Coptic Orthodox

Coptic Orthodox Church

Coptic Orthodox Church worldwide is basically the ‘Christian Orthodox Church of Egypt’.

The word, Coptic, from its ancient hieroglyphic language origin, means Egyptian.

The Coptic Orthodox headquarters is in Cairo, headed by His Holiness the Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

In Australia, there are two Coptic Orthodox dioceses;

The Diocese of Sydney and its Affiliated Regions.

This Diocese serves congregations in Sydney, Queensland, Northern Territory, Japan, Singapore, China, Thailand and Malaysia.

This Diocese has

• 42 Parishes,

• Childcare centres,

• A nursing home,

• Coptic schools, monasteries and convents,

• A theological college, and

• 13 associations.

The Diocese of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions

This Diocese serves congregations Canberra, New Zealand, and Fiji.

This Diocese has

• 27 parishes,

• A theological college,

• A nursing home,

• 2 Coptic schools,

• A monastery and a convent and

• 8 associations.

The Coptic Orthodox church

• in NSW is registered as a non for profit organisation with an act of Parliament of NSW under the name “Coptic Orthodox Church (NSW) Property Trust Act 1990”, No. 67.

• in Sydney, is a member of the National Council of Churches in Australia and one of our priests is the secretary of the council as of the beginning of 2017.

• worldwide, is a member of the World Council of Churches and our Pope is one of the 7 presidents of the World Council of Churches.

Ministries of the Coptic Orthodox Church

The Coptic Orthodox church offers the following services:

• Spiritual Services

  • the Holy Mass and the Sacraments of the church,

  • Bible Study lectures,

  • evangelical preaching services, and

  • Sunday school services for the younger generation.

• Educational Services

  • theological studies in the theological colleges,

• Social Services

  • nursing home services for elderly,

  • child care centres,

  • youth and senior meetings and

  • family counselling.

• Chaplaincy Services

  • for inmates in Correctional Centres all over NSW,

• Community Events

  • conferences and camps,.

Coptic Orthodox Chaplaincy Services

The Coptic Orthodox Church NSW started serving the Christian Orthodox inmates in 1999 and is continuous till current.

The main chaplain for the Coptic orthodox church NSW is Very Rev. Fr. Tadros El-Bakhoumi OAM JP. who visits each Correctional Centre in NSW once every 4-5 weeks (for males and females). In the visits, he offers spiritual services including Bible studies, the sacrament of Repentance and Confession, and holy communion for all the inmates.

Very Rev. Fr. Tadros El-Bakhoumi studied ‘Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering’ in Egypt and while working in that field, he joined the main theological college in Cairo. He attended the evening section and finished ‘Bachelor of Theological Studies’, then he studied Diplomas in: Theology, Dogma, Bible, Pastoral Care, Spiritual Care, care for special needs like inmates and disabled and spiritual counselling.

Contact details:

Street address:

168 Bath Road, Kirrawee NSW 2232

Postal Address:

PO BOX 354 Miranda

NSW 1490

Phone:

Landline: (02) 9524 6626

Mobile: 0427101575

Fax:

(02) 95249128

Email:

Father_tadros@bigpond.com

tadros.el-bakhoumi@justice.nsw.gov.au

Accountability

All Coptic Orthodox services are first accountable to the Bishop of the Diocese in which they operate and thence to His Holiness the Pope in Cairo for review and direction.