Coptic

Biography:

The Copts are an ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt since antiquity. They are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. The term Coptic originally referred to all Egyptians but became synonymous with native Christians in light of Egypt's Islamization and Arabization after the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. Copts have historically spoken the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian that was spoken in late antiquity. The treatment of the Coptic Christians who refused to convert ranged from relative tolerance to open persecution following the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Most Copts adhere to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox Church.