His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos of London
Biography
On
18 November 2017, His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos was enthroned as the first
Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London, having served as General Bishop of the
Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom since 1999. In addition to this
new role, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of
the See of Saint Mark, has also seen it fit that he continue representing the
Church in the United Kingdom at the ecumenical and official level as Papal
Legate, and thus conferred him with the ecclesial title of Archbishop of
London.
Archbishop
Angaelos is widely recognised for his extensive advocacy work, and as a result
he was conferred the honour of Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the
British Empire by Her Majesty The Queen for ‘Services to International Religious
Freedom.’ Archbishop Angaelos has also been conferred the Lambeth Cross for
Ecumenism by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Coventry Cross of Nails for
Reconciliation. With a pastoral ministry spanning more than two decades, Archbishop
Angaelos specialises in youth ministry and travels around the world to speak at
youth conferences and conventions.
Having
commenced his pastoral ministry in the United Kingdom in 1995 as a parish
priest, Archbishop Angaelos was consecrated a General Bishop in 1999 by His
Holiness, the late Pope Shenouda III, with whom he served as private secretary.
He was Proclaimed Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London by His
Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church
during a historic service at St Bishoy Monastery in Wadi-El-Natrun, Egypt.
Archbishop
Angaelos specialises in initiatives relating to advocacy, international
religious freedom and development work, and is a member of, and chairs,
numerous local, national and international bodies dealing with these matters.
He is founder and convener of the Asylum Advocacy Group which works closely in
partnership with the All Party Parliamentary Group on International Religious
Freedom or Belief.
Archbishop
Angaelos frequently issues statements and comments relating to current
religious and minority issues, with his particular focus on dialogue,
conflict-resolution, and reconciliation. His comments and views are frequently sought
on matters of human rights, civil liberties and international religious
freedom, particularly in relation to the situation in Egypt, the Middle East,
and North Africa.
He
has visited refugee camps in Greece, Lebanon, Kurdistan and Jordan, and
continues to work tirelessly to promote collaboration across the whole spectrum
of his official, ecumenical and inter-religious engagements, to facilitate the
support of and assistance to those in greatest need and suffering persecution
and displacement.
Background
Archbishop Angaelos was born in Egypt and
emigrated to Australia in his early childhood with his family. After obtaining
his degree in Political Science, Philosophy and Sociology, he continued on to
postgraduate studies in law while working in the same field. In 1990 he
returned to Egypt to the Monastery of St Bishoy in Wadi-El-Natroun where he was
consecrated a monk by the late Pope Shenouda III and served as his private
secretary until 1995 when he was delegated to serve in the United Kingdom. He
was proclaimed Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London on 11 November
2017 in Egypt, and enthroned over the new Diocese on 18 November 2017 at the
Cathedral of Saint George in England.
His Eminence is
currently:
• President of Bible
Society
• President of
Churches Together in England
• Moderator of
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
• Chair of the
Council of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the United Kingdom and the
Republic of Ireland
• Co-chair of the
Anglican-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum
• Member of the
Anglican-Oriental Orthodox International Commission
• Co-founder and
Co-chair of the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum
• Co-founder and
Co-chair of the Lausanne-Orthodox Initiative
• Moderator of the
Churches’ Inter-Religious Network for Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
• Ecumenical
participant of the Church of England General Synod
• Member of the
Central Committee of the World Council of Churches
• Member of the
Coptic Delegation to the World Council of Churches
• Chair of
Christians Aware
• Member of
Christian Solidarity Worldwide Board of Reference
• Founder
and Convener of the Asylum Advocacy Group
• Scholar-Consultant
on the Christian-Muslim Forum
• Chair and Founder
of Foundations for Hope (FFH)
His Eminence is Patron
of:
• Christians Aware
• Embrace The Middle
East
• Awareness
Foundation
• The Ecumenical
Society of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• The Apostolic
Order of St Hadrian of Canterbury
• The SAT 7 Trust UK
Private Secretary to
Archbishop Angaelos
PrivateSecretary@
CopticOrthodox.London
CopticOrthodox.London
+44 (0)20 7993 9001
www.CopticOrthodox.London
Director of Communications
Media@CopticCentre.com
+44 (0)20 7193 7076
Twitter: @CopticMediaUK
www.CopticMediaUK.com
www.CopticCentre.com
Resources
www.CopticOrthodox.London
www.SoundCloud.com/BishopAngaelos
www.BishopAngaelos.org
www.Youtube.com/BishopAngaelos
www.Twitter.com/BishopAngaelos
www.ServingLondon.com
Reflections by HG Bishop Angaelos on Facebook
