Copts, << kopts, >> is a term first used to refer to certain native residents of ancient Egypt. The Copts spoke a version of the ancient Egyptian language enriched by many Greek words and written with a modified Greek alphabet. The name Copts also refers to members of the Coptic Orthodox Church in modern Egypt, who use the Coptic language in their church service. However, like other Egyptians today, Copts speak Arabic.
The Copts played a leading role in the development of the early Christian church. They made their most important contribution to Christianity from the late A.D. 200’s to the mid-300’s, when a Copt, Anthony of Thebes, founded the early Christian monastic movement. The Copts were interested in the lives and sayings of the saints. Most surviving Coptic literature concerns this subject. The Copts stressed the unity of the human and divine in Christ‘s nature, a belief known as the Monophysite doctrine. At the Council of Chalcedon in 451, however, church leaders from Rome and Constantinople declared Christ had two separate natures and condemned the powerful Coptic patriarchate (ruling division) in Alexandria. Some Copts submitted to the Council’s decisions, but most chose to establish an independent church with its own patriarch and clergy.
In 642, Muslim Arabs conquered Egypt, and many Copts converted to Islam. Today, millions of Copts live in Egypt, and other small Coptic communities are scattered throughout the world.
