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St. George Coptic Orthodox Church
Location1105 67th Street Brooklyn NY 11219
CountryUnited States
DenominationCoptic Orthodox Church
Websitehttp://www.stgeorgebklyn.org/
History
Founded1973
Architecture
StyleCoptic
Administration
DivisionThe Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
DioceseArchdiocese of North America, under the Pope of Alexandria
Clergy
Bishop(s)HH Pope Shenouda III
Priest(s)Fr. Mina K. Yanni
Fr. Armia Taofiles
Fr. Luke Awad

St George Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic: Ϯⲉⲕ'ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⳿ⲛⲣⲉⲙ⳿ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⳿ⲛⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ ⳿ⲛⲧⲉ ⲫⲏⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ Ⲅⲉ⳿ⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ // transliteration: ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos ente fi.ethowab Gewargios) is one of the oldest Coptic Orthodox churches that was established in North America.[1] It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the US.[2]

History

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St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Brooklyn, New York was founded as the second Coptic parish in New York City, and was incorporated by 1973[3] with only 60 families at the time.[4] The first one was actually St. Mary & St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church in Ridgewood, Queens, and, like St. George Church, there were many others to follow. Somewhat farther east, in Long Island, St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church was founded by the late 70's to serve the congregation in that region. It should be noted, however, that one of the more prominent parishes that was recently founded is St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, the first Coptic church that was established in densely populated borough of Manhattan.

Although it was officially established as of 1973, the first liturgy was actually celebrated on December 31, 1972, after the current building was bought from the American Baptist Church.[5] Fr. Mina K. Yanni served as priest for St. George Church from that date up until present.[4] HH Pope Shenouda III elevated Fr. Mina to the rank of Archpriest on August 16, 1978. Two other priests were eventually ordained and served St. George Church alongside Fr. Mina. Fr. Armia Taofiles, who has served since Nov. 2000, as well as Fr. Luke Awad, who became priest as of 2005[6] have been pastors at St. George Church up until the present.

Although St. George Church mainly served those who settled in Brooklyn, other areas were outreached over the years. Surrounding areas in New York's other boroughs as well as some parts of New Jersey were outreached until churches were built there.[5]

The building, being one of the few structures in North America that was bought by the Copts from the congregation's establishment, was expanded and redeveloped multiple times:[4][5]

  1. The first expansion occurred in 1984, when a new church was built bearing the name of Saint Mina the Miracle Worker. It was established with a seating capacity of about 40 people.
  2. The second expansion occurred in 1986 to increase the seating capacity of St. George Church from 180 to 250.
  3. The third expansion started out in 1996, when new Sunday School classes were built in the traditional Coptic style. This expansion was much larger than the first one and took longer to finish.
  4. The project was completed by 1998 to further increase the capacity for 500 people and also to make some other additions.

St. George Church published many of the first Coptic Orthodox publications in North America. These publications include the Coptic Calendar, which started out from 1977 until now, as well as the first Agbeya that was translated into English (using the original Coptic texts). Several of Pope Shenouda's books, lectures, and sermons were republished by the church and sent to various places.

On March 20, 1994 the Virgin Mary was said to have blessed St. George Church by seeping holy oil from one of her icons. A special place was constructed for this icon in the church building, which is visited by many Copts and Americans as well.

Pope Shenouda visited the congregation three times before its consecration on April 14, 1977, second on April 20, 1989 and on March 12, 1992. Pope Shenouda III consecrated the church on Sunday, September 6, 1998.

There are currently over 600 Coptic families served by St. George's Church alone[3] with several others belonging to other Coptic Orthodox congregations throughout New York.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Dates of Incorporations of Coptic Orthodox Churches in North America (Retrieved 08-07-2008)
  2. ^ CNEWA:The Coptic Orthodox Church (Retrieved 17-07-2008)
  3. ^ a b c Church Data (Retrieved 08-10-2008)
  4. ^ a b c Online Archive:The Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George in a Few Lines (Retrieved 08-10-2008)
  5. ^ a b c History of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Brooklyn (Retrieved 08-10-2008)
  6. ^ Priests of St. George Church (Retrieved 08-10-2008)
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See also

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