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St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church
Location	427 West Side Ave Jersey City, New Jersey 08816
Country	United States of America
Denomination	Coptic Orthodox Church
Website	http://www.saintmark.com/
History
Founded	1970
Architecture
Style	Coptic
Completed	1986
Administration
Division	The Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
Diocese	Archdiocese of North America, under the Pope of Alexandria
Clergy
Bishop(s)	HH Pope Shenouda III
Priest(s)	Fr. Abraam Sleman; Fr. Markos Ayoub; Fr. Daniel Abdelmaseih

St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic: Ϯⲉⲕ'ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⳿ⲛⲣⲉⲙ⳿ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⳿ⲛⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ ⳿ⲛⲧⲉ ⲫⲏⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ Ⲙⲁⲣⲕⲟⲥ // transliteration: ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos ente fi.ethowab Markos) 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.^[1]^[2]

History

St. Mark's Church was first founded from the late 60's, although the actual date of incorporation was 1970.^[3] The large influx of Copts in New Jersey can be attributed to their persecution in Egypt, in addition to those who emigrate seeking educational and financial opportunities. Currently, there are more than 30,000 Copts in Jersey City alone.^[4]

Expansion

Coptic Orthodox Christians, who adhere to an ancient Christian faith rooted in Egypt in the first century, have established a stronghold throughout New Jersey over the last several decades. Being the first Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States, St. Mark’s in Jersey City was founded by early Egyptian immigrants, and the congregations have since grown in allowing 15 other parishes in New Jersey alone.^[5]

The year 1977 marked the first pastoral visit by HH Pope Shenouda III to the US and Canada, including St. Mark's Church in Jersey City.^[6] Ten years later, in January of 1987, the church building was newly refitted and consecrated.

Priests

St. Mark Church had several priests over the decades, including one who died in the early 90's.^[7] The first liturgy was celebrated in St. Mark's Church on March 22, 1970 by the late Fr. Rafael Younan who was a resident priest in Montreal since 1968.^[8]

There are currently three priests that serve St. Mark's Church. Fr. Abraam Sleman was ordained as a priest on June 18th, 1989 by Pope Shenouda III to serve at St. Mary Church (Ard Elgolf). Then, on September 3rd, 1993, Pope Shenouda chose to have him serve St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Englewood, Colorado.

After Fr. Gabriel Abdelsayed, a priest in St. Mark's Church, died, Pope Shenouda decided to replace the deceased priest with Fr. Abraam Sleman on January 5, 1995.

Today

Fr. Abraam served St. Mark Church for several years up to this point. By the time Pope Shenouda recently elevated Fr. Abraam to the rank of Archpriest (Hegomen) on September 1, 2003,^[9] Fr. Sleman was already serving alongside Fr. Markos Ayoub. On September 2, 2006, Pope Shenouda ordained Maged Abdelmaseih as Fr. Daniel Abdelmaseih, to be the third priest at St. Mark's Church. Thus, Heg. Abraam Sleman, Fr. Markos Ayoub, and Fr. Daniel Abdelmaseih have been pastors at St. Mark's Church up until the present.

There are currently about 750 Coptic families served by St. Mark's Church alone^[3] with several others belonging to different church congregations throughout northern New Jersey in particular.^[3]

References

^ "Coptic Church Urges Thorough Investigation In Murder of Jersey City Family". Coptic Church Network, January 20, 2005. Accessed August 11, 2008.
^ CNEWA:The Coptic Orthodox Church (Retrieved 17-07-2008)
^ ^a ^b ^c Church (Retrieved 17-07-2008)
^ Elliott, Andrea. "A Bloody Crime in New Jersey Divides Egyptians", The New York Times, January 21, 2005. Accessed August 5, 2008.
^ NY Times:Where Church Pews Replaced the Bar Stools (Retrieved 08-05-2008)
^ Keraza Newspaper Dated 09-15-2006 (Retrieved 08-05-2008)
^ NY Times (Retrieved 08-02-2008)
^ Early History of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States (Retrieved 11-08-2008)
^ "Fr. Abraam Sleman to Hegumen". Coptic Church Network, September 1, 2003. Accessed August 11, 2008.