Bishop Missael (born 1940) is a diocesan

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apo ...

consecrated by

Pope Shenouda III Pope Shenouda III (3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark. His papacy lasted 40 years, 4 months, and 4 days, from 14 November 1971 until his death. His official title was Pope of ...

on 26 May 1991 to oversee the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands, U.K. In this capacity, he is a member of

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the highest Orthodox authority in the Coptic Orthodox Church. It formulates the rules and regulations regarding matters of the Church's organisation and faith. The synod is chaired by ...

Early life

On 11 November 1962, a 22-year-old man who joined the Syrian (St. Mary's) Monastery in Wadi Natroun in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

was ordained as a monk, with the name "Missael" after St. Missael the Anchorite, where Pope Shenouda III (117th Pope from 1971 – 2012) and Metropolitan Pachomious (the Patriarchal locum tennis in 2012) were fellow monks. Soon after his fellow monk Fr Antonious was ordained as Bishop Shenouda by

Pope Cyril VI Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria also called Abba Kyrillos VI, ; (2 August 1902 – 9 March 1971; 26 Epip 1618 – 30 Meshir 1687) was the List of Coptic Orthodox Popes of Alexandria, 116th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St ...

, Fr. Missael was ordained as a priest on 1 November 1967, and later a

hegumen Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen (, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, or an archpriest in the Coptic Orthodox Church, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of ...

on 17 May 1969 by Bishop Shenouda. It is known that Fr Missael served for a period of four years as secretary of Pope Cyril VI. After the death of Pope Cyril VI, Bishop Shenouda was enthroned as his successor in 1971, becoming Pope Shenouda III. He appointed Fr. Missael as his first secretary.

Ordination as Bishop and being sent to the United Kingdom

Pope Shenouda III called his secretary to be ordained as a General Bishop, ordaining him on 25 May 1980; Bishop Missael was sent to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, becoming the first

from the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate to reside there. During his time as General Bishop, Bishop Missael consecrated St. Mary & St. Antony's Coptic Orthodox Church in 1985 and established St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Centre in 1989 – both in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

. On 26 May 1991 Bishop Missael was ordained as the first diocesan bishop for the Diocese of

by Pope Shenouda III. This was the first

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

established by the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in all the lands of immigration (including Europe, America, Australia). In 2006 the Diocese of Birmingham was renamed the Diocese of the Midlands in the United Kingdom. Bishop Missael is based at St. Mary & St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Centre in Birmingham, and oversees the diocese, which has 15 churches and missions.

References

External links

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands, U.K.Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
{{Coptic Orthodox Bishops 1940 births Egyptian emigrants to the United Kingdom British Oriental Orthodox Christians Coptic Orthodox bishops Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom Living people

Early life

Ordination as Bishop and being sent to the United Kingdom

See also

References

External links