The Coptic Church

The Coptic Church is one of the most ancient churches of the world and it was established by St. Mark in the 1st century A.D. St. Mark, the apostle is known for writing the Gospel of Mark originally in Greek after being requested to do so by the converted Christians of Egypt.
When St. Mark arrived in Alexandria in 61AD, he saw how the Egyptians were worshiping pagan gods in this great ancient capital. After walking for a long time, St. Mark came to a cobbler, named Anianus, to have his torn shoe fixed. As he was waiting for his shoe to be repaired, suddenly Anianus pierced his finger with his awl and shouted, “EIS THEOS” in Greek which meant “O, ONE GOD”. This greatly surprised St. Mark and encouraged him to talk about the One God. The Apostle took some clay, spat on it and applied it to Anianus' finger while saying, “In the Name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” The wound then healed immediately as if nothing had happened.
St. Mark preached to the family of Anianus and baptized them. Ananias became the first Christian in Egypt and began to evangelize with St. Mark, which led to the conversion of many people. This angered the pagans and sought to harm St. Mark. Recognizing the danger, St. Mark ordained Anianus as a bishop, 3 priests and 7 deacons to look after the congregation before leaving Egypt. He then traveled to Rome and met with St. Peter and St. Paul.
St. Mark returned to Egypt in 65AD and established the Christian School of Alexandria — the first Christian school in the Roman Empire. He not only wrote the Gospel of St. Mark but also wrote the Liturgy of St. Mark for the Church, which our Liturgy today is based on.
St. Mark was our first Pope of Alexandria and Anianus became the second pope when St. Mark was martyred in 68AD. The current pope is His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, who was selected in 2012 as the 118th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.