The Orthodox Church of Alexandria is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Churches. Its head bishop is the Patriarch and Pope of Alexandria and All Africa, who, like the Coptic Pope and the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, claims to have succeeded the Apostle Mark the Evangelist in the office of Bishop of Alexandria, who founded the Church in the 1st century. It is one of the five ancient patriarchates of the early Church, called the Pentarchy. Antiquity and modernity stand cheek-by-jowl in Egypts chief Mediterranean seaport (This template has been listed for deletion) Located on the Mediterranean Sea coast, Alexandria (in Arabic, الإسكندرية, transliterated al-ʼIskandariyyah) is the chief seaport in Egypt, and that countrys second largest city, and the capital of the... In hierarchical Christian churches, especially Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, autocephaly is the status of a hierarchical church whose head bishop does not report to any higher-ranking bishop. ... Icon of the Theotokos of Vladimir, one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the Virgin Mary. ... A bishop is an ordained member of the Christian clergy who, in certain Christian churches, holds a position of authority. ... The Patriarch of Alexandria is the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. ... The following list contains all the Popes who have held sway over the Coptic Orthodox Church since the Council of Chalcedon. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Mark is depicted in iconography with a winged lion Mark, on a 16th century Russian gospel Mark the Evangelist (1st century) is traditionally believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark, drawing much of his material from Peter. ... A patriarchate is the office or jurisdiction of a patriarch. ... A church building is a building used in Christian worship. ... The Pentarchy, or the Five Apostolic Sees, are the 5 major Sees of the Christian Church allegedly founded by apostles. ...

Because this church uses the Greek language liturgy, it is one of several churches that are sometimes referred to as the Greek Orthodox Church. Greek (Greek Ελληνικά, IPA – Hellenic) constitutes its own branch of the Indo-European languages. ... From the Greek word λειτουργια, which can be transliterated as leitourgia, meaning the work of the people, a liturgy comprises a prescribed religious ceremony, according to the traditions of a particular religion; it may refer to, or include, an elaborate formal ritual (such as the Catholic Mass), a daily activity such... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ...

History

Since the schism occurring as a result of the political and Christological controversies at the Council of Chalcedon (451), the portion of the Church of Alexandria loyal to Chalcedonian Christology has liturgically been Greek-speaking, the majority of its native (i.e., Coptic) population and their modern descendants becoming a part of the Coptic Orthodox Church (i.e., non-Chalcedonian). The word schism, from the Greek σχισμα, schisma (from σχιζω, schizo, to split), means a division or a split, usually in an organization. ... Christology is that part of Christian theology that studies and defines who Jesus the Christ was and is. ... The Council of Chalcedon was an ecumenical council that took place from October 8—November 1, 451 at Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor. ... Events April 7 - The Huns sack Metz June 20 - Attila, king of the Huns is defeated at Troyes by Aetius in the Battle of Chalons. ... The word Copt signifies the natives of Egypt as a nationality, and in popular common culture in Egypt it is used to specifically signify Christian Egyptians, although its use to mean Egyptian is not unwitnessed. ... Christ - Coptic Art Coptic Orthodox Christianity is the indigenous form of Christianity that, according to tradition, the apostle Mark established in Egypt in the middle of the 1st century AD (approximately AD 60). ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the churches of Eastern Christian traditions that keeps the faith of only the first three ecumenical councils of the undivided Church - the councils of Nicea, Constantinople and Ephesus. ...

The Church today

In recent years, a considerable missionary effort was enacted by Pope Petros VII. During his seven years as patriarch (1997-2004), he worked tirelessly to spread the Orthodox Christian faith in Arab nations and throughout Africa, raising up native clergy and encouraging the use of local languages in the liturgical life of the Church. Particularly sensitive to the nature of Christian expansion into Muslim countries, His Beatitude worked to promote mutual understanding and respect between Orthodox Christians and Muslims. His efforts were ended as the result of a helicopter crash on September 11, 2004, in the Aegean Sea near Greece, killing him and several other clergy, including Bishop Nectarios of Madagascar, another bishop with a profound missionary vision. A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. ... His Beatitude Peter (Petros) VII (September 3, 1949 – September 11, 2004) was the Eastern Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and all Africa from 1997 to 2004. ... Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article discusses faith in a religious context. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب Ê»arab) are an originally Arabian ethnicity widespread in the Middle East and North Africa. ... Africa is the worlds second-largest continent and second most populous. ... Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. ... Islam   listen? (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... September 11 is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years). ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... the Aegean Sea Satellite view of the island Santorini, in the Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea (Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion Pelagos) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). ...

Today, some 300,000 Orthodox Christians comprise the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the highest number since the Roman Empire. The current primate of the Church of Alexandria is His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa. The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... Families 13, See classification A primate is any member of the biological order Primates, the group that contains all lemurs, monkeys, apes, and humans. ... His Holiness Patriach Theodoros II of Alexandria is the current Eastern Orthodox Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria. ...

External link

• The Patriarchate of Alexandria (Official site)

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