Canada’s first Coptic bishop enthroned in Mississauga

David Paterson
7/4/13

For anyone who doubted they were watching an historic occasion, a quick scan of the enormous crowd at Mississauga’s Coptic Orthodox cathedral on Saturday would have persuaded them otherwise.

Over the sea people crammed into the cathedral on Eglinton Ave. were held aloft smart phones, iPads, cameras — anything that could capture the moment when Canada’s Coptic Christians saw their first ever bishop enthroned.
And as spectacles go, this one was worth recording. Bishop Mina, clad in ornate white and red robes, was installed in his new diocese in front of a crowd reported to be 5,000 strong. Government ministers, MPs, city councillors and senior figures from other faiths were among those watching this display of the Coptic church at its most ceremonial.
Amid a swirl of processions, incense and prayers, church leaders dressed head-to-toe in black unrolled great scrolls containing the diocese documents and called upon the new bishop to serve his people in the name of Jesus.
As the first ever Coptic bishop in Canada, Bishop Mina has taken on a major task: his diocese extends from Mississauga in the east all the way to Vancouver in the west. The church plans to establish a second diocese running from Toronto to the Atlantic, but a bishop has yet to be appointed.

The decision to appoint Bishop Mina was announced by Coptic Pope Tawadros II in early March and is seen as a response to the church’s growing presence in Canada. Unofficial estimates put the number of Coptic Christians at 250,000 nationwide, with 50,000 in the GTA.

The cathedral in Mississauga will become the new bishop’s seat and, as such, a focal point for Coptic Christians across the country.

Previously, church affairs in Canada had been managed directly from Egypt, the heartland of Coptic Christianity. Nashed Youssef, a spokesperson for the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius, the official title of the cathedral in Mississauga, said that the new bishop would be able to better oversee the church. “Now we will have much more focus with someone around all the time and able to talk to people about their issues,” he said.

During his enthronement ceremony, Bishop Mina, who is from Egypt but lived in Canada for a number of years in the 1970s, spoke of his love for the country that would now be his home once again. The also called on Coptic Christians to work together and with people of other faiths to help build a strong, successful Canada.

dpaterson@mississauga.net

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