Establishment of the Coptic Church

Saint Mark the Apostle and Evangelist, one of the seventy apostles
and writer of the oldest gospel, established the Church of
Alexandria in about 55 AD. In Alexandria, St. Mark structured the
church worship; ordained one bishop and seven deacons;
established the famous School of Alexandria; and was martyred
there by the Romans in 68 AD.

It was at the house of Saint Mark that the Lord met with His
Apostles and celebrated the Passover, where the Lord appeared to
them after His Resurrection, and where the Holy Spirit descended
upon the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost. Thus, it is well known
by all the Apostolic Churches as the first church in the world.
Hence, the Coptic Church is one of the oldest churches in the
world, spanning 20 centuries of history. By the end of the second
century, Christianity was well established and very active in Egypt.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the five most ancient

churches in the world and is called the “See of Saint Mark.” The
other four ancient sees are the Church of Jerusalem, the Church of
Antioch (Antiochian Orthodox Church), the Church of Rome
(Roman Catholic Church) and the Church of Athens (Greek
Orthodox Church).

An Excerpt from the book, "Saint Mark the Evangelist" by His

Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Chapter 6
His Holiness Pope Shenouda III
Thursday, April 30, 2009 | No comments.

The Greatness of Alexandria

Alexandria was the cultural capital of the world when St. Mark
arrived there. Its famous School was the centre of science and
philosophy with a library filled with hundreds of thousands of
books. The population of Alexandria was estimated to be from half
to three quarters of a million,(1) who were Egyptians, Greeks,
Jews, Romans, Ethiopians, Nubians and other races.
Its Religious Status
The people St. Mark faced were a complex of different religions.
There was the old Pharaohnic religion, that had many gods like
Isis, Oziris, Hirus, Amun, Abis, Hathur etc., under the great god
Ra. The Greeks had many gods under their supreme god Zius. At
this period there was a movement calling to combine both the
Egyptian and the Greek gods, as ‘syncretism’ to be under the god
‘Sirabis’, the great idol. The Romans too had many gods
under Jupiter.

There were also the Jews, with their prophets, laws and the
scriptures and the heresies that the Pharisees introduced. Their
number in the city was huge, that they occupied one out of the five
districts of the city. At the same time some of the Jews who arrived
recently from Jerusalem were already converted to Christianity
before coming to Egypt.

The name of Christ had already arrived to many individuals,

through Apollo of Alexandria. Apollo was mentioned in the Book of
Acts, "An eloquent man and mighty in scriptures… He was fervent
in the spirit … For he mightily convinced the Jews and that
publicly, showing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ." [Acts
18:24 -28]. It might be possible that some of the Jews of
Alexandria had received the Word of God through St. Simon of
Cana or through "dear Theophilus" who was close to St. Luke. But
all of these cases were limited to some individuals only. Beside all
these religions, there were many wise men from India, Persia and
Egyptian priests who were leaders in a pagan environment.

Accordingly, the city was a mixture of idol religions with an

atmosphere of philosophical arguments and discussions,
particularly at the school of Alexandria and its museum. St. Mark
stood alone to face all these religions and philosophies, but he was
capable in defeating them with the power of God. He entered
Alexandria with a torn sandal from walking the long way.

When Did Saint Mark Arrive in Alexandria?

It is difficult to determine the exact dates for the journeys of the
apostles. Usually calculated in relation to the events, and the time
of the arrival of St. Mark was no exception.

Josephus, the famous historian, mentioned that St. Mark came to

Alexandria in 43 AD, while Mrs. Butler estimated it to be in 45 AD.
Patriarch Maximos Mazloom suggested that it was in 49 AD. Selim
Soliman, Francis Al Etre, Deacon Menassa Youhanna gave the date
as 55 AD. For Ibn Akbar it was 58 AD and for Fr. Chineau it was 60
AD, when St. Mark was 50 years old. Abu Shaker Ibn Al Raheb,
Anba Isedoros, Habib Guirgis, Kamel Saleh Nakhla and Iris Al
Masri, said that his arrival was in 61 AD. With such variations in
dates, most of the ancient historians preferred not to guess and
rather to stress on the events themselves. That was what the Book
of Acts almost did. We don’t accept the earlier dates, as St. Mark
was still a youth, in the company of other apostles. Certainly he
didn’t come before the Council of Jerusalem which was about 50
AD, as agreed by all the historians.

After the Council of Jerusalem, he accompanied St. Barnabas to

Cyprus where both preached together. Later, St. Paul, appreciating
the importance of St. Mark in preaching, he called him to work
with him.

When St. Mark was alone on his own, he went to the Five Western
Cities and stayed there for few years. He may have arrived there
between 55-58 AD. It is most probable that he arrived in
Alexandria about the year 60 or 61 AD and this was accepted by
most of the Coptic historians who estimated his stay in Alexandria
to be seven years or seven years and eight months.(2)

On the Way to Alexandria

On his way to Alexandria, the words of Isaiah might have been on
his thought,

+ "The burden of Egypt. Behold, the Lord rode upon a swift cloud,
and shall come into Egypt and the idols of Egypt shall be removed
at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it."

+ "And that day shall there be an altar to the Lord in the midst of
the land of Egypt and a pillar at the border thereof to the
Lord…And it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the Lord of
hosts in the land of Egypt…And the Lord shall be known to Egypt,
and the Egyptians shall know the Lord in that day, and shall do
sacrifice and oblation, yes, they shall vow a vow unto the Lord, and
perform it…"

+ "Blessed be Egypt my people." [Isiah 19 : 1 , 19 -21 , 25]

Also he might have been thinking about the journey of Christ with
the Virgin St. Mary and the blessing they left to Egypt. It was said
that he entered Alexandria, coming from the Five Western Cities,
passing through the oasis to Upper Egypt and from there to
Alexandria where he entered it east to the port where there was
an oblisk.(3)

Preaching to the Cobbler

He was praying before entering Alexandria to God, to provide him
with the spiritual needs for the success of his mission. By the time
he arrived, his sandal was already torn, so he went to Anianus, a
cobbler, to repair it. While Anianus was holding the needle, it went
through his finger and he screamed from pain and said, "O’ the
One God". St. Mark was delighted when he heard this phrase,
which was an appropriate chance to begin talking to him about
that One God. It was also appropriate to ease him from his pain
first, so he took some mud and spat on it and put it on his wound,
saying, "In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, heal this hand."
(4) It was healed on the spot as if nothing happened to it. Anianus
was surprised at the miracle which was done in the name of Jesus
Christ and opened his heart to the Word of God.

St. Mark asked him about the One God he called, but Anianus
replied that he heard about Him, but didn’t know Him. Then St.
Mark began to talk to him spiritually. When his sandal was
repaired he was invited to go to Anianus’ home to talk more about
that God. As St. Mark entered the house he made the sign of the
cross and asked God’s Blessing to fill it. (5) He stayed with this
family talking about Lord Christ. When Anianus asked to see The
True God, St. Mark assured him that he will. He talked with him
about the scriptures, the prophets, the incarnation, the miracles,
the crucifixion and the great sacrifice He provided to the world.
Anianus and his family became believers and St. Mark baptized
them. This home was the first fruit in St. Mark’s preaching
in Egypt.

Spread of the Faith in Egypt

St. Mark who is considered the, First Bishop of Alexandria, found
that his first responsibility was to continue preaching from one
place to another, challenging all the difficulties that he met. With
great enthusiasm he was able to convert many to the faith in God,
in spite of the different numerous religions of the Egyptians,
Greeks, Romans, Persians and the arguments of the Jews.

The Catholic Jesuit, Fr. Frermaj reported in his book "Moraweg Al

Akhyar" referring to St. Mark, that " God blessed him for his
unique enthusiasm. The land which was full of darkness of the filth
among the unbelievers, was changed by St. Mark the Evangelist to
a heavenly paradise, with justice shinning over it." (6) Maximos
Mazloom, the Patriarch of the Greek Catholic Melchites, wrote
about St. Mark, " He pulled the inhabitants to the faith in Christ, in
grooves, with God’s blessing and the marvelous miracles he
did,.that Alexandria became a second Jerusalem, similar to what
happened when the Holy Spirit descended in the Chamber of Zion
. (7)

The Word of God flourished forcefully and very fast despite the
encountered difficulties, which were overcome. We understand
what St. Paul meant when he said about St. Mark, "For he is
profitable to me in the ministry." [2 Titus 4:11]

Alexandria after Saint Mark

St. Mark had great impact on Alexandria. His success to convert
large numbers to believe was due to his deep spirituality, and his
strong relation with God. Eusebius the famous historian, referred
to this as such, "There were multitudes of believers, men and
women, who gathered from the beginning and lived the
extraordinary simple life, that Philo noted to be worthy to describe.
Their efforts, gatherings, and their comfort in all the ways of their
lives were tremendous. (8) Eusebius in a complete chapter in his
book about the philosopher Phillo admired the monastic life
in Egypt.

Fr. Chineau in his book " The Saints of Egypt," wrote, "Life became
marvelous in Egypt after accepting the faith and Philo, the famous
Jew, confirmed that Alexandria brought back the memory of the
early days of the Church in Jerusalem. (9) Let us find what the
philosopher Philo said about the believers in Egypt as stated by
Eusebius, "They left their properties, under the influence of their
faith and followed the path of the prophets;" "There was a holy
place in every house, to practice their religion in, in complete
isolation. They didn’t permit into it any food, drink or anything for
the need of the body;" "All day long from the morning to the night
they were praying, reading the Holy Books".; "They created songs
and praises for God with different tunes and rhythms" ; "They ate
only after sunset" ; "They enjoyed the wisdom, without limit,
tremendously." He also referred to their purity and described their
prayers, silence and services.

Other Works of Saint Mark

St. Mark established a Theological School to stand against the
school for the pagans and to combat their ideas. He designated St.
Justus to manage the school who later became the sixth bishop of
Alexandria. He wrote the Holy Liturgy for St. Anianus and the
priests to use in praying.

Anianus Ordained a Bishop

With the tremendous success and achievement for the faith in
Egypt, the unbelievers were very angry and they decided to kill St.
Mark. The believers advised St. Mark to leave Egypt for a while for
the safety of the church. St. Mark, who preached other cities in
Egypt, agreed to leave, to return back to the Five Western Cities.
He then ordained St. Anianus to be the Bishop of Alexandria in 62
AD. He also ordained three priests, Milius, Sabinus, Sardenus, and
seven deacons.(10) It is noticed that Anianus was ordained a
bishop while St. Mark was still living, which indicates St. Mark’s
apostolic universal authority to ordain bishops wherever he went,
as he did in the Five Western Cities.

St. Jerome, mistakenly in his book, wrote that St. Mark was killed
in 62 AD the year Anianus was ordained, assuming that his
predecessor must have died before such an event could
be possible.(11)

The Return of Saint Mark to Alexandria

St. Mark stayed for a few years among the church in the Five
Western Cities and with St. Paul preaching in Rome. Then the two
great apostles St. Paul and St. Peter were killed and St. Mark
returned to Alexandria. On his return, he found that the church he
planted, grew and became prosperous and the number of the
believers increased tremendously. and a church was built in the
eastern part of Alexandria, known as Pokalia. (12)

St. Mark kept watching his people grow and visited and preached
other cities in Egypt. This annoyed the pagans to the extent that
they named him as, " The exterminator of the idols".