The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

The Christian church founded in Egypt by St. Mark the Apostle

The Copts are the Christians of Egypt, the successors of the ancient Egyptians. Their Church has kept the faith of the apostles, the prayers of the desert fathers and the Coptic language in its worship for nearly two thousand years. This site is a reference to that Church: its story, its faith, its worship, its saints, its Bible and calendar, and where to find a Coptic church near you.

New to the Church? Read what we believe, the seven sacraments, how we worship and the lives of the saints.

Icon of St. Mark the Apostle
St. Mark the Apostle, founder of the Church of Alexandria.
Icon by Dr. Isaac Fanous, at St. Mark's Church, Jersey City.

Today in the Church

Explore the Church

Everything on this site, by theme

Our story

St. Mark, the Chair of Alexandria, the Catechetical School, the martyrs, and the monks and nuns of the desert.

What we believe

The Incarnation, the divinity and nature of Christ, the Holy Trinity, and the heresies the Church answered.

How we worship

The Liturgies of St. Basil, St. Gregory and St. Cyril; the Agpeya, the prayers of the hours; Holy Pascha and the month of Kiahk.

The saints

The Synaxarium: a saint or a feast for every day of the Coptic year, in English and Arabic, and the lives of forty well-loved saints.

The Church Fathers

Patrology: the School of Alexandria before Origen and in his time, by Fr. Tadros Y. Malaty.

The Coptic calendar

The calendar of the Martyrs, every feast and fast from 1902 to 2037, and the date of Easter and Christmas explained.

The Coptic language

The last stage of the language of ancient Egypt, still sung in the liturgy: its alphabet, its origin, greetings, fonts and a converter.

Our popes

H.H. Pope Tawadros II, the 118th Pope of Alexandria, and H.H. Pope Shenouda III, the 117th, with his books in English.

The Bible in English, Arabic and Coptic

الإنجيل العربي

The New King James Version, the Arabic Smith Van Dyke, and the New Testament in Bohairic and Sahidic Coptic. Read a chapter, look up a verse, or set two or three languages side by side.

John 3:16

the columns view
English · NKJV
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Arabic · SVD
لأَنَّهُ هَكَذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ الْعَالَمَ حَتَّى بَذَلَ ابْنَهُ الْوَحِيدَ لِكَيْ لاَ يَهْلِكَ كُلُّ مَنْ يُؤْمِنُ بِهِ بَلْ تَكُونُ لَهُ الْحَيَاةُ الأَبَدِيَّةُ.
Coptic · Bohairic
Ⲡⲁⲓⲣⲏϯ ⲅⲁⲣ ⲁⲪⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲙⲉⲛⲣⲉ ⲡⲓⲕⲟⲥⲙⲟⲥ ϩⲱⲥⲧⲉ ⲡⲉϥϣⲏⲣⲓ ⲙⲙⲁⲩⲁⲧϥ ⲛⲧⲉϥⲧⲏⲓϥ ϩⲓⲛⲁ ⲟⲩⲟⲛ ⲛⲓⲃⲉⲛ ⲉⲑⲛⲁϩϯ ⲉⲣⲟϥ ⲛⲧⲉϥϣⲧⲉⲙⲧⲁⲕⲟ ⲁⲗⲗⲁ ⲛⲧⲉϥϭⲓ ⲛⲟⲩⲱⲛϧ ⲛⲉⲛⲉϩ.
On any chapter page: tap a verse to peek at the other languages, or open the columns view. Open John 3 this way.

Find a Coptic church near you

Coptic Orthodox churches across the United States and Canada, with their clergy, phone numbers and directions. Is your church missing? Let us know.

Inside St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, Jersey City

Say it in Coptic

Coptic is the language of the Copts, the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language, in use in the services of the Church to this day. A few words from the greetings page:

ⲚⲟⲩϥⲣⲓHelloسعيدة
ϢⲉⲡϩⲙⲟⲧThanksشكرا

Coptic fonts and typing

Type Coptic on Windows, Mac, Android and iPhone with the free keyboards, download Unicode fonts, and convert text from the old CS fonts to Coptic Unicode.