| The Alexandrian Tradition History: Saint Mark the Evangelist is credited with founding the church in Alexandria. Eventually, all of Egypt, present-day Sudan, and much of Ethiopia became Christian until the seventh century when Islam dominated North Africa. But it was not until the middle ages that Christians ceased to be in the majority. During the first few hundred years of Christianity Alexandria was very active theologically having only the school of Antioch as a competitor. The Alexandrian Tradition also gave the Church one of its greatest treasures, Monasticism. After the example of Saint Anthony the Great people flocked to the desert by the thousands to experience and learn this way of life.  The Holy Family in Egypt.
But there were also tensions. Alexandria provided grain for Constantinople, which had grown in dominance over Alexandria. Both cities had cultural and language differences as well as arguments over trade. Egypt, after all, was once an empire itself. Now it was subservient to Constantinople. The Hellenization of the Coptic Liturgy was resisted for the most part, and the Coptic language (a mixture of the old Egyptian and Greek) and way of worship prevailed. This rivalry fueled the religious controversies which ended in division after the Council of Chalcedon in 451 (see pg.9) |
The greater part of the Alexandrian Patriarchate divided from the rest of the church. Those who accepted the Council faded away duringThe Holy Family in Egypt.the long period of Islamic domination. In 1442 at the council of Florence an agreement of unity was reached but did not materialize in practice.Like the Roman Tradition, the Alexandrian Tradition had only one Church until the 20th century when the southern part of the Coptic Church attained independent status and became known as the Ethiopian Church.
 Inside one of the oldest churches in Egypt shows
Liturgy & Spirituality: The Liturgy of the Alexandrian tradition closely resembles the Byzantine Liturgy with its processions and chanting but has much less speculative poetry, symbolic splendor, and sumptuous ceremonial. It is highly penitential, contemplative, long, and solemn. The clergy wear |