Editor’s Note: Matthew Chicoine interviewed Christian Salem via phone call on August 7th, 2025. Some of the questions/answers have been rearranged, edited, and paraphrased to provide the best reader experience without losing any integrity of the answers given.
The Coptic Catholic Church traces its origins to St. Mark the Evangelist. How does this apostolic heritage shape the spiritual life and identity of Coptic Catholics today?
When St. Mark brought the Gospel to Egypt, he gave us the foundation for a Church rooted in apostolic faith. After his martyrdom, the community he formed blossomed into a vibrant ascetical tradition, giving rise to saints like Anthony the Great, Cyril of Alexandria, and Athanasius, whose lives of prayer, fasting, and theological brilliance shaped Coptic spirituality for centuries.
You can see how this heritage lives on today in the Coptic Catholic Church’s liturgy, monastic ideals, and steadfast witness, preserving the same faith St. Mark entrusted to Alexandria.
The Coptic Catholic Church uses ancient liturgies like those of St. Mark, St. Cyril, St. Gregory, and St. Basil. What are some distinctive elements of the Coptic Catholic Mass that a Roman Catholic might find striking?
The first thing that would strike them is the language of the Coptic rite, a blend of the Ancient Egyptian language fused with Greek, giving the liturgy a sense of deep antiquity. The chants are long, melodic, and almost hypnotic, with responses that everyone sings together.
There’s also a lot more incense used compared to other rites. It gives a sense of mysticism, making it seem as if heaven has come down to earth
The gestures are different too, like the priest bowing low before the altar, or the faithful making the sign of the cross more frequently.
The iconostasis as well, a wall of icons separating the sanctuary from the congregation, adds a sense of mystery. You can hear what’s happening in the altar, but only glimpse parts of it through the open doors.
The style of iconography also differs from that of the Greek tradition. It’s a style that presents a lot of meaning, from colours to hand gestures
And unlike the Latin Mass, the Coptic Catholic liturgy is longer and more repetitive, but in a meditative way, usually going for 1.5 hours on a regular sunday.
The Coptic Church has a rich history of martyrs and monasticism, including the Desert Fathers . How do these saints and monastics influence the spirituality and practices of Coptic Catholics?
Martyrdom and monasticism is what gives us our Coptic identity. From the early centuries, Copts have looked to the Desert Fathers for inspiration in prayer, fasting, and simplicity of life, and to the martyrs as examples of holding on to the faith until the end. Even today, the 21 martyrs of Libya show that same faith that was given to us from the beginning.
jumping back a bit to the Council of Chalcedon in 451, most Copts rejected its teaching and became part of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. For a long time, there were no Coptic bishops in communion with the Catholic Church.
That changed in 1741 when a Coptic Orthodox bishop became Catholic, starting the path back to unity. In 1895, Pope Leo XIII formally re-established the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate. Through all these changes, the example of the saints and monks has continued to shape Coptic Catholic spirituality today.
Coptic Catholics are in full communion with the Pope while maintaining their unique Alexandrian heritage . How do you experience this dual identity within the universal Catholic Church?
For us, being Coptic Catholic is like having two treasures at once. On one hand, we’re fully part of the universal Catholic Church, in communion with the Pope, sharing in the worldwide mission of Catholics everywhere. On the other hand, we keep our own Alexandrian heritage—the Coptic language in our prayers, the melodies and chants that go back centuries, our iconography, fasting traditions, and the spirituality of the Desert Fathers.
The good thing about it is that our unity with Rome doesn’t erase our traditions, it protects them. We pray the same faith the Apostles handed down, but we pray it with the voice of Egypt, all because of the works of St Mark.
Pope John Paul II noted the Coptic Church’s “filial veneration of the Virgin Mary”. How is devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary expressed within the Coptic Catholic tradition?
In the Coptic Catholic tradition, love for the Virgin Mary runs deep. We call her the Theotokos in every liturgy, and we also have specific praises to her, especially through the Theotokia, long poetic hymns recalling her role in salvation history.
We also honor her in a special way because the Holy Family once fled to Egypt, making our land her second home. Even recently, with the Marian apparitions of Zeitoun, witnessed not only by Catholics and Orthodox but even by Muslims. Some Family members of mine who saw it recall a bright light appearing over the church, forming the figure of a woman. She stood in prayer, gazing at the Cross, as if to say, “Listen to what my Son says.”
Mary is essential to the Coptic Tradition, because she is the best example of living out the life of Christ perfectly.
Considering the Coptic Catholic Church’s unique history, what are some contemporary challenges and joys of living out your faith as a Coptic Catholic?
I’m blessed to be part of the Coptic Catholic church. It is a tradition that is rich but sometimes it carries some challenging experiences. On the joyful side, there’s a deep pride in our unique heritage, even amongst the Youth in our parish. The love of the ancient Alexandrian liturgy, the wisdom of the Desert Fathers, and the martyrs who inspire us to hold to the faith. Our close communion with Rome gives us a strong sense of unity with the worldwide Catholic Church, while still preserving our distinct traditions and language. That balance feels like a real blessing.
At the same time, there are challenges like being a minority within a minority. Coptic Catholics are a small community in a majority Orthodox and Muslim country, which means that we sometimes feel overlooked or misunderstood. There can be pressures to conform or lose our traditions, but we are always making sure to keep those traditions alive.
For a Roman Catholic interested in experiencing a Coptic Catholic liturgy, what advice would you offer, and what might they expect?
If you’re a Roman Catholic planning to go to a Coptic Catholic liturgy, be ready for a beautiful and deeply prayerful experience. The liturgy might be longer than what you’re used to. You’ll hear chants in Coptic and Arabic that draw you into a kind of prayerful meditation instead of just listening to words.
Don’t worry if you don’t understand everything. A lot of the beauty comes from the rhythm, the music, and the gestures. You’ll notice lots of incense filling the church, icons all around, and the priest moving carefully and reverently. Everything that happens in the mass has meaning.
Feel free to join in when you can, like with the responses and hymns. But it’s also okay just to be there and take it all in. The Coptic Catholic Church isn’t just for the Egyptians, it’s for Catholics all around the world who want to follow in the traditions of Alexandria.
About Christian:
Christian Salem is a member of the Coptic Catholic Community of St. Mark’s in Sydney, Australia, where he serves as an Anaghnostos (Lector). He works as an Apprentice Electrician during the day, while dedicating much of his life to the liturgical and spiritual life of the Church. Passionate about preserving the Coptic Catholic heritage and sharing the richness of Eastern Christianity, Christian seeks to live out his vocation both in his professional work and in service to the altar.
