Why June 1 is a Great Day to Honor the Copts
Plus: Coptic Lemonade
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. ‘Get up,’ he said, ‘take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.’ So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. Gospel of Matthew, Chp. 2.
Our Christian brothers, the Copts, celebrate “The Entry of the Lord into Egypt” today.
It’s one of seven minor Coptic feasts that commemorate events in Christ’s life.
I’d think this one is especially special to them.
Copt, from the Arabic “Kibt,” which derives from the Greek word for “Egyptians.”
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (1998).
The Copts are one of the four or five Oriental Orthodox Churches: Syrian (which has two branches), Ethiopian, Armenian (of Kardashian fame), and Coptic. The term “Coptic” essentially means “Egyptian Christian.”
They come into history after 451, when the Council of Chalcedon condemned the Monophysite heresy (which, broadly speaking, rejected Christ’s two natures). The condemned Monophysites rejected the Council and continued their heretical…
