Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Coptic Cross

The Coptic Church is the Christian church of Egypt, established by Mark in the 1st century . The church now also has dioceses elsewhere in Africa and the Near East. The early Gnostics and Copts adapted the Egyptian Ankh Cross as the basis of its emblem, which then evolved as the region's history changed.

Old Coptic crosses often incorporate a circle; sometimes large, sometimes small. The circle was inherited from the Ankh, where it originally depicted the Sun God. For the Coptic Church, the circle represents the eternal and everlasting love of God. It also symbolises Christ's resurrection.

The coptic alphabet is variant of the greek alphabet
containing a number of extra letters which come from
the egyptian script. the coptic alphabet came into being
during the 1-3rd century BC after the greek conquest of egypt
and the subsequent spread of the indigenous form of christianity
(coptic orthodox christianity). according to tradition, the apostle
mark established in egypt in the middle of the first century CE
(approximately 60 AD). coptic crosses reflect a number of historic
influences including greek, latin, egyptian, and celtic design
elements.

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