The Church today

Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church has the largest Christian presence in the Middle East, with approximately 10-15 million members in Egypt, representing about 15 per cent of the population. They vibrantly, actively and faithfully fill their churches and monasteries, living as productive and faithful members of their communities.

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Church comprises over eighty metropolitans and bishops, headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. There is an increasing number of people in monasteries and convents in the deserts of Egypt, and an increasing number of well-educated young men and women who are consecrating their lives to the ministry as parish priests, monks, nuns, deacons and deaconesses.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has also experienced rapid growth in the lands of immigration over the past 30 years, in the United Kingdom, Europe, North America and Australasia. There are now over 15 dioceses and 500 parishes outside Egypt, and the Church continues to flourish by the grace of God.

It is worth mentioning at this point that we do not consider our communities living abroad as a diaspora, as 90 per cent of Coptic Christians still live in their native Egypt.

Statistics used in this page are constantly changing due to the growing and expanding nature of the Church and its activities, and thus, the figures used are those available at the time of compilation.