The Coptic Church is an ancient Christian church. It is one of the most ancient Churches in the world, having been founded by Saint Mark the Apostle, the writer of the second gospel, in the first Century. The word Coptic comes from the ancient Egyptian word hekaptah meaning Egypt, and thus Coptic merely means Egyptian. As a conservative Church, the Coptic Church has carefully preserved the Orthodox Christian Faith in its earliest and purest form, handing it down from generation to generation, unaltered and true to the Apostolic doctrines and patterns of worship.