The Coptic Church has kept all the practices as set by the Apostles and the earlier fathers of the church from liturgies, order of prayers, and rites. In short, all aspects of the early Apostolic church without any variation. The British historian Butler wrote in the preface of his book about the old Coptic churches saying “no fair and an unbiased person concerned with the teachings of the early church can compare between the order of our Western church today and the order of a church that has undergone no changes like the Coptic Church, without regretting the desertion of its rites and dogmas”.

The Coptic Orthodox Church believes that the Holy Trinity: God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit, are equal to each other in one unity (Deut 6:4, Isaiah 44:6-8, 1Cor 8:5-6, Matt 28:19, 1John 5:7, Matt 3:16-17); and that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world. Little changes have taken place in the Coptic Church than in any other church whether in the ritual or doctrine aspects and that the succession of the Coptic Patriarchs, Bishops, priests and Deacons has been continuous.

The Coptic Orthodox Church also believes that Lord Jesus Christ is God Himself, the Incarnate Logos Who took to Himself a perfect manhood. His Divine nature is one with his human nature yet without mingling, confusion or alteration; a complete Hypostatic Union. As this union is permanent, never divided nor separated, we pray in the Coptic Liturgy that His Divinity parted not from His Humanity for a single moment nor even for a twinkle of an eye. The Divine nature (God the Word) was united with the human nature, which He took of the Virgin Mary, by the action of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit purified and sanctified the Virgin’s womb so that the Child to whom she gave birth would inherit nothing of the original sin; the flesh formed of her blood was united with the Only-Begotten Son. This Unity took place from the first moment of the Holy Pregnancy in the Virgin’s womb. As a result of the unity of both natures-the Divine and the human-inside the Virgin’s womb, one nature was formed out of both: “The One Nature of God the Incarnate Logos” as St. Cyril called it. After the schism which took place in the year 451 A.D., when the Coptic Orthodox Church rejected the motions of the Council of Chalcedon and its theological struggles, we were called “Monophysites”. However, the union in which the non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches believe differs essentially from the union, which the Eutyches believe. Eutyches said that our Lord is one nature, but His union is based on a notion that the humanity of Christ is totally absorbed in His Divinity and vanishes completely like a drop of vinegar in the ocean. In this way, the Eutyches in fact, deny the real existence of the human nature of Christ. The Coptic Church condemns the absolute monophysitism of Eutyches as heresy.

Icon of The Pantocrator  and Icon of the Theotokos courtesy of www.copticartstudio.com

Icon of The Nativity of our Lord courtesy of www.copticchurch.net