The Copts are one of the oldest Christian communities in the Middle East. Although integrated into the larger Egyptian nation state, and have survived as a distinct religious community forming around 5 to 20 percent of the population. The Copts pride themselves on the apostolicity of the Egyptian Church. Its founder was the first in an unbroken chain of patriarchs. The main body has been out of communion with the Roman Catholic Church since the 5th century AD.

The Copts in Egypt contributed immensely to Christian tradition. According to ancient tradition, Christianity was introduced to present day Egypt by St. Mark in Alexandria, shortly after the ascension of Christ and during the reign of the Roman emperor Claudius around 42 AD.

The legacy that St. Mark left in Egypt was a considerable Christian community in Alexandria. Within half a century of St. Mark’s arrival, Christianity had spread throughout Egypt. This is clear from a fragment of the Gospel of John, written in Coptic and found in Upper Egypt that can be dated to the first half of the 2nd century, and the New Testament writings found in Oxyrhynchus, in Middle Egypt, which date around 200 AD.

In the 2nd century, Christianity began to spread to the rural areas, and scriptures were translated into Coptic (then known as Egyptian). By the beginning of the 3rd century AD, Christians constituted the majority of Egypt’s population, and the Church of Alexandria was recognized as one of Christendom’s four apostolic sees, second in honor only to the Church in Rome. The Church of Alexandria is therefore the oldest Christian church in Africa.

Another major contribution the Egyptian Copts made to Christianity was the creation and organization of monasticism. Worldwide Christian monasticism stems, either directly or indirectly, from the Egyptian example. The most prominent figures of the monastic movement were Anthony the Great, Paul of Thebes, Macarius the Great, Shenouda the Archimandrite and Pachomius the Cenobite.