Tracing its root back to the introduction of Christianity into Alexandria in around 42 AD, according to the Church's tradition, by Saint Mark the Evangelist, Copts is one of the oldest and long lasting Christian communities in Egypt. Because Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great as his capital in Egypt, the city was destined to be a metropolis connecting Egypt with the rest of the Hellenic world. Connecting the Nile River, Red Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, Alexandria was, as still is, one of the largest port cities in Egypt where local produces such as grains were exported to other parts of the word. Founded in such a well-connected location, Christianity soon got spread into the heartlands of Egypt in the following centuries. Later in the Council of Nicaea organized by Emperor Constantine I in 325 C.E., the Church of Alexandria was elevated to the rank of Patriarchate alongside Rome and Jerusalem.
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