The Apostles
This Alexandrian cobbler was the first convert of St. Mark in Egypt, after being miraculously healed of a wound from his own awl
Who is Anianus
This Egyptian virgin saint refused to marry a pagan prince, remained steadfast in her faith with 40 virgin companions, and was martyred after encouraging her father to return to Christ.
Who is St. Demiana
This 20th-century Coptic Pope was known for his deep spirituality, miracles attributed to his prayers, and was canonized only a few years after his repose — his feast is celebrated widely.
Who is St. Pope Kyrillos (Cyril) VI
This archangel, whose name means "Who is like God," is commemorated on the 12th of every Coptic month
Who is Archangel Michael
This Egyptian saint is called the "Father of Cenobitic (Communal) Monasticism" because he established the first organized monastic community with a common rule.
Who is St. Pachomius the Great?
A later 4th-century bishop in Cappadocia. While Pachomius is credited with the original communal concept, St. Basil authored The Rule of St. Basil—the first widespread template and code of conduct for monastic life.
This apostle and evangelist was also a physician by profession, wrote both a Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles, and is commemorated by the Coptic Church on the 22nd of the Coptic month of Baba (also spelled Paopi)
Who is St. Luke the Evangelist?
This empress, mother of Constantine the Great, is credited in Christian tradition with finding the True Cross during her pilgrimage to Jerusalem and supporting the building of major churches in the Holy Land.
Who is St. Helena the Empress?
This 4th-century Patriarch of Alexandria, known as "Pillar of the Faith," was exiled five times for defending the doctrine that the Son is of one essence with the Father against Arianism
Who is St. Athanasius
This archangel, whose name means "God is my strength," and is commemorated on the 22nd of every Coptic month
Who is Archangel Gabriel?
This monastery, founded in the 4th century and located in the Eastern Desert near the Red Sea, is built around the cave where St. Anthony the Great lived as a hermit and is considered the oldest monastery in the world.
What is the Monastery of St. Anthony (Deir Mar Antonios)
This apostle, originally a disciple of St. John the Baptist, was the brother of St. Peter and is known in the Coptic tradition for being the first called by Christ and for bringing his brother to meet the Lord.
Who is St. Andrew the Apostle?
According to the Synaxarium, this saint was the daughter of a pagan king named Lucianus, received a prophetic vision involving a dove, an eagle, and a raven, and was later baptized by St. Timothy the Apostle before her father and thousands converted through her witness.
St. Irene (Eirene)
This 25th Pope of Alexandria refused to accept the Christological formula of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.), was exiled to the island of Gangra, and his stand is the historical reason the Coptic Church is described as non-Chalcedonian
Who is St. Dioscorus I
This archangel, whose name means "God heals," is associated with healing
Who is Archangel Raphael?
This desert father, whose name in Coptic means "just," is called "the Perfect Man" and is known for a miracle in which he humbly washed the feet of a traveling stranger, only to recognize — from the wounds in the stranger's feet — that he had washed the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Who is St. Pishoy (Bishoy)
This liturgy, composed by St. Mark himself and later revised, is one of the three liturgies still used in the Coptic Orthodox Church today
What is the Liturgy of St. Cyril (originally the Liturgy of St. Mark)
Explanation: St. Mark composed the earliest Divine Liturgy used by the Church in Egypt, and later St. Cyril I of Alexandria revised and organized it into the form now known as the Liturgy of St. Cyril. Source: Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States (suscopts.org)
According to the Coptic Synaxarium, this empress—wife of Emperor Diocletian—came to believe in Christ through the witness of St. George the Great Martyr, confessed her faith openly before her husband, and was imprisoned and martyred for refusing to deny Christ.
Who is St. Alexandra the Empress?
This 24th Pope of Alexandria presided at the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D., where Nestorius was condemned and the title "Theotokos" — Mother of God — was formally defended
Who is St. Cyril I (the Great), 24th Pope of Alexandria
In the Coptic tradition, this is the total number of orders/ranks of the heavenly hosts
What is nine (9 ranks/orders of angels)
Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; Dominions, Virtues, and Powers; Principalities, Archangels, and Angels.
St. Pishoy the Great practiced this extreme act of physical asceticism each night in his cave
What is tying his hair to the ceiling of his cave (to prevent himself from falling asleep during prayer)?
In the Coptic tradition, St. Mark was related to two other key New Testament figures: name BOTH relationships.
Who are St. Barnabas (his cousin) and St. Peter (whose cousin was Mark's father)
According to the Coptic Synaxarium, this saint was the daughter of a wealthy pagan nobleman named Dioscorus who lived in a tower. While living there, she ordered a third window to be added in a bathhouse and confessed the Holy Trinity through this symbol, before later being martyred alongside St. Juliana for refusing to deny Christ.
Who is St. Barbara
According to the Coptic Synaxarium, this Desert Father secretly carried the water jars of the elderly monks to a distant well each night as an act of hidden service. Years later, when barbarians attacked his monastery, he chose to remain rather than flee, accepting martyrdom.
Who is St. Moses the Black?
This archangel is commemorated in the Coptic Synaxarium for appearing to comfort St. Mark the Evangelist in prison the night before his martyrdom, telling him his name was written in the Book of Life
Who is Archangel Michael
According to Coptic monastic tradition, this Desert Father was a spiritual father to hundreds of monks, including a former robber who became one of the most famous repentant saints in the Church, St. Moses the Black. He was also a disciple of Anthony the Great
Who is St. Macarius the Great?