Church of Alexandria

The Church of Alexandria in Egypt is the Christian Church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. It is one of the original Apostolic Sees of Christianity, alongside Rome, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem.

Tradition holds that the Church of Alexandria was founded by Saint Mark the Evangelist^[1] in approximately 42 AD and claims jurisdiction over all Christians on the African continent.

Today, three churches claim to be direct heirs of the original Church of Alexandria:

• The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox church
• The Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, part of the wider Eastern Orthodox Church
• The Coptic Catholic Church, one of 22 Eastern Catholic churches who are in full communion with the Catholic Church led by the Pope, the Bishop of Rome

References

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia article The Church of Alexandria.

• The Catholic Encyclopedia Online: The Church of Alexandria

Pentarchy
Pope of Rome (1st century) Patriarch of Constantinople (4th century) Patriarch of Alexandria (1st century) Patriarch of Antioch (1st century) Patriarch of Jerusalem (5th century)
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