What are the distinguishing beliefs of the Coptic faith?

Question

What are its distinctions from other sects of Christianity?

Answer 1

If you're interested in learning more about the Coptic Orthodox Church, this is a good place to start:

http://foru.ms/f449-the-voice-in-the-desert-oriental-orthodox.html

Answer 2

They have been accused of being monophysites. Although I personally do not think that most Copts truly are (in the conciliar use of the term...) - I think that it bears mentioning.

The Monophysite controversy was the main issue at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451), and continued the theological, political, social and philosophical tensions between the Christians at Alexandria and the Christians at Antioch.

The Alexandrian Monophysites were condemned by the Council and ultimately separated to become the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church. The Coptic Church, both in Egypt and in Ethiopia remained the dominant form of African Christianity from the Muslim invasion to the coming of the missionaries in the 19th century.

So - some are...some are not monophysites.

Answer 3

Coptic Orthodox Church Beliefs

Answer 4

Coptic Christianity is actually divided into Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant. The overwhelming majority of Copts are Orthodox. I believe all sects of Coptic Christianity originated in Egypt, since Copts are Egyptian Christians (and, a long time ago, the word Copt simply meant "an Egyptian") and "Coptic" refers to the Egyptian language after it developed Coptic script and was no longer written using standard Greek alphabet.

Answer 5

Coptic Christian Beliefs

Answer 6

Coptic Othodoxy rejects the definitions of the unity of Christ as one person of two distinct natures of the Council of Chalcedon(AD 451)accepted by the Eastern orthodox,Catholic and Confessional Protestant churches like the Lutheran.

The Coptic church is similar to the eastern Orthodox but is Oriental Orthodox like the Ethiopian,Jacobite and Armenian Churches withits own liturgical family different from the Byzantine.
The Copts have their own Pope, the Patriarch of Alexandria

Answer 7

That Millions of Coptic Christians live in Iraq today because Christian Countries have been known to persecute them in the Past.

- an iraqi

Answer 8

The Coptic church is a false works-salvation religion.

They have a heretical doctrine on the Person of Jesus Christ (that His two distinct divine and human natures are one singular nature) and believe in many of the catholic heresies, including the blasphemous mystical doctrine of transubstantiation.



The true Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ:

http://youtu.be/y4wx3DoFog8

Answer 9

It's a rather esoteric theological division now, but in the early church, it was considered heretical, and led to the first major split in the Christian church.

The Council of Chalcedon in the 5th century declared that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. The Coptics disagreed, saying that Jesus was only of one nature, but formed from two. This reflects the Aristotelian philosophy that there is an ideal nature that exists separate from our physical existence. Today we don't consider this thought much, except when in communion we refer to transubstantiation.

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Answer 10

Coptics are from the great church of Alexandria in Egypt. It was the Apostle Mark who went there to preach....hence, their apostolic connection. From Alexandria, the church spread to Ethopia and to the relatively "new" country of Eritrea thanks to St. Frumentius.

The Coptic Orthodox belongs to the 6 great Orthodox churches known collectively as the Oriental Orthodox churches....all in communion with each other but not in communion with the Assyrian Church of the East nor with the other autocephalus Orthodox churches....Greek, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Bulgarian, Albanian, etc.

They did reject the determinations of the Council of Chalcedon.....thus the term Monophysite (one nature) and Jacobites after their leader Jacob Baradai....a Syrian. They resent the term saying that the misunderstanding was in semantics. It was one thing to translate a word/phrase from Greek to Latin but some of them have no counterpart in Syrian.

Copts (the Greek word for Egyptian) used to speak Ge'ez but I believe that it is now Amharic that they use in their liturgy.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is headed by its own Pope....Shenouda III, Patriarch of the See of St. Mark....he resides in Cairo, Egypt. They are very, very strict. They are required to fast for more than 200 days per year during which they abstain from ALL animal products: eggs, cheese, meat, milk, etc. I believe that they maintain the rite of circumcision and the Jewish dietary laws. When a Coptic priest enters into the sanctuary for the Divine Liturgy, he removes his shoes. They claim 9,000,000 members worldwide.

If I am not mistaken it is this church that maintains the belief that, at the last Supper, Jesus secretly gave his apostle John two pieces of bread; one that he ate and the other he later mixed with new dough which his followers used for Communion.....and during every single Liturgy -- EVEN UNTO THIS DAY, a piece of that same bread gets passed on by way of always putting aside a piece of dough and added to the new batches as they are made. Therefore, they claim that their Communion bread was indeed consecrated by Jesus.

A good number of these Coptic Orthodox members have long since reconciled with Rome and are now called Coptic Catholics. They do accept the norms of the Coucil of Chalcedon. Thus, they now look to Pope Benedict XVI rather than His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.

P.S. Iraqi Catholics are called Chaldeans....not Coptics. Iraqi Catholics are those who have reconciled with Rome from the Assyrian Church of the East. They had separated from the Church earlier after the Council of Ephesus....they denied that Jesus was True God and True Man....God from all eternity.

P.P.S.....To which of the apostles can you trace YOUR church?