Saint Petersburg College

Worldviews At Work: Coptic Orthodox

Meaning of Coptic Orthodox through ceramic art

Hanlin Majewski
Introduction to Humanities 1020
Professor Michael Jahosky
Hanlin Majewski

Professor Jahosky

Hum 1020: Introduction to Humanities

01 December 2019

Worldviews At Work: Coptic Orthodox

Throughout time there has always been religion. The belief that something exists beyond

ourselves has profound roots in society, a fact that humans have faced for centuries. Religion

brings a sense of unity between all those who practice it and is meaningful to people all around

the world. It brings many more things than just God. Almost every form of music, art, literature,

architecture, and language has come from some form of religion. These things all help to answer

the five essential worldview questions of morality, meaning, origin, identity, and destiny. Dating

back to the early first century, The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is one such religion

contributing to the thoughts and creations of the world.

The Coptic Orthodox church is the largest Christian church in Egypt and Northeast

Africa. It was started by Saint Mark the Apostle, Evangelist, and writer of the second gospel in

42 A.D. (anno Domini), soon after the ascension of Christ and during the reign of the Roman

emperor Claudius. After the Muslim Conquests from 622-750, Egypt became exclusive to

Egyptians practicing the Christian religion. The word “Coptic” actually comes from a Greek

word meaning “Egyptian”, making the name “Coptic Christians” very fitting. Part of the Church

of Alexandria in Egypt, which broke from the Byzantine churches due to disputes about the

nature of Christ in the wake of the fourth ecumenical council in Chalcedon in 451, it is the

mother church to both the Ethiopian and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo. The religion’s roots lie in
the teachings of early Alexandrian Greek Christology. The second and third centuries recorded

the earliest Alexandrian meditations on divine embodiment and it’s consequences for human

salvation. Pythagorean, Aristotelian, and Platonic thought dictated the way that educated

Christians in Alexandria interpreted biblical texts. They attempted to account for the existence of

a perfect God but the imperfections of the material world and the human body presented them

with trouble.

The Coptic Orthodox people believe heavily in the divinity of Jesus Christ, the

resurrection, the miracles, the bodily ascension, and that He is the Messiah and will come again

to bring believers to Heaven. The Copts, (name for those practicing Coptic Orthodox) had large

differences of beliefs in Jesus’s identity from those practicing mainstream Christianity and

Catholicism. To name a few, the Coptic people differ from Catholics in the way that they don’t

believe in purgatory or the infallibility of the pope the way Roman Catholics believe, Coptic

priests may also marry. Unlike other Christians, the Coptic people follow the Julian calendar and

celebrate Christmas on January 7th and participate in a 40 day fast leading up to it, as well as a

55 day fast leading up to Easter. However, just like the Catholic Church, the leader of the Coptic

church is also a pope.

Those practicing Coptic Orthodox believe that Jesus had two separate identities and came

from two separate natures, one human and one divine but is only of one nature himself, also

called “one hypostasis in two natures”. Although being one of the earliest Christian observers to

see Christ as being both fully man and fully God, the Copts were accused of believing in

monophysitism. Monophysitists claim that Jesus had only one divine nature and not two as it is

taught in the doctrine of the hypostatic union. This way of thinking goes back to Apollinarianism

which said that the divine nature of Christ seized the human one making Jesus fully God and not
fully man. This belief was mainly confined to Eastern churches and the Council of Chalcedon

attempted to establish peace between the monophysitists, who were widely ridiculed, and the

orthodox, but it failed and a sort of Iron Curtain separated and excommunicated the

monophysitists. This goes against the beliefs of the Coptic faith because the denial of Jesus’s

human nature is also denying the incarnation of the Word. Without a true incarnation there can

be no forgiveness of sin since it was not a man who died on the cross, which is opposite of the

Coptic beliefs. This is important to note because of this assumption about the Coptic church, they

were persecuted extensively and discredited by several other Christian groups.

The Coptic Period, or the golden age of Coptic civilization during the 4th-7th centuries,

saw the boom of Coptic art, artists, and craftsmen. This period also saw the beginning of Coptic

monasticism and the Desert Fathers (Christian hermits living in the Scetes desert of Egypt). The

ceramics made in this period are faithful representations of the Holy scripture, they signify the

spiritual presence of Christ, the saints, and important events. They used Hellenistic, ancient

Egyptian, Greek, and Roman techniques to create large jugs (called amphorae), figurines, bowls,

and cooking vessels to name just a few of the many works of art created by these people. Coptic

ceramic can be distinguished by the decorations and motifs featured on the pieces, they used lots

of decorations often including motifs, images of saints (or icons), stamping, impressing, or

incising. Most of which was inspired by ancient Roman techniques.

Excelling in iconographic and stylistic expression, pieces of ceramic made by the Copts

are fantastic examples of the meaning of the religion. They are all very practical and have use

relating to worship. One significant piece of pottery is the amphorae, which originated in ancient

Greece and was brought to Egypt where it began gaining use in the Coptic church. These large

jugs had either a round or pointed base with two handles and were used for the transportation of
both Eucharistic wine and holy water. Another example is little terra-cotta figurines, or icons.

Unlike most other religions, Orthodox Christianity considers the human figure as the focus of its

visual expression of faith. Icons are an integral part of the liturgy and represent the cross-over

between spiritual and material realms, or heaven and Earth. These icons are integral to Coptic

faith and hold an important educational role, teaching believers about the Orthodox faith through

symbolism. The word “icon” comes from the Coptic word “eikonigow” and appears in the Greek

bible, “then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image’ so God created man in His own image, in

the image of God He created” (Genesis 1:26-27). Also “He is the image of the invisible God”

(Colossians 1:15). Icons teach the mystery of the presence of God in the world by being a

window to the spiritual world, leading to a prayerful state of mind. The way these icons are

created is almost out of proportion to the viewer with large eyes, wide ears, large heads, small

noses, and small lips. The large eyes represent looking beyond the material world, the large ears

represent ears listening to the Word of God, small and gentle lips serve as a reminder to praise

the Lord and that the mouth can be a source of harmful words, the large heads signify devotion

to thought and prayer, and the small nose because noses are seen as sensual. Icons play a huge

role in the meaning of life and faith to the Coptic people by bringing about physical

representations of their belief in God.

Practitioners of the Coptic faith see the world as a divine and Godly place full of

miracles. Although being persecuted for their faith for centuries, they still persevere. Coptic

people worship heavily and dedicate their life to serving God. They believe that doing God’s

Will and serving Him and others by following the Ten Commandments and other sacred texts

will eventually land them in Heaven. The strong beliefs they hold show what they believe to be

the meaning of life which is following God and fully dedicating themselves to their faith. This is
backed by their extensive use of icons and symbols in their ceramic art. The importance of God

and the saints is expressed by the detail and thought that goes into the creation of such objects

and shows the admiration and gratitude the people have for God. Essentially saying that if you

follow God, life will be meaningful and beautiful. Proven by the extensive fasting and

observation of Holy Week and other important holidays, the Coptic people are very dedicated.

According to the Coptic faith, happiness is found by following and serving God. The ceramic

creations allow the people to speak through them to emphasize the important role that God the

Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit all play in their lives. Suffice to say, nothing means

more to the Coptic people than divine salvation found in Jesus Christ.

Works cited

Ballet, Pascale. “Ceramics, Coptic.” Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia, Macmillan, 1991,

ccdl.libraries.claremont.edu/cdm/ref/collection/cce/id/449.
Davis, Stephen J. Coptic Christology In Practice: Incarnation and Divine Participation In
Late Antique and Medieval Egypt. E-book, Oxford [U.K.]: Oxford University Press, 2008,
https://hdl-handle-net.lp.hscl.ufl.edu/2027/heb.30654.

Blumberg, Antonia. “Who Are Egypt's Coptic Christians And What Do They Believe?”
HuffPost, HuffPost, 10 Apr. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/who-are-egypts-coptic-
christians-and-what-do-they-believe_n_58ebc537e4b0c89f912058d5.