- published: 07 Jan 2017
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The Copts are an ethno-religious group situated in North Africa and the Middle East, mainly in the area of modern Egypt, where they are the largest Christian denomination. They are also the largest Christian denomination in Sudan and Libya. Christianity was the religion of the vast majority of Egyptians from 400–800 A.D. and the majority after the Muslim conquest until the mid-10th century and remains the faith of a significant minority population. Historically they spoke the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian spoken in the Roman era, but it has been near-extinct and mostly limited to liturgical use since the 18th century. They now speak Arabic.
Copts in Egypt constitute the largest Christian community in the Middle East, as well as the largest ethno-religious minority in the region, accounting for an estimated 10% of the Egyptian population.Copts in Sudan constitute the largest Christian community in Sudan, accounting for an estimated 1% of the Sudanese population.Copts in Libya constitute the largest Christian community in Libya, accounting for an estimated 1% of the Libyan population. Most Copts adhere to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. The Coptic Catholic Church, which is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Catholic Church, claims 163,000 members.
Coptic may refer to:
Egypt (i/ˈiːdʒɪpt/; Arabic: مِصر Miṣr, Egyptian Arabic: مَصر Maṣr, Coptic: Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ Khemi), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia, via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is the world's only contiguous Eurafrasian nation. Most of Egypt's territory of 1,010,408 square kilometres (390,000 sq mi) lies within the Nile Valley. Egypt is a Mediterranean country. It is bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south and Libya to the west.
Egypt has one of the longest histories of any modern country, arising in the tenth millennium BC as one of the world's first nation states. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx, as well the ruins of Memphis, Thebes, Karnak, and the Valley of the Kings, reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of archaeological study and popular interest worldwide. Egypt's rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity, having endured, and at times assimilated, various foreign influences, including Greek, Persian, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and European. Although Christianised in the first century of the Common Era, it was subsequently Islamised due to the Islamic conquests of the seventh century.
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the largest Christian Church in Egypt, and also the largest in the Middle East overall.
According to tradition, the Church was established by Saint Mark, an apostle and evangelist, in the middle of the 1st century (approximately AD 42). The head of the Church and the See of Alexandria is the Patriarch of Alexandria on the Holy See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Coptic Pope. The See of Alexandria is titular, and today the Coptic Pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo.
The Coptic Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of Churches, which has been a distinct Christian body since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different position over Christology from that of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The precise Christological differences that caused the split with the Coptic Christians are still disputed, highly technical, and mainly concerned with the nature of Christ. The foundational roots of the Coptic Church are based in Egypt, but it has a worldwide following.
The Middle East (also called the Mid East) is a transcontinental region centered on Western Asia and Egypt. The corresponding adjective is Middle-Eastern and the derived noun is Middle-Easterner. Formerly, the Eurocentric synonym Near East (as opposed to Far East) was commonly used. Arabs, Azeris, Kurds, Persians, and Turks constitute the largest ethnic groups in the region by population, while Armenians, Assyrians, Circassians, Copts, Druze, Jews, Maronites, Somalis, and other ethnic and ethno-religious groups form significant minorities.
The History of the Middle East dates back to ancient times, with the (geo-political) importance of the region being recognized for millennia. Several major religions have their origins in the Middle East, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam; the Baha'i faith, Mandaeism, Unitarian Druze, and numerous other belief systems were also established within the region. The Middle East generally has a hot, arid climate, with several major rivers providing irrigation to support agriculture in limited areas such as the Nile Delta in Egypt, the Tigris and Euphrates watersheds of Mesopotamia, and most of what is known as the Fertile Crescent. Most of the countries that border the Persian Gulf have vast reserves of crude oil, with the dictatorships of the Arabian Peninsula in particular benefiting from petroleum exports. In modern times the Middle East remains a strategically, economically, politically, culturally and religiously sensitive region.
Who's your favorite, kung-fu artist?
Probably, Bruce Lee
What's your favorite, color?
Oh, I don't know, black?
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What are your, turn ons?
Kung-fu, pie
What are your, turn offs?
Persians (What, they're funny?)
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh
Lips taste just, just like a petits filous
oh oh oh oh oh