Introduction: Few would dispute that the Coptic Church, which was founded by St. Mark the evangelist, began its modern renaissance towards the latter half of the nineteenth century, after many centuries of darkness. A darkness which was forced upon her by two major historical events. The first of which were the woeful decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) which separated her from the rest of Christiandom. The second was the Arab conquest of Egypt (641 A.D.), as a result of which the church's major preoccupation was sheer survival. Indeed the survival of the Copts till this day is a miracle and a witness for thirteen centuries of unwavering faith.
