General Congregation Council is part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and represents the laity of the Church, it is also known as the Coptic Orthodox Lay Council

Established in February 1874 during the vacancy time of the Patriarchal Throne before the election of Pope Cyril V of Alexandria

Pope Cyril V of Alexandria

Pope Cyril of Alexandria V) was the 112th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...

. The order for its establishment was issued by Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...

 who was, then, the Khedive of Egypt. The first rules of the Council were issued in January 1874 by Khedive Tewfik Pasha

Tewfik Pasha

HH Muhammed Tewfik Pasha ' was Khedive of Egypt and Sudan between 1879 and 1892, and the sixth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.-Early life:...

 who ruled Egypt after his father Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...

. By 1883, the Council was fully established and in charge of managing non ecclesiastical matters of the church.

The Chairman of the council is the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

General Secretary

Currently the General Secretary for the Council is Dr. Tharwat Bassily

Tharwat Bassily

Tharwat Bassily is a Coptic business man and the founder and Board Chairman of the pharmaceuticals company Amoun, one of leading private pharmaceutical companies in Egypt. He also undersecretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, a member of the Shura Council, and the founder of...

, الدكتور ثروت باسيلي
previously this post has seen many prominent Copt

Copt

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

s like Boutros Ghali

Boutros Ghali

Boutros Ghali was the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1908 to 1910. He was a Coptic Christian.Ghali was accused of favouring the British in the Denshawai incident and on February 20, 1910, was assassinated by Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a young pharmacology graduate who had just returned from the...

 بطرس غالى
the grandfather of Boutros Boutros Ghali

Boutros Boutros-Ghali

Boutros Boutros-Ghali is an Egyptian politician and diplomat who was the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1992 to December 1996...

  بطرس بطرس غالى and Habib Elmasry the father of Iris Habib Elmasry

Iris Habib Elmasry

Iris Habib Elmasry was a prominent Coptic Historian .-Biography:Iris Habib Elmasry was born into a righteous Coptic family 1910, Her family name Elmasry in Arabic language means The Egyptian....

.

Members

Currently the Council is formed of twenty four members (males and females) elected by the Copts in Egypt and is chaired by the Pope.

Relations with the Popes

The Council had a disagreement with Pope Cyril V of Alexandria

Pope Cyril V of Alexandria

Pope Cyril of Alexandria V) was the 112th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...

 at the start of his pontificate, which was resolved in the Pontiff's favour. This was followed by several confrontations between the two parties, primarily because of the Pope's objection about the interference of the Council in the church's matters.

There were at many times tension between the Council and the Pope, especially during the Pontificate of Pope Macarius III

Pope Macarius III of Alexandria

Pope Macarius III of Alexandria was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa .Born on 18 February 1872 in El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Egypt died on 31 August 1945 in Cairo....

 (1942–1944) , the council agreed with The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the highest authority in the Church of Alexandria and it formulates the rules and regulations regarding matters of church's organisation, faith, service's order....

 in the decision to remove Pope Joseph II

Pope Joseph II of Alexandria

Pope Joseph II of Alexandria, known in Coptic as Yusab II was the Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St...

 (1946–1956) from office in 1954.

During the Pontificate of Pope Cyril VI

Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria

Father Mina became Pope of Alexandria on 10 May 1959 . In accordance with the old Coptic church tradition, Pope Cyril VI was the only monk in the 20th century to be chosen for papacy without having being a bishop /Metropolitan first...

 (1959–1971) there was no major disagreements and currently Pope Shenouda III

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...

(1971–Present) maintains good relationship with the Council, since he is the Chairman of the Council.