Church of Alexandria

The Church of Alexandria in Egypt is the particular church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. It is one of the original four Apostolic Sees of Christianity, with Rome, Antioch and Jerusalem (Constantinople was added later as the fifth).

The Church of Alexandria was founded by the Evangelist Saint Mark the Apostle in approximately 42 AD and claims jurisdiction over the Christians in all the African continent. In other words, all the Christian churches in Africa are considered daughter churches of the Church of Alexandria.

Today, three churches claim to be the direct heirs of the original Church of Alexandria:

• The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, an Oriental Orthodox church
• The Eastern Orthodox Church of Alexandria, also known as the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria, a Byzantine Orthodox Church
• The Coptic Catholic Church, an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church

The Pentarchy
Patriarch of Rome (1st century)		Patriarch of Alexandria (1st century)		Patriarch of Antioch (1st century)		Patriarch of Jerusalem (5th century)		Patriarch of Constantinople (4th century)

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