From Apostolic Mandate to Print Magazine: Al-Kiraza and the Networked History of the Coptic Church

Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church stands as a global institution with parishes, theological colleges, and monasteries in five continents, and more than 250 churches in North America alone. Yet prevailing historiographies continue to describe the Church—and Copts more broadly—within the bounds of the Egyptian nation-state, overlooking its embeddedness in broader networks. This article examines al-Kiraza, the official magazine of the Coptic Church, as a window into the Church’s expanding presence. Founded in 1965 by then-Bishop Shenouda, al-Kiraza articulated an expansive vision for the Coptic Church. At once rooted in Egypt while oriented toward transnational belonging, the Church emerged in its pages as a globally networked institution within a Christian ecumene. As a preliminary study of al-Kiraza during the period 1965–1989, this article demonstrates how the journal mobilised the Church’s apostolic mandate—rooted in the notion of al-Kiraza al-Murqusiya (“the Preaching of St. Mark”)—to engage in a universal mission. Drawing on recent trends in global history, it argues that this ecclesiological framework offers a fresh perspective to study the Church’s role in diffuse, multi-directional exchanges that moves Coptic historiography beyond dominant dyadic frameworks such as Church–state, Church–missionary, or Egypt–diaspora.