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The Popes and their relationship with the other churches. Christianity started in the first century A.D. and, until the middle of the fifth century A.D., there was "a strong unity among the traditional church." "Each church was considered a bishopric under the leadership of an archbishop who was in complete charge…When there were problems concerning the creed, the heads of the churches met in ecumenical councils to resolve them." The first ecumenical council of Nicea took place in June 325 A.D. because the Libyan priest Arius denied the divinity of Christ; this heresy was rejected by the council. The second council, that of Constantinople, was held in 381 A.D., to discuss "the heresy of Bishop Macedonius of Constantinople who did not believe in "the divinity of the Holy Spirit." The members of the council."excommunicated the heresiarch." In 431 A.D., the members of the third ecumenical council gathered in Ephesus and excommunicated Nestorius, the bishop of Constantinople, who believed "that the Christ was two distinct persons: one divine and the other human; that each of these two acted independently of each other." Only the first three ecumenical councils were accepted by the Coptic Orthodox Church.

The fourth council was held in 448 A.D. in Ephesus because Eutyches who became an archimandrite of one of the monasteries in Constantinople, rejected the humanity of Christ. But during the council, he changed his opinion and accepted that "Christ is 'the Word made flesh'," which saved him from excommunication. In 451 A.D., the fifth council took place in Chalcedon, because of the "false accusations that Pope Discorus of the See of Alexandria was Eutychian, although he was not". Pope Discorus interpreted his faith to the members of the council, that his faith and the faith of the Alexandrian Fathers is the pure Orthodox faith of their ancestors; the council believed that "his orthodoxy was true indeed." During the meeting of this council, a strong conflict appeared among the different churches because of their creeds. After the council of Chalcedon, no other ecumenical councils were held. Before and after this council, major gaps opened among these churches. "The first of the churches to be alienated was that of Egypt, then those of Antioch, Armenia, Ethiopia and India."



The classical and modern historians tell us that many of the Christians of Egypt, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the United States, Central and South America, Canada, Australia, and Asia are following the same creed of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Many of Coptic Orthodox Churches were established in Egypt and other countries in the early centuries A.D. and have continued through the centuries until today.



"It is evident from the foregoing "story" that the Coptic Church is not a Church of the past alone, she is also a Church of the present: stretching across the generation from the moment of St. Mark founded Her to the present day. She has conserved the Legacy bequeathed to Her most carefully; at the same time, encouraging the endeavors of the human mind in its search after knowledge. This encouragement is clearly seen by the members of creative works still extant despite all the destructive forces."