The Alexandrian Tradition

In Brief

The Alexandrian tradition is the liturgical family of Egypt and of Ethiopia and Eritrea, one of the five Eastern traditions named in the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches¹. It holds two living rites: the Coptic rite, prayed in Egypt, and the Ge'ez rite, prayed in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Its mark is the Alexandrian anaphora shape, in which the great intercession stands within the preface, before the Sanctus².

The Coptic rite is prayed by the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Coptic Catholic Church. Its books hold three anaphoras: St Basil's, the one used most of the year; St Gregory's, used at feasts and addressed to the Son; and St Cyril's — the Coptic recension of the ancient Alexandrian liturgy of St Mark — of which only parts are used nowadays³. The liturgical languages are Coptic (Bohairic), with Arabic growing in use and short Greek elements⁴.

The Ge'ez rite is prayed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, and two Catholic metropolitan Churches sui iuris, the Ethiopian and the Eritrean⁵⁶. One common order carries a family of anaphoras: fourteen in the Ethiopian Orthodox missal, seventeen in the Vatican's 1945 edition for Catholics⁷⁸. The ordinary is the Anaphora of the Apostles⁹; the Ethiopian Basil is identical with the Coptic, but the other two Coptic anaphoras are "entirely different" in Ge'ez⁷.

The tradition keeps the Coptic calendar, reckoned from Diocletian's accession in 284 — the "Era of the Martyrs"¹⁰ — and leavened bread: the Coptic "Lamb" stamped with a cross of twelve squares¹¹, and the new Ge'ez Missal calling for freshly-baked, leavened bread¹².

Member Rites & Uses

• Coptic RiteRite
• Ge'ez RiteRite

Churches

Catholic Churches sui iuris

• Coptic Catholic ChurchPatriarchal Church¹³

Other Churches sharing the tradition

• Coptic Orthodox ChurchOriental Orthodox patriarchate¹⁴

Signature

Calendar

Years are reckoned from Diocletian's accession in 284 — the 'Era of the Martyrs'; the year begins on 29 August (Julian).¹⁰

Bread

Leavened: the Coptic 'Lamb' is stamped with a cross of twelve squares; the new Ge'ez Missal calls for freshly-baked, leavened bread.^11,12

Languages

Coptic (Bohairic), with growing Arabic use and short Greek elements; Ge'ez in the Ethiopian and Eritrean books.^4,15

Typical anaphora shape

The Alexandrian order: the intercessions stand within the preface, before the Sanctus — kept in the Anaphora of St Cyril (St Mark); the everyday Coptic anaphoras, Basil and Gregory, are Syrian in structure.^2,4

The Shape of the Liturgy

The outline of the Anaphora of St Cyril — the Coptic recension of the Alexandrian Liturgy of St Mark — the only Coptic anaphora to keep the intercessions before the Sanctus².

• Opening dialogue
• Preface / thanksgiving
• Intercessions
• Pre-Sanctus
• Sanctus
• Post-Sanctus
• Epiclesis (before institution)
• Institution narrative
• Anamnesis
• Offering
• Epiclesis (after anamnesis)
• Commemorations / diptychs
• Doxology

Each colour is one part of the eucharistic prayer, in the order the prayer says it. Compare every anaphora.

History

The tradition looks to Alexandria and to St Mark: the Coptic Church's account is that the liturgy was first used orally there by St Mark and recorded in writing by St Cyril I, and that the Basilian liturgy "drew heavily on the Liturgy of St. Mark the Evangelist"³. The Greek Liturgy of St Mark survives in medieval manuscripts, critically edited by Cuming¹⁶; the Coptic recension, ascribed to St Cyril of Alexandria, is the "most typically Egyptian" of the three anaphoras the Coptic books retain¹⁷.

After the Council of Chalcedon (451), Christological differences divided the Church of Egypt from communion with Rome and Constantinople; the 1973 Common Declaration of Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III looks back to the year 451 as the point from which "theological differences … have sprung up"¹⁸. The Coptic Orthodox Church confesses St Cyril's formula, "one nature of God the Word incarnate", and rejects the name "Monophysite" — a label this Index does not use for any Church.

Ethiopia received the liturgy from Egypt: the Ethiopian authorities say they "received their liturgy of fourteen Anaphoras from the Church of Egypt"⁷. Over the centuries the Ge'ez rite grew its own anaphoras: of the fourteen, only Basil is found with the Copts, and "all the others seem to be of Ethiopian authorship"⁹. The Anaphora of the Apostles, the ordinary of the Ge'ez books, is the anaphora most frequently used in Ethiopia⁹.

A Catholic hierarchy for the Coptic rite begins in 1741, when Benedict XIV granted jurisdiction over the Catholics of the Coptic rite to Amba Athanasius¹⁹; Leo XIII's Christi Domini (1895) restored the Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria "for the Copts", and Cyril II Makarios took office as its first patriarch in 1899²⁰¹⁹. For the Ge'ez rite, John XXIII's Quod venerabiles (1961) erected the Ethiopian Catholic province⁵; Multum fructum (2015) separated the Eritrean Catholic Church as its own metropolitan Church sui iuris²¹.

In 1973 Paul VI and Shenouda III confessed one Christ in "a real, perfect union" of divinity and humanity and set up a joint commission¹⁸; in 2025 the Holy See presented a new Ge'ez Missal for the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches, the fruit of twenty-five years of joint work¹². The tradition that took shape in Alexandria is prayed today by Orthodox and Catholic Churches alike.

Milestones

1. 451Christological differences after the Council of Chalcedon divide the Church of Egypt from communion with Rome and Constantinople.¹⁸
2. 1741Benedict XIV grants Amba Athanasius, Coptic bishop of Jerusalem, jurisdiction over the Catholics of the Coptic rite; a Catholic Coptic hierarchy begins to take shape.¹⁹
3. 1895Leo XIII's Christi Domini restores the Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria 'for the Copts', with sees at Minya and Luxor; Cyril II Makarios takes office as its first patriarch in 1899.^19,20
4. 1961John XXIII's Quod venerabiles makes Addis Ababa the metropolitan see of a province 'pro fidelibus ritus Alexandrini et Aethiopici', with Asmara and Adigrat as suffragans.⁵
5. 1973Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III sign a Common Declaration confessing Christ's divinity and humanity 'in a real, perfect union', and establish a joint commission.¹⁸
6. 2015Multum fructum erects the Eritrean Catholic Church as a metropolitan Church sui iuris, separated from Addis Ababa (19 January).^6,21
7. 2025A new Ge'ez Missal for the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches is presented at the Pontifical Ethiopian College (27 May).¹²

Sources

1. Magisterial / canonicalCode of Canons of the Eastern Churches, Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1990, can. 28 §2. LinkVerified 2026-09-12 · URL repointed 18 Sep 2026 to the Latin text on vatican.va (part 1; cann. 656–657 are in part 2, codex-can-eccl-orient-2), because the caedm.ca English extract (616A) carries cc. 27–38 only; cann. 28, 40 §1, 656, 657 read there in the Latin, 18 Sep 2026. English translation: cann. 27–28 read in the caedm.ca PDF; cann. 671, 697, 707, 710, 713 read in the IntraText English edition; can. 881 §1 in IntraText, 2026-09-14
2. Primary textBrightman, F. E., Liturgies Eastern and Western, vol. 1: Eastern Liturgies, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896, 144–188. LinkVerified 2026-09-12 · archive.org full text; pp. lxxxiii, lxxxv, lxxxviii–lxxxix checked; order locators spot-checked 13 Sep 2026 (pp. 362, 377–378, 393, 394; glossary s.v. Zeon, Cancelli, Ektene). Checked 19 Sep 2026 for the Ge'ez entry: Preface p. xiii, the Ethiopic translations are the Rev. C. J. Ball's ('the Rev. C. J. Ball for the Ethiopic (including the collation of the British Museum manuscripts)'); p. lxiii, the Egyptian rite; pp. lxxii-lxxiii, the Rome printing of 1548 ('Testamentum novum.. Missale') and the Lord's anaphora there; pp. 194-244, the Ethiopic Liturgy of the Apostles from BM Or. 545 (1670-75); p. 232, 'THIS bread… IS MY BODY' (a rubric between) and 'DRINK… THIS CUP'
3. ReferenceSamaan, Moses (Fr); Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Liturgies of the Coptic Orthodox Church, 2012. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · an article posted on the diocese's website, read: 'The Liturgy according to St. Basil is the one used most of the year; St. Gregory's Liturgy is used during the feasts and on certain occasions; only parts of St. Cyril's Liturgy are used nowadays'; 'the Liturgy was first used (orally) in Alexandria by St. Mark and that it was recorded in writing by St. Cyril I', and from it 'the other two liturgies… are derived'; the Basilian liturgy 'drew heavily on the Liturgy of St. Mark the Evangelist'; St Gregory's 'is addressed to the Son'; 'Vespers and Matins prayers always preceede the service'
4. ReferenceCody, Aelred, “Anaphora of Saint Basil”, The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. Aziz S. Atiya (New York: Macmillan, 1991), 1991, 121b-123b, 121b–123b. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia text read in full (item 125): Basil is the 'anaphora normally used in the Coptic church'; like Gregory's, and unlike that of St Mark/St Cyril, it is 'not of Egyptian but of Syrian origin'; 'fundamentally Syrian in both composition and structure, with some Egyptian retouching'; the prayer of the veil 'taken from the Syrian Liturgy of Saint James'; scholars differ on its relation to the Byzantine Basil, Engberding holding the Egyptian text 'closer to the original', and 'the verbal similarities between the two have not been explained to everyone's satisfaction'; the common order is Egyptian, with 'specifically Egyptian' features: four readings from the New Testament, 'the absolutions before the prayer of incense preparing the readings and after the prayer of inclination following the Lord's Prayer', and the homologia; 'The fraction of the consecrated bread takes place before the Lord's Prayer'; the Greek text 'has not been used for centuries, with Coptic and, increasingly Arabic, being the only liturgical languages retained', with short Greek elements; at 123b, there is 'some reason to think' that a recension of the Greek text was also used in the Melchite church of Alexandria 'until its local usages gave way to the integral observance of the Byzantine rite'
5. Magisterial / canonicalJohn XXIII, “Quod venerabiles (Neanthopolitanae et aliarum): apostolic constitution erecting the ecclesiastical province of Addis Ababa (20 February 1961)”, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 53 (1961), 1961, 648-649, pp. 648–649. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read in the AAS PDF: an ecclesiastical province 'pro fidelibus ritus Alexandrini et Aethiopici, in Aetiopia'; the metropolitan see 'Ecclesia Neanthopolitana' (Addis Ababa), with Asmara, 'hactenus exarchatus apostolicus', and Adigrat as suffragans; dated 20 February 1961
6. Magisterial / canonicalHoly See Press Office, Erezione della Chiesa Metropolitana sui iuris eritrea e nomina del primo Metropolita, bulletin B0048 (19 January 2015), 2015. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read: 'Il Santo Padre ha eretto la Chiesa Metropolitana sui iuris eritrea, dividendola dall'Arcieparchia Metropolitana di Addis Abeba'; Asmara raised to a metropolitan see, Menghesteab Tesfamariam MCCJ its first Metropolitan; the Church governed by CCEO cann. 155-173 with a Council of Hierarchs; its eparchies Asmara, Barentu and Keren (both 21 December 1995) and Segheneity (24 February 2012)
7. Primary textDaoud, Marcos (trans.), rev. Blatta Marsie Hazen; introduction by Archbishop Yesehaq, The Liturgy of the Ethiopian Church, Cairo: The Egyptian Book Press, 1959, reprint: Kingston, Jamaica, Ethiopian Orthodox Church, June 1991, re-edited 22 March 2006, 185 pp., p. 2. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · the 2006 reprint read and cited by its own page numbers and its paragraph numbers (chapter : paragraph; anaphora letter : paragraph). Foreword (p. 2): the Ethiopian authorities say 'they received their liturgy of fourteen Anaphoras from the Church of Egypt'; St Basil's 'is identical with the Ethiopian Church Anaphora, but the other two are entirely different'. Archbishop Yesehaq's introduction, 'an extract of my Book' (pp. 3-10): 'less change has taken place in the Ethiopian Liturgy than in any other Christian tradition, East or West' (p. 3); Makeda, Solomon and the Ark, Frumentius, the 'Nine Syrian Monks' (pp. 3-4); Yared 'born A. D. 505, in Aksum' (p. 4); 'The Ethiopian Church has fourteen Anaphoras' and 'by A.D. 1950, the fourteen Anaphoras together with the preparatory service were published (in both Geez and Amharic)' (p. 5); 'qedasi' is literally 'hallowing' or 'sanctifying'; the Anaphora of the Apostles 'written by the Apostles themselves'; Mary's anaphora handed 'to Yared of Axsum who later put it together with the other thirteen Anaphoras'; 'no major change or reform' (p. 6); 'at least two priests and three deacons', and 'In 1959 permission was given for one priest and one deacon' (p. 7); five readings; the kiss of peace now 'a simple bow in every direction'; Dioscorus's anaphora on the Nativity, Epiphany, Fasika, Ascension, Pentecost and the Trinity (p. 8); Communion order and the Synod's attempt of January 1979 to replace 'the dried raisin wine' (p. 9 and n. 9); shoes removed, 'women stand to the right, and men to the left', the three parts of the church, Communion 'at least three times a year' (p. 10). The ordo (chs II-IV, pp. 12-42) and the Anaphora of the Apostles (anaphora A, pp. 43-57) read in full. Also: p. 3, 'less change has taken place in the Ethiopian Liturgy than in any other Christian tradition, East or West'; p. 23, III:49, the Prayer of Oblation, 'change this (pointing) bread to become Thy pure body'; p. 24, III:62, the Absolution names 'the Patriarchs St. Severus, St. Dioscorus'; p. 46, A:49, 'May He make them the body and blood of our Lord, God, and Saviour Jesus Christ'; p. 49, A:98, 'This (pointing) is the true holy body'
8. ScholarshipFritsch, Emmanuel, CSSp, “The Anaphoras of the Ethiopian Church: A Challenging Orthodoxy”, paper for the congress La genesi anaforica del racconto istituzionale alla luce dell'anafora di Addai e Mari (Pontifical Oriental Institute and Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, 25-26 October 2011), 2011, p. 1. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · PDF read in full (a two-page summary and the author's bio-bibliographical profile). Profile: 'Secretary of the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops' Liturgy Committee' since its creation in 2003, and of the 'mixed Ethio-Eritrean Bishops' Liturgy Committee'. Summary: 'there are today 20 anaphoras known: 15 of which are actually in use, 14 printed in the missal of the Orthodox Church and 17 in the missal published by the Vatican in 1945 after revision'; 'the restored Missal of the Vatican (1945) removed the mention of the "bread", while leaving the "cup" in a number of occasions. However, there is no real basis for the doubts raised'; in the Anaphora of the Lord the 1945 Missal 'rectified matters according to the Institution Narrative of the Anaphora of the Apostles'; into St James of Sarug it 'interpolated the Institution Narrative of the Anaphora of the Apostles' (p. 1); 'the Ge'ez-Catholic Church' and its effort 'to recover its authentic Missal'; the narratives 'should be preserved in the Catholic books as in the Orthodox ones'; 'The Roman Holy See having acknowledged the validity of the Anaphora of Addai and Mari, there is ample freedom to discuss related issues' (p. 2). Also p. 1: 'Doubts have been raised at various levels as to the validity of this formulation or as to how proper or prudent this was'; p. 2: a sixteenth-century correction of the Lord's cup-words shows 'the need to state that the transformation of the wine into the blood of Jesus Christ is "really" done', and the Scholastic tradition 'is in fact unable to satisfactorily account for the mystery re-presented in the Church or, a fortiori, presume to juge of the validity of the Eucharist celebrated by another particular Church'
9. ReferenceMacomber, William F., “Ethiopian Liturgy”, The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. Aziz S. Atiya (New York: Macmillan, 1991), 1991, 987b-990b, 987b–990b. LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · the Claremont Coptic Encyclopedia text read in full: knowledge of the history is 'severely limited by an almost complete absence of documents antedating the fifteenth century'; the Ethiopian Church 'has in its printed missal no less than fourteen, only one of which, the Anaphora of Saint BASIL THE GREAT, is found with the Copts', six more in manuscripts; 'The Ethiopian Catholics, on the contrary, have adopted three of them in their missal, the anaphoras of Saints Mary, Mark, and James'; the Anaphora of the Apostles is 'the anaphora most frequently used in Ethiopia'; that it was the original anaphora 'seems rather dubious'; the prefatory dialogue's second and third exchanges in the opposite order; the Apostles, the Lord, Basil, Mark and James are translations, and 'All the others seem to be of Ethiopian authorship', Mary's included, which Getatchew Haile's study (1983) lets him ascribe 'with probability' to Abba Samuel of Wali; the chant and the Deggwa attributed to St Yared, 'supposed to have lived at the time of King Gabra Masqal in the seventh century'
10. ReferenceCody, Aelred, “Calendar, Coptic”, The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. Aziz S. Atiya (New York: Macmillan, 1991), 1991, 433a-436a, 433a. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · Claremont text read: the Era of Diocletian, counted from his election as emperor in November 284, 'is usually called the ERA OF THE MARTYRS'; the Alexandrian year begins on the Julian 29 August, and on the Julian 30 August in a year A.M. divisible by 4; the conversion table and rules
11. ScholarshipHadji-Burmester, O. H. E., “Rites and Ceremonies of the Coptic Church, Part II: The Service of the Hallowing (Synopsis)”, Eastern Churches Quarterly 8, no. 1 (January-March 1949), 1949, pp. 1-39, pp. 24–25. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · archive.org full text read, pp. 1-39 (the synopsis runs to p. 37; pp. 37-39 are bibliography), signed 'Alexandria. Feast of St. Stylianos, 26th November 1948'; p. 14 checked on the page image. A synopsis of the Liturgy of St Basil with its Arabic rubrics translated. p. 1: 'The Liturgy of Saint Basil is that in general use in the Coptic Church throughout the year', Gregory 'reserved for the Feasts of Christmas, the Epiphany and Easter, when the Liturgy is celebrated at night'; p. 2: Cyril 'now very rarely used', 'sometimes used in Lent'; p. 4: the priest 'careful not to taste anything at all before the Liturgy'; p. 5 and n. 8: 'three or five or seven or more loaves', 'always presented in uneven numbers'; p. 6: the procession of the Lamb; p. 7: the water 'not less than a quarter or not more than a third', and the Prayer of Thanksgiving, n. 4 also said at the Offering of Incense; p. 8: the Prayer of the Prothesis with three signs, 'bless them… sanctify them… purify them'; p. 9: 'In actual practice this Prayer of Absolution is omitted and in its place shall be read May Thy servants ministering this day'; pp. 9-13: the incense and the four readings, one verse 'in Coptic' then the reading 'in Arabic'; p. 12: the Synaxarium 'generally by the priest'; p. 13: 'Stand with the fear of God. Let us hear the Holy Gospel'; p. 14: the prayer of the veil; p. 16: 'In the wisdom of God let us attend', 'the people recite the Creed'; the kiss, n. 4, 'to touch the hand of one's neighbour and then kiss one's own hand'; 'the choir sings, to the accompaniment of cymbals, the Aspasmos Hymn'; p. 17: 'Look to the east'; pp. 18-19: the people answer the institution 'We believe that this is so indeed. Amen', and the priest 'breaks the Oblation into two thirds and into one third, slightly and without separating'; p. 20 n. 2: a rubric of the Cairo Euchologion of 1932, 'Now indeed the Oblation has become the Body of Christ and the Wine the Blood of Christ'; pp. 21-22: the seasonal petitions for the waters of the river, the seeds and the fruits, by Coptic month; p. 22: the commemoration of 'the principal Saints, and especially the Saints of Egypt'; p. 24 n. 1: the 1932 Euchologion 'contains eighteen Prayers of the Fraction'; pp. 24-27: the fraction, the Lord's Prayer, the absolution and the elevation; pp. 27-28: the Confession, 'The Body and the Blood of Emmanuel Our God, this is it in truth'; p. 29: Communion with 'The Body of Emmanuel Our God, this is It in truth. Amen'; p. 30: the dismissal and the eulogia; pp. 31-32: the loaf, leavened, made by a man, with five holes that 'represent the five nails', not fit 'after the expiration of three hours from the time of baking', and wine 'from dried raisins'; pp. 33-37: Communion, the Blood given 'with the spoon'
12. ReferenceVatican News, New Ge'ez Missal to serve unity among Ethiopian, Eritrean Catholics (27 May 2025), 2025. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read: the new Missal for the Ethiopian and Eritrean Catholic Churches presented on 27 May 2025 at the Pontifical Ethiopian College by Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti; 'For the first time, the Ge'ez Missal includes annotations for liturgical chant, and calls for the Eucharist to be celebrated with freshly-baked, leavened bread'; Bishop Kidane Yebio of Keren told Vatican News it 'took 25 years'; Cardinal Berhaneyesus thanked the Dicastery for 'facilitating the printing and distribution of the New Missal'. The report gives no count of anaphoras and says nothing of the institution narratives
13. ReferenceRoberson, Ronald G.; Catholic Near East Welfare Association, The Coptic Catholic Church, 2021. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read in the Wayback Machine capture of 4 November 2025 (the live site refuses automated requests); page 'Last Modified: 26 October 2021': 'the largest concentration of Coptic Catholics has always been in upper Egypt'; eleven communities abroad, each served by a priest; head Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, 'Residence: Cairo, Egypt'. Its membership line gives no year and is not used
14. ReferenceWorld Council of Churches, Coptic Orthodox Church (member church page). LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read (undated page): membership 'Egypt: 11,000,000', 'Outside Egypt: 1,000,000', 12,000,000 in all; a member since 1948
15. ScholarshipLandy, Thomas M., “Ethiopian Catholic Church”, Catholics & Cultures (College of the Holy Cross). LinkVerified 2026-09-19 · read (undated): Ge'ez is the liturgical language, but 'a number of parts, like the readings, are in local languages like Amharic'
16. ScholarshipCuming, Geoffrey J., The Liturgy of St Mark, Edited from the Manuscripts with a Commentary, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 234, Rome: Pontificium Institutum Studiorum Orientalium, 1990.Verified 2026-09-20 · Catalogued: the Alexandrian canon records it as the modern critical edition of the Greek Liturgy of St Mark (Rossano codex Vat. gr. 1970, Rotulus Vaticanus, Rotulus Messanensis); the book itself was not opened
17. ReferenceCody, Aelred, “Anaphora of Saint Cyril”, The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. Aziz S. Atiya (New York: Macmillan, 1991), 1991, 123b-124a. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · Claremont text read in full: 'the most typically Egyptian of the three anaphoras retained in the euchologion of the Coptic church'; 'In modern times the Anaphora of Saint Cyril is rarely used', some use its prayers in Basil, and 'some efforts are made to restore its' integral use; traditionally 'especially apt for use in Lent and in the Coptic month of Kiyahk'
18. Magisterial / canonicalPaul VI and Shenouda III, “Common Declaration (10 May 1973)”, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 65 (1973), 1973, pp. 299-301, pp. 299–301. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read in AAS 65 (the Latin heading 'Declaratio communis', p. 299) and in English on vatican.va and in the 2023 Dicastery volume: Christ's divinity is united with his humanity 'in a real, perfect union without mingling, without commixtion, without confusion, without alteration, without division, without separation'; 'since the year 451 A.D., theological differences, nourished and widened by non-theological factors, have sprung up'
19. ReferenceHyvernat, Henri, “Egypt”, The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 5 (New York: Robert Appleton, 1909), 1909. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · section 'Catholic Copts' read on newadvent: the Catholic Copts date 'from 1741, when Benedict XIV… granted to Amba Athanasius, Coptic Bishop of Jerusalem, jurisdiction'; Leo XII's decree of 1824 'never went into effect'; Cyril II 'resigned in 1908'. The article uses older names for the two Churches, which this Index does not use
20. Magisterial / canonicalLeo XIII, “Christi Domini (apostolic letter, 26 November 1895)”, Acta Sanctae Sedis 28 (1895-96) 257-260, 1895. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · Latin text read on vatican.va: 'Patriarchatum Alexandrinum catholicum restituimus et pro Coptis constituimus'; two suffragan sees, 'in urbe Hermopoli maiore, vulgo Minieh' and at 'Luksor'; 'Designationis primae tum Patriarchae tum suffraganeorum Episcoporum Apostolicae huic Sedi ius reservamus', the administration meanwhile left with Cyril, vicar apostolic; the Catholic hierarchy 'sola potest ecclesiam a Marco conditam legitime referre'; dated 'sexto Calendas Decembres' 1895
21. Magisterial / canonicalFrancis, “Multum fructum: apostolic constitution erecting the Metropolitan Church sui iuris of Asmara (19 January 2015)”, Acta Apostolicae Sedis 107 (2015), 2015, 246, p. 246. LinkVerified 2026-09-18 · read in the AAS PDF: 'In Erythraea nova constituitur Ecclesia Metropolitana Asmarensis'; Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, 'una cum Consilio Hierarcharum Ecclesiae Alexandrinae ritus gheez enixe petivit'; 'novam Metropolitanam Ecclesiam sui iuris Asmarensem appellandam constituimus'; dated 19 January 2015