Coptic Christianity is one of the oldest branches of Christianity and claims that its foundation was laid by St Mark when he visited Egypt around 50 AD.
Coptic Christians celebrate several key holidays throughout the year, such as Christmas and Easter, while also keeping several fasts.
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The Trinity
Coptic Christians believe in the Trinity, consisting of three Persons – God the Father, Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. All three together represent one true God.
The Trinity is a key concept to grasp for Christians, as it forms part of their core faith. The concept is grounded in biblical teaching that there is only one God and that He cannot be divided.
Christians believe that the Father is the architect and sustainer of the universe; while His Son serves as his agent in carrying out all his works – such as creating and upholding it (Colossians 1:16, 8), divine revelation (John 1:1, 16:12-15 and Revelation 1:1) salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21 and John 4:42), salvation as well as Jesus’ human works (Matthew 28:16-20 and John 14:10).
Christianity’s doctrine of the Trinity can be found in multiple places within Scripture – including both Hebrew Bible and New Testament texts. Over time, its development within the Church became codified around 325th century.
Trinity is a mystery beyond any rational explanation and cannot be comprehended by human understanding alone. Therefore, many theological works attempt to defend and explain it against its critics.
Over time, many polytheistic religions have organized their gods into trinities. Church leaders may have encouraged this doctrine in order to make Christianity more attractive to surrounding cultures.
The Trinity is an enigmatic force which can only be fully comprehended through divine inspiration. Humanity’s only way of grasping its inner workings lies through God revealing them.
Salvation
Coptic Christians believe in salvation as a two-part process: God provides it through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection, while humans take hold of it through doing good works that reflect Him. Coptic Christians value ethical works such as fasting and almsgiving as integral components of their daily lives.
Coptic Christians have historically endured persecutions and attacks against their faith, yet have always held firm to it despite these obstacles, thereby becoming one of the world’s oldest and most revered Christian denominations.
The Coptic Church is an independent denomination which originated in Alexandria, Egypt and recognizes John Mark as their founder and first bishop. Coptics place great emphasis on asceticism – practicing self-denial to grow closer to God – as one way of drawing closer.
They humbly worship the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit and place great emphasis on Baptism and Chrismation sacraments as means of salvation.
Baptism (or Paedobaptism), performed through immersion in water, is the foundational sacrament of Coptic Christianity and provides new life and forgiveness of sins as part of God’s family as well as eternal hope.
Other sacraments of Coptic Christianity include communion, confession and ascetic practices administered by priests – these essential rites play an essential role in daily life for Coptic Christians.
Confession, also called penance, involves admitting your sins against God and Jesus before a priest and seeking absolution for your misdeeds through confession. Confession requires feeling sorrow and repentance before seeking change with faith in Jesus present and oral confession from a priest who will then absolve any further guilt of their actions.
The Coptic Church places great emphasis on the Eucharist, an act of communion in which Christians of all ages share in Christ’s Body and Blood. Copts commonly utilize ordinary bread in their Eucharistic celebrations instead of leavened bread that Catholics and other Christian denominations may use during Mass.
Confession
Coptic Christians believe in confessing one’s sins to a priest for absolution, as well as communion: this occurs when Christians receive Jesus Christ in Eucharist form.
Confession is an integral component of Christian faith and allows you to grow closer to Jesus. Confession allows you to confess your sins directly to Him so He may forgive them and offer the grace to overcome temptation in future.
When visiting a priest for confession, they will ask about your past sins and suggest some penance to do in order to be forgiven; additionally they will offer advice on how to avoid future sin.
Confession is an integral component of Christian faith, yet many find the process uncomfortable or embarrassing. They may feel ashamed to confess their sins or feel guilt over things they’ve done in the past.
Confession involves sitting before their priest and freely confessing their sins without making excuses or assigning blame. They should expect fair and kind treatment during this meeting with no excuses made or blame placed upon others by either party.
Some might assume it is unnecessary to attend confession if they’ve committed only minor sins; however, this would be a grave error on their part. When making confession, especially after an offense of grave gravity occurs, seeking forgiveness and experiencing Jesus’s healing power should always come first.
As part of your penance, the priest may also provide spiritual exercises designed to deepen and expand your vocation and deepen your relationship with God. It is vitally important that you practice these exercises faithfully in order to progress further in your vocation and reach any spiritual goals set for yourself.
Communion
Coptic Christians revere Holy Communion, or Eucharist, as the cornerstone of their practice. This unique sacrament offers believers an opportunity for prayer, meditation and communion while remembering Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross.
Churches all around the world commemorate Christ’s death through ritualized celebrations that incorporate various practices. Some use bread and wine while others opt for grape juice; all methods serve to remind Christians about his death and commemorate it with reverence and joy.
Although each church practices Communion differently, all Christian communions share one goal: to remember Christ’s sacrifice and express our thanks for His incomparable love and generosity toward us. Communion also provides Christians an opportunity to take an honest examination of themselves to ensure there are no unconfessed sins in their hearts that need confessing.
Before receiving communion, it’s essential to fast from food and beverages for at least six hours and confess your sins and receive forgiveness from a priest.
After receiving communion, it’s also vitally important to read from and pray the Bible and seek God’s forgiveness for any offenses you may have committed against Him or someone else. This will prepare both your mind and heart for his Holy Sacrifice while providing an opportunity for you to ask His mercy.
At mass, the deacon reads from Scripture while the priest lifts a Prospharine (chalice). After each reading and lift, members of the congregation respond by singing praises of praises (doxologies) to praise our Lord before receiving consecrated bread and wine from him as holy communion elements.
In Catholicism, communion can be distributed by either a Eucharistic Minister (a lay person) or priest after it has been consecrated by priest. However, in Coptic churches only priests are authorized to distribute Communion to members. If any leftover bread or wine remains, it can be reused at another Mass service.
Asceticism
Asceticism is a spiritual discipline designed to encourage a life of devotion and allegiance to Christ. This process involves identifying any passions which bind us, then working to overcome them so they may be replaced with activities beneficial to faith, hope, and love.
Forming relationships with spiritual fathers who guide and lead our journey with the Lord can also be instrumental. They understand our ‘naked, wounded and sometimes ugly souls and comfort us while praying with us and celebrating our victories alongside us.
In an effort to recreate Christ and his Apostles’ noble moral dispositions, the Church has established religious orders which help those wishing to practice asceticism more easily and securely. While asceticism generally comprises poverty of spirit, chastity, and obedience as its hallmark virtues, its scope extends far beyond these basic concepts and embraces other virtues as well.
Abstinence from food, alcohol and material goods is known as fasting. Fasting is practiced both individually (such as by Nazirites who abstain from wine) or collectively; early Christians fasted before Easter for example.
Other forms of asceticism include meditation, monasticism and mortification. While many of these practices have been seen as pathological by society at large, their psychological advantages allow individuals to explore themselves deeper while alleviating any forms of repression that exist within.
Asceticism can be found throughout history and modern societies; not just those belonging to Christianity. It has played an essential role in the formation of many civilizations around the globe.
