
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| Israel |
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| Sudan |
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| Bolivia |
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| Lebanon |
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| Mexico |
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| Sweden |
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| Greece |
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Religions
Predominantly: Coptic Orthodox Christianity.
Minorities include: Coptic Catholic Church; various Protestant minorities |
Scriptures
| Bible |
Languages
Liturgical: Coptic
In Egypt: Egyptian Arabic
In the diaspora: English, French, German and others |
A Copt (Coptic: ⲟⲩⲣⲉⲙ'ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ 'ⲛ'Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ'ⲁⲛⲟⲥ ou.Remenkīmi en.Ekhristianos, literally: Egyptian Christian) is a native Egyptian Christian. Copts form a major ethno-religious group that has ancient origins. Copts are Egyptians whose ancestors embraced Christianity in the first century.[14] The word "Coptic" was originally used in Classical Arabic to refer to Egyptians in general (see etymology section), but it has undergone semantic shift over the centuries to mean more specifically Egyptian Christian after the bulk of the Egyptian population converted to Islam.[15] In modern usage, it is frequently applied to members of the Coptic Orthodox Church irrespective of ethnic origin. Thus Ethiopian and Eritrean Christians (and Nubians before their conversion to Islam) were traditionally referred to as Copts, though this has been falling out of use since their Tewahedo Churches were granted their own patriarchs.The Coptic Christian population in Egypt is the largest Christian community in the Middle East.[16] Christians represent around 6[17]-less than 6% of a population of over 80 million Egyptians,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] though estimations vary (see Religion in Egypt). Around 90% of them belong to the native Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.[25][26] The remaining (around 800,000[27]) are divided between the Coptic Catholic and the Coptic Protestant churches. |
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