In its early history, the Egyptian church was of great importance to the development of early Christianity. Clement of 2nd century and Origen of the 3rd century were some of the most central Christian personalities in their time. The first Christian monastery, was formed inside the Egyptian church.
The Coptic liturgy is based on the Greek rite of Alexandria, but after the 4th century, it developed its own distinct characteristics. This development happened mainly in the monasteries. Today, it is performed in both Coptic and Arabic.
The Coptic church’s relationship with the governments of Egypt has sometimes been difficult, but today the Copts and the Muslims are not treated very differently in comparison with earlier decades. The Copts have, however, recently faced attacks from militant Islamists in Egypt, and there has been some emigration of the Copts.
The Coptic church is active in talks with other smaller churches, and has also found a basis for solving theological differences with the Eastern Orthodox church, recognizing that political and verbal distinctions throughout history sometimes formed the basis for disunity.
To read more … http://i-cias.com/e.o/coptic_c.htm
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