Our History
From the banks of the Nile to the shores of Australia — a chronicle of apostolic faith, holy endurance, and the providence of God.
2,000 Years of Unbroken Faith
The Coptic Orthodox Church is among the most ancient of the apostolic churches, established by the holy Evangelist St Mark in Alexandria, Egypt, in approximately 52 AD. Through centuries of martyrdom, persecution, and spiritual trial, she has preserved intact her apostolic tradition, her sacred liturgies sung in the blessed Coptic tongue, and the Miaphysite Christological faith received from the holy Fathers.
The name "Copt" is derived from the Greek "Aigyptos" — Egypt — and the Coptic people are the direct heirs of those ancient Egyptians upon whom the light of the Gospel first shone through the preaching of St Mark. Honoured as the Church of the Holy Family, who sojourned in Egypt in fulfilment of prophecy, the Coptic Orthodox Church today numbers millions of faithful across the world — including a devoted and growing community here in Australia.
From Alexandria to Taree
The Church of Alexandria Founded
By the grace of God and the movement of the Holy Spirit, the holy Evangelist St Mark — author of the second Gospel and first of the Alexandrian Patriarchs — carried the light of the Gospel to the land of Egypt. Thus was founded the See of Alexandria, among the most ancient apostolic churches in all of Christendom. The Coptic Orthodox Church guards this unbroken apostolic succession as a sacred inheritance to this day.
The Council of Chalcedon
Remaining steadfast in the Orthodox faith handed down by the holy Fathers, the Coptic Church upheld the Miaphysite confession affirmed at the Council of Ephesus (431 AD) — that our Lord Jesus Christ is One Nature, both fully divine and fully human, without mixture, confusion, or alteration. Faithful to this ancient confession, the Church preserved her sacred liturgies, apostolic traditions, and the blessed Coptic tongue.
Coptic Migration to Australia
By God's providential hand, and under the blessed pontificate of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, Coptic families began journeying to Australia in growing numbers. As the fathers of old carried the Ark through the wilderness, so these faithful carried their icons, their litanies, and their love for Christ to the shores of this new land — settling in Sydney, Melbourne, and throughout regional New South Wales.
The Taree Community Forms
A small and devoted gathering of Coptic Orthodox families, settled in the Manning Valley, began uniting for prayer and the breaking of bread. With no church building of their own, they worshipped in homes and modest halls — bound together not by earthly comfort, but by the bonds of common faith, shared liturgy, and the intercessions of the saints.
Parish Officially Established
Through the mercy of God and the blessing of the Diocese of Sydney and Affiliated Regions, St Mary & Pope Kyrillos Coptic Orthodox Church in Taree was formally established as a canonical parish. A permanent home was secured — a house of prayer and sanctuary for the faithful of the Manning Valley, and a witness to the ancient Church in regional New South Wales.
Growth & Community Building
The Lord added to the Church such as should be saved. Through the 2000s, the parish received new families into its fold, deepened its Sunday School and youth ministries, and extended the love of Christ into the wider Taree community through acts of service, cultural witness, and charitable works.
A Thriving Parish
Today, St Mary & Pope Kyrillos Church stands as a living testimony of the Coptic faith flourishing in the Manning Valley. We celebrate the full liturgical calendar of feasts and fasts, nurture our youth in the tradition of the holy Fathers, and strive — under the intercessions of the Blessed Theotokos and our patron St Kyrillos VI — to be a beacon of ancient Christianity in the modern world.
St Mary & Pope Kyrillos VI
Our church is consecrated to the honour of the Ever-Virgin Mary, the holy Theotokos and Mother of God, and to the blessed Pope Kyrillos VI (1902–1971), the 116th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark. His Holiness was renowned for his austere ascetic life, his deep immersion in prayer and fasting, and the many miraculous signs and healings granted through his intercessions.
Glorified among the saints by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church in 2013, St Kyrillos VI stands as a radiant example of the contemplative and priestly life — a man who sought God above all earthly things, and through whom God was pleased to work wonders. May his holy prayers be with us and guard our parish.
Sheltered beneath the protecting veil of the holy Theotokos and strengthened by the intercessions of our patron St Kyrillos VI, our parish strives to guard the faith once delivered to the saints, and to live as witnesses of the ancient Coptic Church in the Manning Valley.