St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Jersey City
St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Jersey City, New Jersey, is known as the first Coptic Orthodox church in the United States. It is one of more than 200 Coptic Orthodox churches in the United States.
History
The St. Mark congregation began in the late 1960s, and the church was incorporated in 1970. The large Coptic presence in New Jersey reflects both the hardships Copts faced in Egypt and those who emigrated seeking educational and economic opportunities; Jersey City alone is home to more than 30,000 Copts.
The first Liturgy at St. Mark’s was celebrated on 22 March 1970 by the late Father Rafael Younan, who had been a resident priest in Montreal since 1968. In September 1970 His Holiness Pope Shenouda III sent Father Gabriel Abdelsayed as the first Coptic priest in the United States, to serve St. Mark’s.
Growth
Coptic Orthodox Christians, who hold an ancient faith rooted in first-century Egypt, have established a presence throughout New Jersey over the past decades. As the first Coptic Orthodox church in the United States, St. Mark’s in Jersey City was founded by early Egyptian immigrants, and its congregation has since grown to give rise to 15 other parishes in New Jersey alone.
In 1977 Pope Shenouda III made his first pastoral visit to the United States and Canada, including St. Mark’s Church in Jersey City. Ten years later, in January 1987, the church building was refitted and consecrated.
Its Priests
Father Gabriel Abdelsayed, hegumen of St. Mark’s, departed in 1993. On 5 January 1995 Pope Shenouda chose Father Abraam Sleman to succeed him. Father Abraam had been ordained a priest by Pope Shenouda III on 18 June 1989 to serve St. Mary Church (Ard el-Golf), and on 3 September 1993 was sent to serve St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Englewood, Colorado.
Pope Shenouda III raised Father Abraam to the rank of hegumen on 1 September 2003, by which time he was serving alongside Father Markos Ayoub. On 1 September 2007 Pope Shenouda ordained Maged Abdelmaseih as Father Daniel Abdelmaseih, the church’s third priest. When this page was first written, Hegumen Abraam Sleman, Father Markos Ayoub and Father Daniel Abdelmaseih served the church’s roughly 750 Coptic families.
St. Mark TV
St. Mark’s offers the word of God on television and the internet free of charge for the benefit of all, through St. Mark TV.
Links
Sources
- St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Jersey City (saintmark.com)