St. George Coptic Orthodox Church (Philadelphia)

St George Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic

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...

: // transliteration

Transliteration

Transliteration is a subset of the science of hermeneutics. It is a form of translation, and is the practice of converting a text from one script into another...

: ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos ente fi.ethowab Gewargios) is one of the oldest Coptic Orthodox churches established in North America. It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the US.

History

St. George Coptic Orthodox Church is the first Coptic Orthodox church that was established in Pennsylvania, and was incorporated by 1973 with 30 families at the time.

After a certain period of time, the congregation bought the current building in Norristown, Pennsylvania

Norristown, Pennsylvania

Norristown is a municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, northwest of the city limits of Philadelphia, on the Schuylkill River. The population was 34,324 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Montgomery County...

. The parish, built in 1863, uses Greek revival architecture and was originally a Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. In order for the building to allow for Coptic Orthodox Liturgies

Alexandrian Rite

The Alexandrian Rite is officially called the Liturgy of Saint Mark, traditionally regarded as the first bishop of Alexandria. The Alexandrian Rite contains elements from the liturgy of Saint Basil, Cyril the Great, and Saint Gregory Nazianzus...

, the interior required a partial conversion for that use. The exterior, however, retained its architectural style. The building was consecrated in October 1994, by HH 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...

.

The parish did in fact have more than one priest in its history. Fr. Angelos Habib Boghdadi served the parish in its early years, as well as several other Coptic Churches throughout the States, including St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Ambridge, Pennsylvania

Ambridge is a borough in Beaver County in Western Pennsylvania, incorporated in 1905 and named after the American Bridge Company. Ambridge is located 16 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, alongside the Ohio River. In 1910, 5,205 people lived in Ambridge; in 1920, 12,730 people lived there, and in...

, which serves the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Fr. Boghdadi is currently the priest of St. George Church in Tampa, Florida

Tampa, Florida

Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....

Formative years

During the church's formative years in the 1980s, Fr. Samuel Thabet Samuel was the parish priest. He served until 1990 when summoned by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III http://www.copticpope.org to serve St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Chicago, Illinoishttp://www.stmarkcchicago.org where he currently serves as the senior priest. In 1991 Pope Shenouda sent the current priest to the parish, Fr. Roufail Z. Youssef. There are currently over 300 Coptic families served by St. George's Church.

External links

Coptic Orthodox Church
Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria
Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria
The Seat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria is historically based in Alexandria, Egypt. It is commonly known as the Holy See of St. Mark, as the Coptic Pope is the successor of St. Mark....
Coptic architecture
Coptic architecture
Coptic architecture is the architecture of the Copts, who form the majority of Christians in Egypt.Coptic churches range from great cathedrals like Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral to the smallest churches in rural villages. Many ancient monasteries like Monastery of Saint Anthony, the oldest...
Coptic Cairo
Coptic Cairo
Coptic Cairo is a part of Old Cairo which encompasses the Babylon Fortress, the Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, the Greek Church of St. George and many other Coptic churches and historical sites. It is believed that the Holy Family visited this area and stayed at the site of Saints Sergius and...
Coptic Orthodox Church in North America
Coptic Orthodox Church in North America
The Copts began to immigrate to the United States as early as the late 1940s. Immigration to Canada was soon to follow, and in general, this was to be the case throughout North America in the coming decades...
- Coptic Orthodox Church in Canada
  Coptic Orthodox Church in Canada
  The immigration of the Copts to Canada might have started as early as the late 1950s. Starting in the 1970s, Canada has been receiving a greater number of these immigrants, and the number of Coptic immigrants into Canada has been growing ever since. According to the census, there were over 10,000...
- Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States
  Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States
  The immigration of the Copts to the United States of America started as early as the late 1940s. After 1952, the rate of Coptic immigration from Egypt to the United States increased. The first Coptic church in the United States is St...
- List of Coptic Orthodox Churches in the United States
  - St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)
    St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)
    St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church is notably the first Coptic Orthodox church in the United States, located at Jersey City, New Jersey. It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the United States.-History:St...
  - St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Los Angeles)
    St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Los Angeles)
    St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church is the oldest Coptic Orthodox church that was established in Los Angeles and is one of the oldest Coptic parishes in the United States. It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox churches in the US.-History of the Church:St...
  - St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Denver, Colorado)
  - St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
    St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church (Lancaster, Pennsylvania)
    St Mary Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Coptic Orthodox churches established in Pennsylvania. It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the US....
  - St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church (Los Angeles)
    St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church (Los Angeles)
    Holy Virgin Mary Coptic Orthodox Church is the second oldest Coptic Orthodox church that was established in Los Angeles and one of the largest Coptic parishes in California. It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the US.-History of the Church:St...
  - St. Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church (Ridgewood, Queens)
  - St. George Coptic Orthodox Church (Brooklyn)
    St. George Coptic Orthodox Church (Brooklyn)
    St George Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the oldest Coptic Orthodox churches in North America. It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the United States.-History:St...
  - St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)
    St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church (Jersey City, New Jersey)
    St George & St Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church is the second Coptic Orthodox church that was established in Jersey City, New Jersey...

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History

Formative years

External links

See also