St. George – Norristown, PA St. George Coptic Orthodox Church of Greater Philadelphia is one of the early churches established on the Northeast coast of the USA. The first Liturgy was conducted by Fr. Roufail Nafhla (Canada) in October 1970 in a Presbyterian church downtown in the city of Philadelphia, as part of the preliminary recording procedures. In November and December 1972, the church was approved as a Coptic Orthodox Church, with final approval granted on May 1st, 1973. HH Pope Shenouda III assigned Fr. Mancarious Awadalla to serve the church from May 1st, 1973, to July 1974, followed by Fr. Angelos Bagdady from July 1974 to July 1977. Services were held at the Baptist Tabernacle church on 3700 Chestnut St. Philadelphia, PA, and later at the Syrian church of St. George in downtown Philly at 10th St. and Federal St. On April 18 and 19, 1977, St. George Church of Philadelphia was honored by the visit of HH Pope Shenouda III, during which the church was without a priest and regular services were ministered by various priests, including Fr. Bishoy Dimetri and Fr. Gabriel Abdelsaied. On June 26th, 1980, the building at 100 W. 3rd Ave Conshohocken, PA 19422, was bought to become St. George Church. The first Holy Liturgy in the new church was conducted by Fr. Gabriel Abdelayed in Thanksgiving of 1980. Fr. Mousa Elsyriani served the church from September 1980 until August 1983, after which Fr. Samuel Sameul was sent by HH Pope Shenouda III to serve the church. In September 1989, the church was blessed by the pastoral visit of HH Pope Shenouda III. A Papal decree issued on July 3rd, 1990, transferred Fr. Samuel Somnel to serve the church of St. Mark in Chicago, leaving St. George Church without a permanent priest until January 26th, 1991, with services shared between Fr. Shenouda Ghattas and Fr. Takla Azmy. On January 26th, 1991, HH Pope Shenound III sent Fr. Roufail Youssef to serve the church. On February 25th, 1994, St. George Church purchased an Evangelical Lutheran church located at 411 Dekalb St. Norristown, PA 19401. On Saturday morning, October 15th, 1994, HH Pope Shenouda III blessed and opened the new church, consecrating its altar and icons. On September 6th, 1999, Fr. Roufail was elevated to the rank of Hegomen by HH Pope Shenouda III in the Archdiocese of North America. On November 14, 2009, Fr. Mina Shaheid was ordained a priest in St. Mark Cathedral of Abaseia, Cairo, Egypt, with his reception on February 7th, 2010. Address:
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