Coptic Catholic Church

Eastern Catholic particular church which uses the Alexandrian Rite

The Coptic Catholic Church is a church in full communion with the Pope in Rome instead of the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The church has about 162,000 members (as of 2007). Most of the members are in Egypt. Coptic Catholics are seen as a schism from the Coptic Orthodox Church. They left that church in order to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. The current Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria is Archbishop Antonios Naguib.


Coptic Catholic Church
ClassificationEastern Catholic
PolityEpiscopal
StructurePatriarchate
PopeFrancis
PrimatePatriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak
AssociationsCongregation for the Oriental Churches
RegionEgypt, with communities in Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America
LanguageAlexandrian Rite
HeadquartersCathedral of Our Lady of Egypt, Cairo, Egypt
Congregations166 (2016)
Members174,902 (2016)[1]
Ministers243[2]
Official websitecoptcatholic.net

In 1990, Coptic Catholic sources estimated that there were about 10,000 followers in countries other than Egypt. These followers are under the care of local Latin Rite bishops. There are Coptic Catholic parishes in: Paris, Montréal, New York City, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Melbourne.

History change

In 1741, a Coptic bishop in Jerusalem named Anba Athanasius became a Catholic. Pope Benedict XIV appointed him Vicar Apostolic of the small community (approximately 2,000 people) who also became Catholics. Although Athanasius returned to the Coptic Orthodox Church later, a line of Catholic Vicars Apostolic continued after him.

Sources change

  1. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2016" (PDF). Eastern Catholic Churches Statistics. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  2. Roberson, Ronald G. "The Eastern Catholic Churches 2010" (PDF). Eastern Catholic Churches Statistics. Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 28 December 2011.

Other websites change