The Courtyard of the Coptic Patriarch’s House in Cairo (1864) by John Frederick Lewis. Wikimedia Commons.

The continuity of Egyptian civilization consists of several transitions that have occurred throughout its religious and cultural history. As religious identity is often inseparable from the self in the Eastern psyche, the cultural reality evolved and was molded within the very foundations of Egyptian Christianity. This identity - although partially alive today, had survived as Egyptian society shifted once again, adopting another culture and language with the arrival of Islam.

A Cultural Battle: Christianity & Paganism

The Coptic Period, also known as Byzantine Egypt (3rd-7th century) witnessed the groundbreaking transformation of Egyptians embracing Christianity as the dominant monotheistic religion in the region at the time while distancing themselves from the ancient pagan traditions of their forefathers. Yet, this caused a significant rift among Egyptian society, the pagans attempted to discredit the Christians by accusing them of “kidnapping, infanticide, and necromancy as early as the second century  (Westerfield, 2003)” even though these were clear misunderstandings of Christian symbolism. Emperor Diocletian began his campaign of terror on Egyptian Christians in the 3rd century, seeking to erase the religion first from Egypt where it had settled its roots. It was a period of intense martyrdom of which an estimated 800,000 men, women, and children were murdered. Yet, Egyptian Christianity could not be crushed making Diocletian's attempt a futile endeavor.

Cultural Transition

Was the transition from the pagan traditions to monotheism historically progressive? Indeed (this will be discussed throughout the article). The Early Church Fathers heavily critiqued the ancient pagan traditions and sought to eliminate them from society. This was in contradiction to claims that Christianity was simply an amalgamation of Pagan beliefs carefully designed into a new religion with Jesus as the primary deity. Writers and theologians including Clement of Alexandria and Origen engaged in polemics against prominent heresies. In chapter four titled, The Absurdity and Shamefulness of the Images by Which the Gods are Worshiped of Exhortation to the Heathen, Clement of Alexandria writes,

“For God alone made it, because He alone is truly God. By the bare exercise of volition He creates; His mere willing was followed by the springing into being of what He willed. Consequently the choir of philosophers are in error, who indeed most nobly confess that man was made for the contemplation of the heavens, but who worship the objects that appear in the heavens and are apprehended by sight. For if the heavenly bodies are not the works of men, they were certainly created for man. Let none of you worship the sun, but set his desires on the Maker of the sun; nor deify the universe, but seek after the Creator of the universe. The only refuge, then, which remains for him who would reach the portals of salvation is divine wisdom. From this, as from a sacred asylum, the man who presses after salvation, can be dragged by no demon.”

This transition was prominent in Alexandria since it was the cosmopolitan region of Ptolemaic Egypt, religious persecution against Christians decreased with the facilitation and popularization of Christianity. The Coptic Church had been already established around 42AD, marking the legitimacy of Christianity with its institutionalization. Even Southern Egyptian regions including Philae and Aswan experienced a generally peaceful transition and acceptance of Christianity from the fourth to sixth century. With the destruction of Serapeum in Alexandria (391-391 AD) and later the closure of the Isis temple in Philae (535-537 AD), Christianity had proved itself triumphant as it grew popular among the Egyptian populace.

A Brief Period of Harmony & The Coptic Language

The Coptic period, in its full culmination as an almost post-pagan civilization reigned supreme for about 500 years, Egyptian culture had evolved to accommodate the Christian religion and the Coptic language completed its written development as the lingua franca of Egypt. The Coptic language was the final phase of the Egyptian language and it emerged around 300 AD, it utilizes the Greek Alphabet in addition to demotic signs deriving from the fourth stage of Egyptian linguistic development - demotic. The development of the Coptic language attests to the lasting Hellenistic influences as the spoken language of Egyptians had remained yet, the written language transformed in a distinct form from standard hieroglyphic.

“The influence of the Greek vocabulary on Coptic began with Alexander's conquest of Egypt in 332 B.C., when the government administration adopted Greek terminology. In the meantime, the government employees learned the Greek language, as did most classes of society in Lower Egypt (Ishaq, 1991).”

The Coptic language in the beginning was limited to scripture translation and monastic uniformity while Greek monopolized administrative and legal life along with literature. However, Coptic transitioned from a private written language to dominating the general writing of the public - it became the primary mode of communication. The progressive change occurs here, the Coptic language departed from the elitist echelons of Egyptian society and made its way to the masses, a national written language was formulated and became accessible to the Egyptian population. Another change was coming that would cause the Coptic language to return to its primal form; for monastic correspondence and liturgical purposes. The Arab conquest of Egypt (639-642 AD).

Introduction of Islam

The arrival of Islam profoundly transformed the nation, the Islamization of Egypt along with the Arabization process underwent a uniquely strict yet gradual evolution that continued into the modern-day while the elements of a once Coptic Egypt remained. Egypt was conquered through subsequent military campaigns by different Caliphates and later - the Ottoman Empire. The conversion of Egyptians and linguistic change to Arabic was the priority and this cannot be traced to a singular incident or event but through collective assimilation. Although Copts were allowed to have their own administrative autonomy and often wrestled with internal affairs through the authority of the church, they were burdened with heavy taxation. There was obvious tension and the fear that they would soon become second-class citizens in their own country since being Muslim was the superior position according to the Arab elite.

“Following the Conquest, Egypt was ruled by the Rashidun Caliphate in Medina in 641-661, the Umayyads in Damascus in 661-750, the Abbasids in Baghdad in 750-969, the Fatimids in Cairo in 969-1171, the Ayyubids in Cairo in 1171-1250, the Mamluks in Cairo in 1250-1517, and the Ottomans in Istanbul in 1517-1914 (Saleh, 2018).”

The taxation increased and incentivized conversions, especially for Copts in the lower economic classes such as that of the peasantry, it became a discriminatory policy and the poll tax (jizya) was enforced until its abolition in 1856. Throughout these taxation periods, the Copts revolted (726-768 AD) but they were unsuccessful as the oppression increased and the relative population of Copts decreased. Then came the waves of persecution,  the most violent expressions of both sectarian and state-imposed violence (1250-1517 AD). With the advent of the Islamic conquest, Arabic became the spoken and written language, having ascendancy over the public spheres of Egyptian life.

The Arabic Language

The religious and political changes introduced the Arabic language as it developed through a complex process of linguistic transition. Arabic was inseparable from Islam as well as the ruling elite; it was adopted as the language of administration in the early 8th century and as the gradual increase of the language progressed publicly, Coptic became obsolete as a spoken language within several generations. Arabic and Coptic were utilized for Christian material during the 10th & 11th centuries mainly as church-related written texts along with manuscripts that were translated, the Coptic language became associated with the monastic experience. Coptic scholars such as Sawirus ibn al-Muqaffa, composed some of the first Coptic writings into Arabic, revealing the gradual transition during the 10th century onward.

“Thirdly and finally, Arabic became the official language of the Church, used in historical, canonical, theological and liturgical contexts. Here the use of Arabic in writing was clearly a result of its having become widely spoken by the Christians, The Church had to adapt to the fact that the Christians were no longer able to read or understand Coptic (Rubenson, 1996).”

Beginning of Psalm 1, c. 1350. The British Library.

The mass translations and record keeping was of historical significance to both the church and the Coptic people. Coptic scholars and historians foreshadowed the abandonment of the Coptic language by Egyptian society. Church history along with the works of the church fathers were also recorded in Arabic. Apocryphal and hagiographical texts were drafted in Arabic. This meticulousness is how we, the Coptic people, know of our practices and the lives of our ancestors. The pressure of assimilation and sectarian violence against Copts had caused them to limit the Coptic language for mostly liturgical purposes. Even though wealthy Copts had reached positions within government administrations, this did not halt their cultural or linguistic erasure.

Coptic church history famously records al-Hakim bi Amr-Allah, the Fatimid caliph who decreed that the Coptic language was to be forbidden from being spoken in churches and in public. The punishment included cutting the tongues of those who spoke the language. Mob attacks, state repression, kidnappings, etc., would force Copts into cultural and linguistic conformity.

Sectarian Violence & The Future

The relationship between Copts and Muslim Egyptians has been through periods of fluctuation; there were times of national unity that occurred such as when Egypt was under British occupation, during Nasser’s reign, and as of recent — the 2011 Revolution. From the discriminatory policies that were administered during the conquest to modern-day state-sanctioned massacres such as that of Maspero in 2011, our people have shown their resilience time and time again. We have been in the midst of the regional struggles; people of our own martyred at the hands of Zionists in the wars against Israel and the recent church bombings, beheadings, etc by Western funded ISIL terrorists.

There is a future for the Coptic population and it will never include secession because we take pride in our national identity, Egypt is our land and Copts are a patriotic people. Copts are not localized to a single area, we are in Alexandria, Cairo, and the villages in Upper and Lower Egypt. Libyan and Sudanese Copts, who were subjected to brutal attacks due to the constant destabilization of these countries by foreign powers and NATO meddling in addition to the sectarian violence and extremism that was already present. The Coptic people will prosper, they will build and access their churches. The Egyptian government, who has consistently played a significant role in our oppression can no longer be ignorant of our history or the demands for safety. We are not to be labeled as a battered community but rather, known for our perseverance.

References

New Advent. (n.d.). Exhortation to the Heathen (Chapter 4).

Ishaq, Emile Maher. (1991). Coptic Language, Spoken. The Coptic Encyclopedia, volume 2.

Rubenson, Samuel. (1996). The Transition from Coptic to Arabic, Égypte/Monde Arabe, 27-28, 77-92.

Saleh, M. (2018). On the Road to Heaven: Taxation, Conversions, and the Coptic-Muslim Socioeconomic Gap in Medieval Egypt. The Journal of Economic History, 78(2), 394–434.

Westerfeld, J. T. (2003). Christian Perspectives on Pharaonic Religion: The Representation of Paganism in Coptic Literature. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 40, 5–12.