Bishop Missael (born 1940) is a diocesan
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
of the
Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria
The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي ...
consecrated by
Pope Shenouda III
Pope Shenouda III (; cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ϣⲉⲛⲟⲩϯ ⲅ̅ '; ar, بابا الإسكندرية شنودة الثالث '; 3 August 1923 – 17 March 2012) was the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See ...
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.
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 ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Med ...
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, Fr. Missael was ordained as a priest on 1 November 1967, and later a
hegumen
Hegumen, hegumenos, or igumen ( el, ἡγούμενος, trans. ), is the title for the head of a monastery in the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches, similar to the title of abbot. The head of a convent of nuns is called a hegumenia ...
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 Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, becoming the first
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
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 and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
.
On 26 May 1991 Bishop Missael was ordained as the first diocesan bishop for the Diocese of
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...
by Pope Shenouda III. This was the first
diocese
In 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 provinces were administratively associat ...
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 around 11 churches and communities.
See also
*
Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands, U.K.
*
The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church
*
Coptic Orthodox Church in Europe
Coptic may refer to:
Afro-Asia
* Copts, an ethnoreligious group mainly in the area of modern Egypt but also in Sudan and Libya
* Coptic language, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century
* Coptic alphabet, t ...
*
Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain and Ireland
References
External links
Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands, U.K.*https://web.archive.org/web/20100612192502/http://copticpope.org/
*https://web.archive.org/web/20140823034331/http://ukmidcopts.org/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missael, Bishop
1940 births
Egyptian emigrants to the United Kingdom
British Oriental Orthodox Christians
Coptic Orthodox bishops
Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom
Living people