Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom

The Coptic Church of Saint Mark in Kensington, London, consecrated in 1979.

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has many churches in the United Kingdom and Ireland, under the jurisdiction of one metropolitan and four bishops.[1] The first liturgical service prayed in the United Kingdom took place in London on 10 August 1954, officiated by delegates attending the general assembly of the World Council of Churches. The foundation of the church and its establishment of a parish started with a liturgical service held in London in February 1969, prayed by the Bishop of Christian Education, Shenouda (later Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of the Church).[2] Subsequently the Coptic Orthodox parish of St. Mark, the first Coptic Orthodox Church to be established in the United Kingdom, began holding regular services and was served by three monk priests who later on became members of the Holy Synod of the mother church in Egypt.[3]

Pope Shenouda III consecrated St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Kensington, London in 1979. The first Coptic Orthodox bishop he sent to the United Kingdom, in 1985, was a General bishop, Bishop Missael, who consecrated St. Mary & St. Antony's Coptic Orthodox Church later that year and also established St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Centre in 1989 - both in Birmingham.[4] On 26 May 1991, Bishop Missael was consecrated by Pope Shenouda III as the first bishop of the first Coptic Orthodox diocese in the United Kingdom, the Diocese of Birmingham,[5] which became the Diocese of the Midlands.[6] In the next three decades the Coptic Orthodox Church and congregation grew quickly.

Historical background

It is known in the ecclesiastical history of the Church of Alexandria that the Church had sent missionaries in the 3rd or 4th century to the Celtic lands, especially monastics.

It is also known within the Celtic tradition, especially in Ireland, that the foundation of the monastic system among the Celts was either based in portion on or inspired by the Egyptian monastic system, and there are many traces of Alexandrine theology embedded in Celtic theology.

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Ireland, Scotland, North East England and its Affiliated Regions

Bishop Antony, Bishop of the Holy Diocese of Ireland, Scotland and North East England. The Diocese was established in 1995.

Churches

England
Scotland
Ireland

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands

Further information: Diocese of the Midlands
Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands, U.K.

Bishop Missael is the bishop of the Holy Diocese of the Midlands. The Diocese was established in 1991 by Pope Shenouda III, making it the oldest diocese in the United Kingdom for the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. The Diocese is currently based at the Coptic Orthodox Centre in Lapworth, Warwickshire, where Bishop Missael resides. Its territories include North Wales and the English regions: West Midlands, East Midlands, North West and parts of the South East, South West and East of England.

Churches

Birmingham
Liverpool
Manchester
Nottingham
North Wales

Other

There are also communities served in:

Websites

South Wales

Patriarchal Exarchate at Stevenage, Hertfordshire, South England

Angaelos, General Bishop & Patriarchal Exarch for the Youth Ministry at the Patriarchal Center and the Coptic Orthodox Theological College at Stevenage in Hertfordshire, England.

Coptic Orthodox Churches In London

The interior of St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, London

All Churches in the Greater London area are under patriarchal supervision of Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, since he is currently the head of each Parish's Council.

Brighton and Hove

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "The Coptic Church in the UK". Copticcentre.com. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ "H.G. Bishop Missael". Ukmidcopts.org. Retrieved 2015-07-02.
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ "About the Diocese". Ukmidcopts.org. Retrieved 2015-07-02.

External links

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