Coptic Orthodox Church in Africa


This article, dealing with the Coptic Orthodox Church in Africa, is about the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in African countries other than Egypt.
The Apostolic Throne of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is based in the ancient Alexandria, Egypt, which is in Africa. The jurisdiction of the Church of Alexandria extended, as per Canon law of the First and Second Ecumenical Councils, to the Province of Egypt, Nubia and Pentapolis. Later on in expanded south to encompass all of what is now known as the Sudan.
Since the demise of the Latin North African Archiepiscopate of Carthage in the 8th century, Alexandria became the sole Apostolic Throne in the entire continent of Africa. The historical evangelization of the Apostolic Throne of Alexandria in Africa, apart from Egypt, Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia and the Sudan, does extend to:

Ethiopia

constituted a major archdiocese of the Church of Alexandria, which was always governed by an Egyptian Patriarchal Vicar in the rank of Archbishop since the 4th century, and named Abuna Salama by the Ethiopian Church. By 1929, the Alexandrine Throne allowed the Ethiopian clergy to participate in the governing of their own Church, and the first native Ethiopian archbishop was enthroned in 1930.
In 1959, an agreement was reached between the Ethiopian Holy Synod and the Alexandrine Throne to have their own Patriarch-Catholicos in a transitional period. The Ethiopian Archbishop ordained as Primate of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church back in 1950, was elevated by the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria Joseph II in Cairo and enthroned in Addis Ababa by the members of the Ethiopian Holy Synod and an Alexandrine delegation. The first Prelate, Abuna Basilius I, Patriarch-Catholicos of Addis Ababa and all Ethiopia, was ordained and enthroned in 1959, by Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria.
The Patriarchate of Ethiopia is now vacant with the death in August 2012 of its 5th Patriarch, Abuna Paulos I. This is after the Patriarchates of Abuna Theophilus I , Abuna Tekle Haimanot I and Abuna Mercurios I,.
Recently, the relation between the two churches improved significantly upon the signing of common declaration by the two patriarchs and the visit of Abuna Paulos to Egypt and the visit of Pope Shenouda to Ethiopia.

Eritrea

Whose own Prelate, Abuna Philipos I, Patriarch of Asmara and of all Eritrea, was ordained and enthroned in May 1998, by Pope Shenouda III Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria. This made the new Patriarchate of Asmara and of all Eritrea a hierarchically and jurisdictionally independent “Autocephalous Patriarchate”. The Current Prelate, Abuna Antonius I, is the third Patriarch of Asmara and all Eritrea, who succeeded Yacob I the second Patriarch of Asmara and all Eritrea. However, he was deposed non-canonically in January 2006, and replaced by Abuna Discoros I. This action is however not approved by the Alexandrine Throne and is still under debate. Prior to gaining autonomy in 1994 and then autocephaly in 1998, it constituted a major archdiocese within the Patriarchate of Addis Ababa and all Ethiopia.
Both the Patriarchate of Addis Ababa and all Ethiopia and the Patriarchate of Asmara and all Eritrea do acknowledge the supremacy of honor and dignity of the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria on the basis that both Patriarchates were established by the Throne of Alexandria and that they have their roots in the Apostolic Church of Alexandria, and acknowledge that Saint Mark the Apostle is the founder of their Churches through the heritage and Apostolic evangelization of the Fathers of Alexandria.
In other words, the Patriarchate of Addis Ababa and all Ethiopia and the Patriarchate of Asmara and all Eritrea are daughter Churches of the Holy Apostolic Patriarchate of Alexandria.

The Sudan

This country, who had both Egyptian expatriates and native adherents, is divided into two eparchies and whose prelates are:
The number of Coptic Sudanese is estimated around 200,000.

Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco

spread to the Pentapolis of North Africa from Egypt; Synesius of Cyrene, bishop of Ptolemais, received his instruction at Alexandria in both the Catechetical School and the Museion, and he entertained a great deal of reverence and affection for Hypatia, the last pagan Neoplatonists, whose classes he had attended. Synesius was raised to the episcopate by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, in 410 A.D. Since the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D., Cyrenaica had been recognized as an ecclesiastical province of the See of Alexandria, in accordance with the ruling of the Nicaean Fathers. Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria to this day includes the Pentapolis in his title as an area within his jurisdiction.
The Coptic congregations in these countries were under the ancient Eparchy of the Western Pentapolis, which was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church for centuries until the thirteenth century
In 1971 Pope Shenouda III reinstated it as part of the Eparchy of Pachomius, Metropolitan of the Holy Metropolis of Beheira,, Mariout , Marsa Matruh,, Patriarchal Exarch of the Ancient Metropolis of Libya: and Titular Metropolitan Archbishop of the Great and Ancient Metropolis of Pentapolis:,,, and.
This was one among a chain of many restructuring of several eparchies by Pope Shenouda III, while some of them were incorporated into the jurisdiction of others, especially those who were within an uncovered region or which were part of a Metropolis that became extinct, or by dividing large eparchies into smaller more manageable eparchies. This was part of the restructuring of the Church as a whole.

Sub-Saharan Africa

Although The Coptic Orthodox Church had a bishop for missionary affairs in Africa in the 1950s this was not continued after the death of that bishop.
There are two bishops dealing with Sub-Saharan Africa:
Bishop Paul was originally a deacon then a celibate priest, he was then tonsured as a hieromonk before he was consecrated as a bishop. Both bishops were physicians before becoming full-time clergymen.
Here is a summary of the countries/churches under the jurisdiction of Bishop Antonius Markos according to his book "Come Across and Help Us, Book three", 2003 and under the jurisdiction of Bishop Paul according to the Mission Bishopric website:
CountryRegion in AfricaDiocesan BishopNumber of Churches/InstitutionsNumber of Clergy MembersCoptic Population
KenyaEastern AfricaBishop Paul+50 churches + 2 monasteries + 1 hospital8 priests + 160 deacons~2000 families
South AfricaSouthern AfricaBishop Antonios Markos12 churches + 1 school + 1 vocational training center11 priests + ~120 deacons~4500 families
Democratic Rep. of Congo Central AfricaBishop Paul8 churches + 3 schools4 priests + 80 deacons200 families
ZambiaSouthern AfricaBishop Paul4 churches + 1 hospital3 priests + ~20 deacons220 families
NigeriaWest-central AfricaBishop Paultemporary priest + 5 deacons160 families
TanzaniaSoutheastern AfricaBishop Paul4 churches + 1 medical center1 priest + 12 deacons45 families
ZimbabweSouthern AfricaBishop Antonios Markos2 churches + 1 monastery + 1 vocational training center1 priestN/A
NamibiaSouthern AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 church + 1 vocational training center1 priestN/A
GhanaWest AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 church + 1 vocational training center1 priestN/A
Ivory CoastWest AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 church1 priestN/A
TogoWest AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 church1 priestN/A
BotswanaSouthern AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 churchtemporary priestN/A
LesothoSouthern AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 churchtemporary priestN/A
SwazilandSouthern AfricaBishop Antonios Markos1 churchtemporary priestN/A
TotalAfrica 1 Bishop Markos and Bishop Paul 265 churches + 3 monasteries + 2 hospitals + 4 schools + 4 vocational training centers + 1 medical center28 priests + ~500 deacons400,000+ people

Notes:
In 1984 a Coptic cross was given as a gift by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and mounted on the top of the All Africa Conference of Churches building as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is considered to be the Mother church in Africa.