Coptic Orthodox Church in Africa - Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa

Although The Coptic Orthodox Church had a bishop for missionary affairs in Africa in the 1950s this was not continued after the death of that bishop.

There are 2 bishops dealing with Sub-Saharan Africa:

  • Currently the oldest serving Bishop in this area is Antonius Markos (Anthony Mark), General Bishop for African Affairs and Patriarchal Exarch in West and South Africa, who was consecrated in the 1976 by Pope Shenouda III.
  • In the 1990s and as the service area had expanded, Pope Shenouda III consecrated Paul (Boulos) as General Bishop for Evangelism and Mission and Patriarchal Exarch in East and Central Africa.

Bishop Paul was originally a deacon then a celibate priest, he was then tonsured as a hieromonk before he was consecrated as a bishop. Both bishops were physicians before becoming full time clergymen.

Here is a summary of the countries/churches under the jurisdiction of Bishop Antonius Markos according to his book "Come Across and Help Us, Book three", 2003 and under the jurisdiction of Bishop Paul according to the Mission Bishopric website:

Coptic Orthodoxy in Sub-Saharan Africa
Country Region in Africa Diocesan Bishop Number of Churches/Institutions Number of Clergy Members Coptic Population
Kenya Eastern Africa Bishop Paul +50 churches + 2 monasteries + 1 hospital 8 priests + 160 deacons ~2000 families (or 8000+ people)
South Africa Southern Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 12 churches + 1 school + 1 vocational training center 11 priests + ~120 deacons ~4500 families (or 15000+ people)
Democratic Rep. of Congo (Zaire) Central Africa Bishop Paul 8 churches + 3 schools 4 priests + 80 deacons 200 families (or ~1000 people)
Zambia Southern Africa Bishop Paul 4 churches + 1 hospital 3 priests + ~20 deacons 220 families (or ~1000 people)
Nigeria West-central Africa Bishop Paul 4 churches temporary priest + 5 deacons 160 families (or 600+ people)
Tanzania Southeastern Africa Bishop Paul 4 churches + 1 medical center 1 priest + 12 deacons 45 families (or 150+ people)
Zimbabwe Southern Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 2 churches + 1 monastery + 1 vocational training center 1 priest N/A
Namibia Southern Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church + 1 vocational training center 1 priest N/A
Ghana West Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church + 1 vocational training center 1 priest N/A
Ivory Coast West Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church N/A
Togo West Africa H.G. Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church N/A
Botswana Southern Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church temporary priest N/A
Lesotho Southern Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church temporary priest N/A
Swaziland Southern Africa Bishop Antonios Markos 1 church temporary priest N/A
Total Africa 1 Bishop Markos and Bishop Paul 2 65 churches + 3 monasteries + 2 hospitals + 4 schools + 4 vocational training centers + 1 medical center 28 priests + ~500 deacons 400,000+ people

Notes:

1: The region of "Africa", in this case, does not include Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco, as these nations have several of their own Coptic Bishops who shepherd their respective dioceses. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, their Churches have a recognized autocephalous status. Therefore, this table's data is solely on Sub-Saharan African countries.

2: Bishop Antonios Markos serves Southern and Western Africa, while Bishop Paul serves Eastern and Central Africa.

In 1984 a Coptic cross was given as a gift by the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and mounted on the top of the All Africa Conference of Churches building as the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is considered to be the Mother church in Africa.

Read more about this topic:  Coptic Orthodox Church In Africa

Famous quotes containing the word africa:

    “For Africa to me ... is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.”
    —Maya Angelou (b. 1928)