PART 1 - IDEAS in Cairo: Who are the Copts?

Jayson Casper, an IDEAS Associate and journalist in Cairo, has written extensively on the Coptic church in Egypt and the tragic news of the 20 Coptic brothers who were beheaded by ISIS in February. He contributes regularly to large publications, including a recent article for Christianity Today that spoke in more detail about these martyred men and their ongoing impact in Egypt. You can read the full article here.

In his latest blog post,  Jayson enlightens his readers by giving the history and present-day role the Coptic church plays in Egyptian society. He continually seeks to educate, one of the essential elements needed in order to bring hope and healing to any community.

Below, is an excerpt from his blog, A Sense of Belonging:

"World attention has turned to the Coptic Christian community of Egypt, following the beheading of 20 of their migrant workers in Libya at the hands of the so-called Islamic State.

The Coptic Orthodox Church considers them martyrs. A new icon venerates their death and their names have been added into the Synaxarion, the liturgical church history commemorating the saints.

But who are the Copts, and what is their understanding of martyrdom?

The word 'Copt' derives from the Pharaonic word 'gypt', which through the Greek 'Aigyptus' became the modern-day 'Egypt'.

Copts are therefore Egyptians, descendants of the ancient Pharaonic civilization. As such, the Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic Egyptians call themselves Copts, as do some Muslims. Coptic population figures are highly contested. Some Muslims estimate as low as 3-4 percent; some Christians as high as 20-25 percent. The CIA world fact book estimates 10 percent. Official Egyptian ID cards list the religion of every citizen, but these figures are not released. Roughly 90 percent of Copts belong to the Orthodox denomination..."

(Click here to read the full blog)

We are grateful for Jayson's role at IDEAS and his literary contributions that circulate world-wide. And we are even more resolved in our vision to see transformed lives in communities of contagious hope, especially to those communities that are grieving. Perhaps you could join us in this vision as well.

Stay tuned for Part 2 - IDEAS in Cairo!