Christianity is a minority religion in Libya. It has been present in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica since Roman times.
Christianity is a minority religion in Libya. It has been present in Tripolitania and Cyrenaica since Roman times.
The largest Christian group in Libya is the Coptic Orthodox Church (Copts in Libya). [1] The Coptic Church is known to have historical roots in Libya long before the Arabs advanced westward from Egypt into Libya. The next largest denomination is Roman Catholicism. [2] members. Orthodox communities include Egyptian Copts, Russian Orthodox, [3] and Greek Orthodox. [3] There is one Anglican congregation in Tripoli, made up mainly of African immigrant workers, that belongs to the Egyptian Anglican diocese. The Anglican bishop of Libya has his seat in Cairo. [4] There is also a priest in Sabha. [4]
There are relatively peaceful relations between Christians and Muslims in Libya. However, there are restrictions for Christian religious activity. It is prohibited to proselytize Muslims, although a non-Muslim man must convert to Islam if he wants to marry a Muslim woman. Religious literature is restricted. [3]
In spite of opposition to Christianity, a 2015 estimates some 1,500 Christian believers from a Muslim background residing in the country. [5]
In 2022, more than half of Libya Christians were Copts. [6] [1]
Historically speaking, Christianity spread to the Pentapolis in North Africa from Egypt; [7] Synesius of Cyrene (370-414), bishop of Ptolemais, received his instruction at Alexandria in both the Catechetical School and the Museion, and he entertained a great deal of reverence and affection for Hypatia, the last pagan Neoplatonists, whose classes he had attended. Synesius was raised to the episcopate by Theophilus, patriarch of Alexandria, in 410. The Council of Nicaea in 325 made Cyrenaica an ecclesiastical province of the See of Alexandria. The Pope of Alexandria to this day includes the Pentapolis in his title as an area within his jurisdiction. [8]
The Coptic congregations in several countries were under the ancient Eparchy of the Western Pentapolis, which was part of the Coptic Orthodox Church for centuries until the thirteenth century. [9]
In 1971 Pope Shenouda III reinstated it as part of the Eparchy of Metropolitan Bishop Pachomius, Metropolitan of the Holy Metropolis of Beheira (Thmuis & Hermopolis Parva), (Buto), Mariout (Mareotis), Marsa Matruh (Paraetonium), (Apis), Patriarchal Exarch of the Ancient Metropolis of Libya : (Livis, Marmarica, Darnis & Tripolitania) & Titular Metropolitan Archbishop of the Great and Ancient Metropolis of Pentapolis: (Cyren), (Appollonia), (Ptolemais), (Berenice) and (Arsinoe).
This was one among a chain of many restructuring of several eparchies by Pope Shenouda III, while some of them were incorporated into the jurisdiction of others, especially those who were within an uncovered region or which were part of a Metropolis that became extinct, or by dividing large eparchies into smaller more manageable eparchies. This was also a part of the restructuring of the Church as a whole.
They are currently three Coptic Orthodox Churches in Libya: one in Tripoli, Libya (Saint Mark's), one in Benghazi, Libya (Saint Antonios - two priests), and one in Misrata, Libya (Saint Mary and Saint George). [10]
In 2022, there were approximately, 3,500 Roman Catholics in the country. This is down from previous years. [11]
The Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli (Our Lady of the Angels) in the Old City - Medina of Tripoli was founded in 1645 and, with the permission of the Sultan of Constantinople, the Church of the Immaculate Conception was founded in Benghazi in 1858. Before World War II the number of Catholics increased in Libya due to Italian colonialism. The Catholic Cathedral of Tripoli (built in the 1930s) was converted to a mosque. [12]
Roman Catholic Vicariates Apostolic exist in Benghazi, Derna and Tripoli. There is a Prefecture Apostolic in Misrata.
There are two Bishops, one in Tripoli (Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli - serving the Italian community in the Church of San Francisco in Dhahra). [13] and one in Benghazi (Bishop Sylvester Carmel Magro - serving the Maltese community in the Church of the Immaculate Conception). [14]
In Libya currently there are four territorial jurisdictions - three Apostolic Administrations and one Apostolic Prefecture:
There is an Anglican congregation in Tripoli, composed mainly of African migrant workers, which belongs to the Egyptian Anglican diocese. The Anglican bishop of Libya is based in Cairo.same there is a pastor in Sabha. There are Pentecostal worship groups in Libya in places like Tripoli and Benghazi. These churches are primarily worship groups who gather together every Friday, led by Pentecostal pastors. Though these groups are not officially approved by the government of Libya, they practice their faith without any interference from the government[ citation needed ]. The following are the two known Pentecostal worship places:
In February 2014, east of Benghazi, seven Coptic Christians were dragged out of their houses in the middle of the night and shot dead execution-style by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). [15]
On January 12, 2015, twenty-one Coptic Christians were abducted by forces of ISIL. [16] On February 15, 2015, those 21 Christians were executed by ISIL shown in a video titled "A Message Signed with Blood to the Nation of the Cross." In 2023, Pope Francis announced that the men would be commemorated by the Catholic Church and listed within the Roman Martyrology. [17]
On April 19, 2015, ISIL released another video in which they executed about 30 Ethiopian Christians. [18]
In 2023, six Christian protestants converts were sentenced to death for proselytizing. [19]
In 2023, Libya was ranked as the 5th most dangerous country in the world to be a Christian. [20]
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The Coptic Orthodox Church, also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt, in Africa and the Middle East. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular. The Coptic pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. Christians in Egypt total about 10 million people, and Coptic Christians make up Egypt's largest and most significant minority population, and the largest population of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Cyrenaica or Kyrenaika, also known as Ber2e, is the eastern region of Libya. It is located in the Levant region of the Middle East. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, was part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis and Libya Sicca. During the Islamic period, the area came to be known as Barqa, after the city of Barca.
Pope Shenouda III was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His papacy lasted 40 years, 4 months, and 4 days, from 14 November 1971 until his death.
The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope".
Copts are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are Coptic Oriental Orthodox Christians. They are the largest Christian denomination in Egypt and the Middle East, as well as in Sudan and Libya. Copts in Egypt account for roughly 5–15 percent of the Egyptian population; Copts in Sudan account for 1 percent of the Sudanese population, while Copts in Libya similarly account for 1 percent of the Libyan population.
The Coptic Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic particular Church in full communion with the Catholic Church. Along with the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church, it belongs to the Alexandrian liturgical tradition. Uniquely among the Alexandrian Rite Eastern Catholic liturgies, the Coptic Catholic Church uses the Coptic Rite and the Coptic language in its liturgy; the Ethiopian Catholic Church and Eritrean Catholic Church use the Ge'ez Rite.
The Catholic Church in Egypt is considerably small as compared to the rest of the Christian population in Egypt, which is a significant minority among Muslims. The Catholic population in Egypt is said to have begun during the British control of Egypt. However, many emigrated after the 1952 Revolution in Egypt, which also caused the overthrow and exile of King Farouk of Egypt. Catholics in Egypt belong to seven distinct ritual Particular Churches sui iuris, the largest being the Coptic Catholic Church, led by its Patriarch of Alexandria.
The Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria is the Patriarchal and only Metropolitan see of the head of the Eastern sui iuris Coptic Catholic Church, a particular Church in the Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See, which follows the Alexandrian Rite in its own Coptic language. He is thus the superior of all Coptic dioceses, mostly in and around Egypt, the word Copt(ic) being a corruption of the Greek word for Egypt(ian).
The Catholic Church in Libya is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome.
Barca, also called Barce, was an ancient city and former bishopric, which survives as both a Latin Catholic and an Orthodox titular see.
The French Coptic Orthodox Church is a Coptic Orthodox jurisdiction centered in France.
The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the highest Orthodox authority in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It formulates the rules and regulations regarding matters of the Church's organisation and faith.
This article, dealing with the Coptic Orthodox Church in Africa, is about the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in African countries other than Egypt.
Christianity is the second largest religion in Egypt. The vast majority of Egyptian Christians are Copts. As of 2019, Copts in Egypt make up approximately 10 percent of the nation's population, with an estimated population of 9.5 million or 10 million. In 2018, approximately 90% of Egyptian Christians were Coptic Orthodox.
Eritrea as a country and the Eritrean community are multi-religious. Eritrea has two dominant religions, Christianity and Islam.
Coptic history is the part of the history of Egypt that begins with the introduction of Christianity in Egypt in the 1st century AD during the Roman period, and covers the history of the Copts to the present day. Many of the historic items related to Coptic Christianity are on display in many museums around the world and a large number is in the Coptic Museum in Coptic Cairo.
Protestants make up less than 1% of the population of Libya.
Islam is the dominant religion in Libya.
Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils—the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus. They reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. Hence, these Churches are also called Old Oriental Churches or Non-Chalcedonian Churches.
Copts in Libya may refer to people born in or residing in Libya of full or partial Coptic origin. Coptic people are an ethnoreligious group that form the largest Christian group in Libya, the Coptic Orthodox Church in the country having an estimated 60,000 adherents. The Coptic Church is known to have historical roots in Libya long before the Arabs advanced westward from Egypt into Libya. A part of the community is made up of immigrants from Egypt.
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