Coptic Orthodox Church UK
Media
and Communications Office
Coptic
Orthodox Church (Europe)
Media and Communications Office
Press Release
HG Bishop Angaelos enthroned over new Coptic
Orthodox Diocese of London in historic service in the Coptic Cathedral of Saint
George, UK
Watch the service via www.BishopAngaelos.org
21 Nov 2017
On 18 November 2017, His Grace Bishop Angaelos, who has served as
General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom since 1999,
was enthroned as the first Bishop of the new Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London
during a historic service in the Coptic Cathedral of Saint George, Hertfordshire.
The Enthronement service came a week
after HH Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint
Mark, and the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Proclaimed Bishop
Angaelos as the first Diocesan Bishop of London in a service in St Bishoy Monastery
Wadi El-Natrun, Egypt.
The vespers service included traditional Coptic prayers, mostly in
English, followed by the enthronement of His Grace at the hands of a delegation
of visiting Coptic Metropolitans and Bishops. The Instrument of Enthronement,
the document outlining the bishop’s appointment and responsibilities, was
formally signed by the members of the delegation.
During his address, Bishop Angaelos thanked everyone in attendance,
as well as His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and the late Pope, His Holiness Pope Shenouda
III. He went on to say:
“This is not a day about me, but about this Diocese, it is a birth
of a new diocese, the putting together of a new family.
“Today we start a journey together,
because a Diocese is a combination of individuals and parishes who bring to
this new family their own strengths, while being able to also compensate for one
other’s weaknesses. As a diocese I would want us to follow closely in the
footsteps of our Lord and in the words of St Cyril of Jerusalem, who says: “Everywhere
the Saviour becomes all things to all. To the hungry bread; to the thirsty,
water, to the dead, Resurrection, to the sick a physician, to sinners:
Redemption.” I do hope that we can work towards trying to accommodate for all.”
“What sets the Church apart from other
organisations and institutions is that it is centred on Christ and that we can
go to Him in our times of greatest need. It is also the fellowship of the
Eucharist, the Body of Christ of which we are all members individually, but
Christ remains our Head.”
“Today is a start, and I pray that God continues
to support us to pray, work, and journey together. At this time I wish to
remember what our Lord instructed His disciples to do in John 13:14, saying
that they must begin their ministry by washing one another’s feet, and that it
was in that spirit that the ministry of the Gospel is carried out. So I pray
and I hope that this ministry is going to be about the washing of feet, mine of
yours, and yours of one another’s.”
Towards the end of his address, Bishop Angaelos, removed his cope
and proceeded to wash the feet of a number of children in the congregation,
signifying his intent to begin his new ministry as a servant with the desire to
follow in the footsteps of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Messages from Her Royal Highness The Countess of Wessex, The Right
Honourable Theresa May, Prime Minister, and The Most Revered Archbishop Justin
Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, were read during the service. Addresses were given
by His Eminence Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh, Primate of the Russian Orthodox
Church in Great Britain and Ireland, His Eminence Archbishop Mor Athanasius
Toma Dawod, Council of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the United Kingdom and
the Republic of Ireland, Archbishop Kevin McDonald Co-Founder & Co-Chair of
the Catholic-Oriental Orthodox Regional Forum in the United Kingdom, Billy
Kennedy, Leader, Pioneer Network, President of Churches Together in England, His
Grace Bishop Suriel, Dean of Saint Athanasius Theological College, Melbourne,
Australia, Coptic Orthodox Church, His Grace Bishop Roufail, General Secretary
of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan
Serapion of Los Angeles, Council of Bishops of North America, Coptic Orthodox
Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Pakhomious, Locum Tenens 2012, Coptic
Orthodox Church.
Joining members of the Coptic community at the service were, representatives
of the ecumenical and civic life of Britain, various inter-religious guests,
and representatives of advocacy organisations.
*Ends*
Photographs will be made available via www.Flickr.com/CopticMedia
Background:
The Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom, dates back to 10
August 1954 when it commenced its pastoral and liturgical ministry in London.
In February 1969, a historic Liturgy was celebrated in London by the then
Bishop Shenouda, the late Pope Shenouda III, who encouraged the faithful to
hold regular services, which subsequently led to the hiring of St Andrew’s
church in Holborn. Copts would gather from across the United Kingdom to pray
there until 1978 when, returning to London as Pope Shenouda III, His Holiness
consecrated St Mark church in Kensington as the first Coptic Orthodox parish in
Europe.
Since then, the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom and
Republic of Ireland has become an active member of its respective local,
regional and national communities, serving in a variety of ways across the four
nations, equipping its faithful to be positively contributing and active
members in their local settings. At the core of its pastoral care is a focus on
Christian education at every level and an active youth ministry. The Coptic
Orthodox Church also serves on a wider level through engaging in a variety of
benevolent and advocacy related work.
The Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom and the Republic
of Ireland now has approximately 20,000 faithful across 32 parishes, with the
number of these parishes constantly increasing. These have thus far been served
by three dioceses: the diocese of Birmingham, the Midlands and its affiliated
regions, served by HG Bishop Missael, the Diocese of Scotland, Ireland and
North East England, served by HG Bishop Antony, and the Papal Diocese which, prior to His Grace's appointment as Bishop of London, covered London, the South of England and South Wales, in which HG Bishop Angaelos has
served as His Holiness the Pope’s delegate since 1999.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and the Holy Synod of the Coptic
Orthodox Church have now established the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London.