| St. George Coptic Orthodox Church | |
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The entrance of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Norristown, Pennsylvania, serving Philadelphia |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | 411 Dekalb St Norristown, PA 19401 |
| Affiliation | Coptic Orthodox Church |
| Rite | Alexandrian |
| District | Archdiocese of North America, under the Pope of Alexandria |
| Year consecrated | 1994 |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Church |
| Status | Operational |
| Leadership | HH Pope Shenouda III Rev. Father Roufail Youssef |
| Website | http://www.stgeorgephilly.org/ |
St George Coptic Orthodox Church (Coptic: Ϯⲉⲕ'ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⳿ⲛⲣⲉⲙ⳿ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⳿ⲛⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ ⳿ⲛⲧⲉ ⲫⲏⲉⲑⲟⲩⲁⲃ Ⲅⲉ⳿ⲱⲣⲅⲓⲟⲥ // transliteration: ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos ente fi.ethowab Gewargios) is one of the oldest Coptic Orthodox churches established in North America.[1] It is one of over 200 Coptic Orthodox Churches in the US.[2][3]
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St. George Coptic Orthodox Church is the first Coptic Orthodox church that was established in Pennsylvania,[1] and was incorporated by 1973 with 30 families at the time.[4]
After a certain period of time, the congregation bought the current building in Norristown, Pennsylvania. The parish, built in 1863, uses Greek revival architecture and was originally a Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church.[5] In order for the building to allow for Coptic Orthodox Liturgies, the interior required a partial conversion for that use. The exterior, however, retained its architectural style. The building was consecrated in October 1994, by HH Pope Shenouda III.[4]
The parish did in fact have more than one priest in its history. Fr. Angelos Habib Boghdadi served the parish in its early years, as well as several other Coptic Churches throughout the States, including St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, which serves the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. Fr. Boghdadi is currently the priest of St. George Church in Tampa, Florida.[6]
During the church's formative years in the 1980s, Fr. Samuel Thabet Samuel was the parish priest. He served until 1990 when summoned by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III [1] to serve St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Chicago, Illinois[2] where he currently serves as the senior priest. In 1991 Pope Shenouda sent the current priest to the parish, Fr. Roufail Z. Youssef. There are currently over 300 Coptic families served by St. George's Church.[4]