Coptic Christianity

Research Paper # 94991

Ethnic Studies > Africa
History > Middle Eastern
Religion and Theology > Christianity

Coptic Christianity

A look at how Christianity has prospered and survived in Egypt and Ethiopia since the first century.

1,536 words () | 13 sources | APA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper examines Christianity in Egypt after the personal conversion by Saint Mark. It briefly discusses the Arian heresy and asceticism. Also, the spread of Coptic Christianity to Ethiopia is shown. A great portion of the paper explains the Christian role as a minority in Egypt.

From the Paper:

"According to recent figures, Coptic Orthodox Christians comprise over thirteen percent of Egypt's population. This is significant particularly because Egypt currently has the largest population in Africa. Today, Coptic Christians comprise over fifty million followers, mostly in Africa. The largest concentration of these Christians is in Ethiopia, with smaller communities in Egypt and Eritrea. Most of the native Orthodox Christians in Egypt are centered in the southern portion of the country. In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when Portuguese Roman Catholic missionaries went to East Africa to convert natives, they were surprised to see Ethiopia already being constituted of practicing Christians. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Otto Meinardus, Two Thousand Years of Coptic Christianity (Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2002), 28
Dale H. Moore, "Christianity in Ethiopia" Church History > Vol. 5, No. 3 (Sep., 1936), pp. 271-284, 272
John T. Pawlikowski, "The Judaic Spirit of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church: A Case Study in Religious Acculturation" Journal of Religion in Africa > Vol. 4, Fasc. 3 (1971), pp. 178-199, 179
Walter Frederic Adeney, The Greek and Eastern Churches (New York: C. Scribner's sons University of Michigan, 1908), 618
E. R. Hardy, Jr., "The Patriarchate of Alexandria: A Study in National Christianity" Church History > Vol. 15, No. 2 (Jun., 1946), pp. 81-100, 81 Adeney, 553