Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has many churches in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, under the jurisdiction of one metropolitan and four bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

s. The first Coptic Orthodox Church to be established in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 was St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, Kensington, London. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III consencrated the Church at its present site in 1979, however it had roots ten years before in a hired place (believed to be Coptic Street, London - named after the Church's first presence in the United Kingdom). The first three monk priests who served this church became members of the Holy Synod of the mother church in Egypt. The first Coptic Orthodox Bishop to be sent to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III was a General Bishop, His Grace Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael is a diocesan bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria consecrated by Pope Shenouda III on 26 May 1991 to oversee the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and Affiliated Areas U.K....

 in 1985 who established St. Mary & St. Antony's Coptic Orthodox Church in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

 later that year and St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Centre in 1989. On the 26th May 1991, H.G. Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael is a diocesan bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria consecrated by Pope Shenouda III on 26 May 1991 to oversee the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and Affiliated Areas U.K....

 was consecrated by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III as the first Bishop of the first Coptic Orthodox Diocese in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the Diocese of Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, which is today known as the Diocese of the Midlands & its Affiliated Areas in the U.K.. In the last three decades the Coptic Orthodox Church and congregation has since grown quickly.

Historical background

It is known in the ecclesiastical history of the Church of Alexandria
Church of Alexandria
The Church of Alexandria in Egypt is the particular church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. It is one of the original four Apostolic Sees of Christianity, with Rome, Antioch and Jerusalem ....

 that the Church had sent missionaries in the 3rd or 4th century to the Celtic lands
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...

, especially monastics.

It is also known within the Celtic tradition, especially in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, that the foundation of the monastic system
Monasticism
Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...

 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
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...

. So the return of the Church of Alexandria to these lands is of certain importance.

British Orthodox Church

H.E. Metropolitan Seraphim
Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury
Abba Seraphim El-Suriani is the Metropolitan of Glastonbury and Head of the British Orthodox Church within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria...

, Metropolitan of the Holy Metropolis of Glastonbury
Glastonbury
Glastonbury is a small town in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,784 in the 2001 census...

, and Primate of the British Orthodox Church
British Orthodox Church
The British Orthodox Church is a small Oriental Orthodox jurisdiction, canonically part of the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria. Its mission is to the people of the British Isles, and though it is Orthodox in its faith and practice, it remains British in its ethos...

. The British Orthodox Church came under the jurisdiction of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in 1994 and its mission is to the British people.

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

H.G. Bishop Antony, Bishop of the Holy Diocese of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and North East
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...

 England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. The Diocese was established in 1995.

England

  • Bromley - St. John the Evangelist's Church.

11 Dunbar Avenue, Beckenham,
Kent, BR3 3rg
Website
Rev. Fr. Antonius Nagib
  • Margate (Kent) - St. Michael & St. Bishoy Church.

Northdown Road, Cliftonville
Margate - Kent
CT9 2RD
England - UK,
Rev. Fr. Angelos El Antony
  • Newcastle - St. George & St. Athanasius Church.

67 Brighton Grove,
Newcastle Upon Tyne,
Tyne & Wear, NE4 5NT
England – UK.
Rev.Fr. Karas Anba Bishoy,
Rev.Fr. Saraphim El Souryany
  • York & Leeds - St. Mary & St. Abanoub Church.

Harewood Rd - Arthington
Otley – West Yorkshire - LS21 1PL
Website,
Rev. Fr. Abanoub St. Paul
  • Rotherham - St. Antonius Church.

St. Ann's Road, Eastwood
Rotherham, - S65 1PA
England - UK
Website,
Rev. Fr Mosa Roshdy
  • Norwich - St. Athanasius Church.

Easton Bark, Maringford Road
Norwich – NR9 5AD
England - UK
Website,
Rev.Fr. Shishoy El Antony
  • Guilford - St Augustine Church.

Station Approach
Gomshall
Surrey, GU5 9NU
Website,
Rev. Fr. Ilaryon El Antony
  • Bournemouth - St. Peter & St. Paul Church.

26 Calvin Road, Winton
Bournemouth
Website,
Rev. Fr. Botros Elmoharaky
  • Plymouth - St. Mary and St. George Church.

The Holy Cross Church
Beaumont Road, Plymouth
PL4 9BE
England - UK,
Rev. Fr. Polykarpos El-Samueily
  • Scarborough - St. Athanasius Monastery.

Langdale End - Scarborough
YO13 0LH, Website
Rev. Fr. Arsanous El Abnouby,
Rev. Fr. Bishoy St. Athanasius

Scotland

  • Kirkcaldy. St. Mark Church

264 Link 's Street, Kirkcaldy
Fife, KY1 1QE
Scotland - UK,
Website,
Rev. Fr. Mark Aziz

Ireland

  • Dublin - St. Mary & St. Demiana Church

4/5 The Pines, Herbert Road,
Bray, Co. - Wicklow
Ireland
Phone: (353) 1 2866809.
Rev. Fr. Athanasius George,
Rev. Fr. Phelopater El Bakhomy,
Rev. Fr. Thomas Joseph Flanagan.
  • Galway - Seven Coptic Monks Church

The Coptic House
Maws Revagh- Kilcoona
Headford - co. Galway
Ireland,
Rev. Fr. Pauls El Antony
  • Belfast - St. Steven Church

Poor Clare Monastery,
Our Lady's and St.Michael's
120 Clintonville Rd. Belfast
BT 14 6LA,
Rev. Fr. Ilaryon El Antony
  • Cahir - St. Mina Church

Priest Rd. Killemly, cahir, Co.Tipperary
Church phone: (353) 5245947,
Rev. Fr. Epiphanious Ava Mina


Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and its Affiliated Areas, U.K.

H.G. Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael is a diocesan bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria consecrated by Pope Shenouda III on 26 May 1991 to oversee the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and Affiliated Areas U.K....

, Bishop of the Holy Diocese of the Midlands, and its Affiliated Areas, U.K. (formerly the Diocese of Birmingham).
The Diocese was established in 1991 by H.H. Pope Shenouda III, making it the oldest diocese in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 for the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. The Diocese is currently based at the Coptic Orthodox Centre in Lapworth, Birmingham where H.G. Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael
Bishop Missael is a diocesan bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria consecrated by Pope Shenouda III on 26 May 1991 to oversee the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and Affiliated Areas U.K....

 resides. Its terretories include North Wales and the English regions: West Midlands, East Midlands, North West and the Northern areas of the South East, South West and East of England.

Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

Served by Fr. Peter & Fr. John Yanny
  • St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Centre (includes St. Mary & St. Abu-Sefein's Church)
  • St. Mary & Archangel Michael's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral
  • St. Mary and St. Antony's Coptic Orthodox Church

North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

Served by Fr. John Saleeb
  • St. Mary & St. Abaskhyron's Coptic Orthodox Church

Other

There are currently 4 rented/temporary churches:
  • Stoke-on-Trent
    Stoke-on-Trent
    Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...

  • Leicester
    Leicester
    Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...

  • Northampton
    Northampton
    Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

  • Oxford
    Oxford
    The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...


Websites:


South Wales

  • St Mary’s and St Abu Saifain’s Coptic Orthodox Church
    St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church
    St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church is the first Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales, at St Mary Street in Risca, Newport, Wales.It was consecrated in 1992 by H. H. Pope Shenouda III in the town of Risca, South Wales, under the official name of St Mary’s and St Abu Saifain’s Coptic Orthodox...

    . This Church is, however, under patriarchal supervision of Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
    Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
    Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria is the 117th Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria...

     since he is currently the head of the Parish's Council.

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
Stevenage
Stevenage is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England. It is situated to the east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1, and is between Letchworth Garden City to the north, and Welwyn Garden City to the south....

 in Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

.

Coptic Orthodox Churches In London

  • St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, London - UK, Fr. Antonious Thabet ,Fr. Thomas Ghobrial
  • St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, Golden Green - UK , Fr. Looka Kamel ,Fr.Mina barsoum
  • St. Mary and St. Shenouda's Coptic Orthodox Church, Coulsdon (Father Isaac )

Eritrean Orthodox Church congregation in the UK

Markos (Mark), Bishop of the Eritrean Orthodox Church
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church
The Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church is an Oriental Orthodox church. Its autocephaly was recognised by Pope Shenouda III after Eritrea gained its independence in 1993.-Origins:...

 in the UK. Member of the Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...

n Holy Synod.

See also

  • Coptic Orthodox Church in Europe
    Coptic Orthodox Church in Europe
    The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria has many churches and congregations in Europe and on 2 June 1974 Pope Shenouda III has received in the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria a native Orthodox Church in France known as the French Orthodox Eparchy, along with their Primate, who in turn...

  • Copt
    Copt
    The Copts are the native Egyptian Christians , a major ethnoreligious group in Egypt....

    s
  • Coptic alphabet
    Coptic alphabet
    The Coptic alphabet is the script used for writing the Coptic language. The repertoire of glyphs is based on the Greek alphabet augmented by letters borrowed from the Demotic and is the first alphabetic script used for the Egyptian language...

  • Coptic calendar
    Coptic calendar
    The Coptic calendar, also called the Alexandrian calendar, is used by the Coptic Orthodox Church and still used in Egypt. This calendar is based on the ancient Egyptian calendar...

  • Coptic iconography
  • Coptic language
    Coptic language
    Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...

  • Coptic music
    Coptic music
    Coptic music is the music sung and played in the Coptic Orthodox Church . It consists mainly of chanted hymns in rhythm with instruments such as cymbals and the triangle...

  • Fasting and Abstinence of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
  • Coptic Orphans
    Coptic orphans
    Coptic Orphans is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 with the goal of the long-term development of the physical and intellectual well being of children in Egypt.-History:...

  • Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
    Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria
    Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria is the 117th Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria...

  • Oriental Orthodoxy
    Oriental Orthodoxy
    Oriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...

  • British Orthodox Church
    British Orthodox Church
    The British Orthodox Church is a small Oriental Orthodox jurisdiction, canonically part of the Coptic Patriarchate of Alexandria. Its mission is to the people of the British Isles, and though it is Orthodox in its faith and practice, it remains British in its ethos...

  • Christianity in Africa
    Christianity in Africa
    Christianity is now one of the two most widely practised religions in Africa and is the largest religion in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most adherents outside Egypt, Ethiopia and Eritrea are Roman Catholic or Protestant. The presence of Christianity in Africa began in the middle of the 1st century in...

  • Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales
    Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales
    The Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales has two churches in Wales. The first is in South Wales and the other in North Wales.-Missionary work of the Church of Alexandria :...

  • St Mary’s and St Abu Saifain’s Coptic Orthodox Church
    St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church
    St Mary and St Mercurius Coptic Orthodox Church is the first Coptic Orthodox Church in Wales, at St Mary Street in Risca, Newport, Wales.It was consecrated in 1992 by H. H. Pope Shenouda III in the town of Risca, South Wales, under the official name of St Mary’s and St Abu Saifain’s Coptic Orthodox...

     Risca, South Wales.
  • St Mary and St Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church, Hove
    St Mary and St Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church, Hove
    St Mary and St Abraam Church is a Coptic Orthodox Church in Hove, in the English city of Brighton and Hove. It is one of 27 such churches in the British Isles, twelve of which are British Orthodox churches...

    , South England.
  • Diocese of the Midlands
  • Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury
    Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury
    Abba Seraphim El-Suriani is the Metropolitan of Glastonbury and Head of the British Orthodox Church within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria...

  • Bishop Missael
    Bishop Missael
    Bishop Missael is a diocesan bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria consecrated by Pope Shenouda III on 26 May 1991 to oversee the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands and Affiliated Areas U.K....

  • Bishop Angaelos
    Bishop Angaelos
    Bishop Angaelos is a general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria consecrated by Pope Shenouda III on 14 November 1999...


External links

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