Editing History of Egypt (section)

=== Diocese of Egypt ===
{{Main|Diocese of Egypt}}

[[File:Cairo, Old Cairo, Hanging Church, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Hanging Church]] of Cairo, first built in the 3rd or 4th century, is one of the most famous [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Orthodox]] churches in Egypt.]]
Christianity reached Egypt relatively early in the evangelist period of the first century (traditionally credited to [[Mark the Evangelist]]).<ref name="georgetown1">{{cite web |url=http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/egypt |title=Egypt |publisher=[[Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs]] |access-date=14 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111220145046/http://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/resources/countries/egypt |archive-date=20 December 2011 }} See drop-down essay on "Islamic Conquest and the Ottoman Empire"</ref> Alexandria, Egypt and Antioch, Syria quickly became the leading centers of Christianity.<ref>{{cite book | title= Christianity: the One, the Many: What Christianity Might Have Been |volume=1 | author=Nash, John F. | year=2008 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g5JZjZU-OdoC | page= 91|publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=9781462825714 }}</ref> [[Diocletian]]'s reign marked the transition from the classical Roman to the Late antique/Byzantine era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The [[New Testament]] had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in AD 451, a distinct [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Egyptian Coptic Church]] was firmly established.<ref>{{cite book|last=Kamil|first = Jill|title = Coptic Egypt: History and Guide|location = Cairo|publisher = American University in Cairo|date = 1997|page = 39|isbn = 9789774242427}}</ref>