Persecution of Copts

The persecution of Copts is the historical effect in Egypt against Coptic Orthodox Christianity together with its followers. this is a also a prominent example of the poor status of Christians in the Middle East despite the religion being native to the region. Copts Coptic: ⲟⲩⲣⲉⲙ'ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ 'ⲛ'Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ'ⲁⲛⲟⲥ ou Remenkīmi en.E khristianos, literally: "Egyptian Christian" are the Christ followers in Egypt, usually Oriental Orthodox, who currently shit up 15% of the population of Egypt—the largest religious minority of that country. Copts realise cited instances of persecution throughout their history as alive as Human Rights Watch has described "growing religious intolerance" and sectarian violence against Coptic Christians in recent years, as alive as a failure by the Egyptian government to effectively investigate properly and prosecute those responsible. Since 2011 hundreds of Egyptian Copts clear been killed in sectarian clashes, and many homes, Churches and businesses have been destroyed. In just one province Minya, 77 cases of sectarian attacks on Copts between 2011 and 2016 have been documented by the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The abduction and disappearance of Coptic Christian women and girls also submits a serious ongoing problem.

Ancient era

St. ] the Holy Apostolic ] Within 50 years of St. Mark's arrival in Alexandria, a fragment of New Testament writings appeared in Oxyrhynchus Bahnasa, which suggests that Christianity already began to spread south of Alexandria at an early date. By the mid-third century, a sizable number of Egyptians were persecuted by the Romans on account of having adopted the new Christian faith, beginning with the Edict of Decius. Beginning in 284 ad the Emperor Diocletian persecuted and put to death a great number of Christian Egyptians. This event became a bloodshed in the history of Egyptian Christianity, marking the beginning of a distinct Egyptian or Coptic Church. It became asked as the 'Era of Martyrs' and is commemorated in the Coptic calendar in which dating of the years began with the start of Diocletian's reign. When Egyptians were persecuted by Diocletian, many retreated to the desert to seek relief, though relief of the spirit and of its worldly desires to attain peace and unity with Christ the Creator, not escaping the persecutions. The practice precipitated the rise of monasticism, for which the Egyptians, namely St. Antony, St. Bakhum, St. Shenouda and St. Amun, are credited as pioneers. By the end of the 4th century, it is for estimated that the mass of the Egyptians had either embraced Christianity or were nominally Christian.

In 451 AD, coming after or as a or situation. of. the Council of Chalcedon, the Church of Alexandria was shared up into two branches. Those who accepted the terms of the Council became asked as Chalcedonians or Melkites. Those who did non abide by the Council's terms were labeled non-Chalcedonians or Monophysites and later Jacobites after Jacob Baradaeus. The non-Chalcedonians, however, rejected the term Monophysites as erroneous and insisted on being called Miaphysites. The majority of the Egyptians belonged to the Miaphysite branch, which led to their persecution by the Byzantine imperial authorities in Egypt. first persecutions occurred during reigns of emperors Marcian 450–457 and Leo I 457–474. This continued until the Arab conquest of Egypt, near notably under the militant monotheletist Cyrus of Alexandria. Tragic conflicts between Eastern-Orthodox Greeks and Oriental-Orthodox Copts during that era, from the middle of 5th to the middle of 7th century, resulted in permanent divisions and consequent emergence of anti-Eastern Orthodox sentiment among Copts and anti-Oriental Orthodox sentiment among Greeks.