The Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria is the Patriarchal and only Metropolitan see of the head of the Eastern ''

sui iuris ''Sui iuris'' ( or ) also spelled ''sui juris'', is a Latin phrase that literally means "of one's own right". It is used in both secular law and the Catholic Church's canon law. The term church ''sui iuris'' is used in the Catholic '' Code of Ca ...

Coptic Catholic Church The Coptic Catholic Church ( ar, الكنيسة القبطية الكاثوليكية; la, Ecclesia Catholica Coptorum) is an Eastern Catholic particular church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic ...

, a particular Church in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constitutes full communion, but ...

with the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, which follows the

Alexandrian Rite Alexandrian rites are liturgical rites employed by three Oriental Orthodox churches, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, and Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, as well as by their Eastern Catholic c ...

in its own

Coptic language Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: , ) is a language family of closely related dialects, representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language, and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third-century AD in Roman Egypt. Copti ...

. He is thus the superior of all Coptic dioceses, mostly in and around

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

(where all its sees are), the word Copt(ic) being a corruption of the Greek word for Egypt(ian). It has two

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

archiepiscopal sees, both in Egypt: one dedicated to Our Lady of Egypt, in the national capital

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

, the other dedicated to the

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, whic ...

, in Ancient

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

History

It had three false starts, each failing to prove enduring. * In 1741 a precursor Catholic Apostolic vicariate was established for Alexandria for Coptic Christians wanting to unite with the

. * On 15 August 1824 a Patriarchal See of Alexandria / Alexandrin(us) Coptorum (Latin) was established on Egyptian territory, split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Syria, Egypt, Arabia and Cyprus. * On 26 November 1895 it was restored as Patriarchal See of Alexandria / Alexandrin(us) Coptorum (Latin), again on Egyptian territory, split off from the Apostolic Vicariate of Egypt. In 1947 it was restored for good as Patriarchal See of Alexandria / Alexandrin(us) Coptorum (Latin). It lost territories in Egypt repeatedly to establish

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

sees of Alexandria as Metropolitan : * on 17 December 1982 the Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Ismayliah * on 21 March 2003 the Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Guizeh. It enjoyed Papal visits from

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

in February 2000 and from

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

in April 2017.

Rank

The patriarchal see as such ranks third among all Catholic (arch)bishoprics of the world (only after the Apostolic See of Rome and the Catholic Patriarch of Constantinople), by the virtue of Canon Law ( CCEO 58, 59.2).

Proper diocese

His proper (arch)eparchy is the Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Alexandria, which has no other Ordinary than the Patriarch. However, he may appoint an Auxiliary bishop for the eparchy, distinct from Auxiliaries for the Patriarchate, as was the case with: * Youhanna Kabès (7 June 1958 – died 28 June 1985),

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

of Cleopatris (7 June 1958 – 28 June 1985). As of 2014, it served 35,865 Eastern Catholics in 31 parishes with 73 priests (41 diocesan, 32 religious), 209 lay religious (65 brothers, 144 sisters) and 5 seminarians. It enjoyed a Papal visit from

in April 2017.

Bishops

Coptic Catholic Patriarchs of Alexandria and precursor Apostolic Vicars

''Coptic Catholic Apostolic Vicars'' *

Athanasios Athanasios ( el, Αθανάσιος), also transliterated as Athnasious, Athanase or Atanacio, is a Greek male name which means "immortal". In modern Greek everyday use, it is commonly shortened to Thanasis (Θανάσης), Thanos (Θάνος), ...

(1741–1744?) * Giusto Marsghi (1744?–1748) * Jakub Římař OFM (1748–1751) (Jacques de Kremsier) * Paolo d'Angnone (1751–1757) * Giuseppe de Sassello (1757–1761) * Roche Abou Kodsi Sabak de Ghirgha (1761–1778); (1781); (1783–1785) * Gervais d'Ormeal (1778–1781) * Jean Farargi (1781–1783) * Bishai Nosser (1785–1787) * Michelangelo Pacelli de Tricario (1787–1788) * Mathieu Righet (1788–1822) * Maximos Jouwed (1822–1831) (also carried the title of Patriarch starting 1824) * Théodore Abu Karim (1832–1855) * Athanasios Kyriakos Khouzam (1855–1864) * Agapios Bishai (1866–1876) ** Antoun di Marco (1876–1887) (visiting apostolic vicar) ** Antoun Nabad (1887–1889) (provicar) ** Simon Barraia (1889–1892) (provicar) ** Antoun Kabes (1892–1895) (provicar) * Kyrillos Makarios (1895–1899) (apostolic administrator and Patriarchal vicar, Patriarch starting 1899) ''Coptic Catholic Patriarchs of Alexandria'' ''Patriarchate established'' in 1824 (by

Pope Leo XII Pope Leo XII ( it, Leone XII; born Annibale Francesco Clemente Melchiorre Girolamo Nicola della Genga (; 2 August 1760 – 10 February 1829), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 28 September 1823 to his death ...

) * Maximos Jouwed, also known as Maximos Givaid (15 August 1824 – died 30 August 1831),

of Uthina (9 March 1824 – 15 August 1824) *''Vacant'' (1831–1899) **''

Apostolic Administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic adm ...

Théodore Abou-Karim (22 June 1832 – died 28 September 1855), Titular Bishop of

Alia Alia or ALIA may refer to: People * Alia (name), a list of people with the surname or given name Places *Alia, Sicily, Italy, a comune * Alia (Phrygia), a town of ancient Phrygia which remains a Roman Catholic titular bishopric * Alía, Spain, a ...

(22 June 1832 – 28 September 1855), no other prelature'' **Apostolic Administrator Athanase Khouzan (2 October 1855 – died 17 February 1864), Titular Bishop of Maronia (2 October 1855 – 17 February 1864), no other prelature **Apostolic Administrator Abraham Agabio Bsciai (27 February 1866 – 1878), Titular Bishop of Cariopolis (27 February 1866 – 20 February 1887), no other prelature **Apostolic Administrator Cyrillus Macaire = Kyrillos Makarios (18 March 1895 – 19 June 1899 ''see below''), Titular Bishop of

Cæsarea Paneas Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek g ...

(15 March 1895 – 19 June 1899) * Kyrillos Makarios = Cyrillus Macaire (1899–1908) (resigned) *''Vacant'' (1908–1947) **''

(Joseph-)Maxime Sedfaoui (1908 – 13 January 1925)'' **''Apostolic Administrator Marc Khouzam = Markos Khouzam (30 December 1927 – 10 August 1947 ''see below'')'' * Markos II Khouzam (''see above'' 10 August 1947 – died 2 February 1958) *

Stéphanos I Sidarouss Stéphanos I Sidarouss ( ar, إسطفانوس الأول سيداروس) (22 February 1904 – 23 August 1987) was a Cardinal and leader of the Coptic Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic ''sui juris'' particular church of the Roman Catholic Ch ...

, Lazarists (C.M.) (10 May 1958 - retired 24 May 1986) (Cardinal in 1965), died 1987 **'' Patriarchal Vicar: Athanasios Abadir (18 May 1976 – 17 December 1982), Titular Bishop of Appia (18 May 1976 – 17 December 1982); next Eparch (Bishop) of Ismayliah of the Copts (Egypt) (17 December 1982 – died 25 May 1992)'' * Stéphanos II Ghattas (23 June 1986 – retired 30 March 2006) (Cardinal in 2001), died 2009 ** Auxiliary Bishop: Youhanna Golta (27 July 1986 – 1997), Titular Bishop of Andropolis (27 July 1986 – present); next

Bishop of Curia A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the Copts (1997–2020) ** Auxiliary Bishop: Andraos Salama (1 November 1988 – 1997), Titular Bishop of Barca (1 November 1988 – 21 March 2003); next Eparch (Bishop) of Guizeh of the Copts (Egypt) (21 March 2003 – died 6 December 2005) * Antonios I Naguib (7 April 2006 – retired 15 January 2013) (Cardinal in 2010), died 2022 * Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak (18 January 2013 – present)

Curial bishops

* Youhanna Golta (1997-2020) * Antonios Aziz Mina (2002-2006), confirmed Bishop of Guizeh (Coptic) * Kamal Fahim Awad (Boutros) Hanna (2006-2013), confirmed Bishop of Minya (Coptic) * Hani Nassif Wasef Bakhoum Kiroulos (2019-)

Sources and external links

List of all Coptic Patriarchs of Alexandria
by GCatholic.org

{{Particular churches sui iuris footer Christianity in Alexandria Coptic Catholic Church Eastern Catholicism in Egypt Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria

Alex Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple p ...

Coptic Catholic Patriarchs Alexandria-related lists Copts in Alexandria