we mourn & pray

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18555 88 Avenue, Surrey, British Columbia, V4N 5T1, Canada On July 19, 2021, the congregation of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Surrey, B.C., woke up to news that their church had been burned to the ground. Flames broke out shortly before 3:30 AM and by the time firefights arrived, the building was engulfed in flames that were visible for miles. This nearly 70-year-old building was much more than just a building; Bishop Mina said in a statement, “… it was a place [where] we built community, where we shared meals, where we married our youth, baptized our babies and welcomed newcomers to the faith…” Our Church brought together a diverse congregation of Coptic, Eritrean, Ethiopian, Iraqi and Lebanese Orthodox believers. While we are thankful to all those who have reached out and offered their churches as a temporary location where our services can continue to be held, we hold strong in the belief that our Lord Jesus Christ will “restore its ruins and will rebuild it as it used to be.” (Amos 9:11). We rely on your generosity to be able to once again build a church that will be a beacon of light to all those around it and serve the needs of its congregation and the surrounding community. Update on August 30, 2021 4:00 PM: Surrey RCMP issued a press release regarding their investigation into the fire that destroyed our church. On Thursday August 26, 2021 they arrested a 35-year old woman and charged her with two counts of arson in connection with the incidents on July 14, and July 19, 2021. Four ways to donate 1. Credit Card through PayPal 2. Credit Card through GoFundMe 3. E-transfer Canadians can donate by E-transfer to donation@stgeorge.ca 4. Wire Transfer To do a wire transfer from the USA or […]

The Feast of Presenting the Lord Christ in the Temple.

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Feb 10, 2025 The Start of Jonah’s Fast Feb 13, 2025 Jonah’s Feast The Feast of Presenting the Lord Christ in the Temple. Amshir 8, 1741 February 15, 2025 On this day we celebrate the feast of presenting the Lord Christ to the temple after 40 days of His blessed birth. St. Joseph the righteous and His mother, the Virgin Mary, presented Him in the temple, to fulfill the Mosaic Law. St. Luke the Evangelist says that when His parents brought Him according to the custom of the law, the just and devout Simeon the elder took Him in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all people, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the Glory of Your people Israel.” (Luke 2:29-32) Simeon was one of the 70 elders who translated the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek. This was in the time of Ptolemy Soter in the year 296 B.C., who was sent by the will of God to Jerusalem. He brought 70 men from among the learned Jewish teachers and scholars and commanded them to translate the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek. He put every two of them in an isolated place so they would not agree on one translation, and to ensure a correct text after comparing all of the translations. Simeon the elder was one of them. When Simeon was translating the verse from Isaiah 7:14, “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” he was afraid to translate that a virgin would conceive, because the King would mock him. He wanted to translate the virgin […]

Our Church

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HG Bishop Mina 1-647-772-2233 1-289-724-3300 anbamina762009@gmail.com Fr. Bisenty Abdel-Messih Gerges Fr. Armia Aziz Gerges peniot@hotmail.com fr.armia@stgeorge.ca