 Our Church |
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| About Our Church |
In 1985, a handful of Coptic families in North Texas established St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Colleyville, Texas. By the late 90's, St. Mary's had reached capacity, and it was determined that the time was right to build another Coptic Orthodox church in North Texas. This church would be named after St. Philopateer Mercurius, a 3rd century soldier who was martyred for his faith. The city of Richardson was chosen as the site for this new church in order to accommodate the growing population of Copts in the suburbs of Dallas.
Bishop Youssef, presiding Bishop of the Southern United States Diocese, blessed the land at 1450 E. Campbell Road in 1996. The clergy and the congregation again gathered in December 1997 to witness Bishop Youssef lay the church's cornerstone. The next momentous step arrived in April 1999 with the official groundbreaking and on April 29, 2001, St. Philopateer Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated its first Divine Liturgy. Our congregation received a great blessing in July 2001 with the relocation and arrival of St. Philopateer's relics to our church.
However, both construction and financial complications prevented the immediate completion of the initial plans of the church. With the Lord's blessing, construction resumed in the fall of 2009 on the larger sanctuary and new Sunday School facilities to accommodate the growing congregation. The project was completed in the early summer of 2010 and on June 27, St. Philopateer Coptic Orthodox Church's 300 families celebrated its consecration and first Divine Liturgy in the new sanctuary with His Grace Bishop Youssef.
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| About Our Clergy |
Father Boulos Mikhael was born and raised in Shobra, Egypt. His Grace Bishop Youssef ordained him as a priest on February 16, 1997. Fr. Boulos began serving within the Diocese of the Southern United States at St. Mary Coptic Orthodox Church in Colleyville, Texas. On April 29, 2001, Fr. Boulos began his service with St. Philopateer Coptic Orthodox Church. He has seen the church grow from 140 families in 2001 to 300 families in 2010.
Fr. Boulos is married with two children.
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| About Our Orthodox Faith |
The Coptic Church was established in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by St. Mark the Evangelist in the city of Alexandria around 43 A.D. The church adheres to the Nicene Creed. St. Athanasius (296-373 A.D.), the twentieth Pope of the Coptic Church effectively defended the Doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ's Divinity at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. His affirmation of the doctrine earned him the title; "Father of Orthodoxy" and St. Athanasius "the Apostolic".
The term "Coptic" is derived from the Greek "Aigyptos" meaning "Egyptian". When the Arabs arrived in Egypt in the seventh century, they called the Egyptians "qibt". Since the majority of the country were Christians, the Arabic word "qibt" came to mean both "Egyptians" and "Christians".
The term "Orthodoxy" refers to the preservation of the "Original Faith" by the Copts who, throughout the ages, defended the Old Creed against the numerous attacks aimed at it.
The Coptic Orthodox Church believes that the Holy Trinity: God The Father, God The Son, and God The Holy Spirit, are equal to each other in one unity; and that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the world. Fewer changes have taken place in the Coptic Church than in any other church whether in the liturgical practices or the ritual and doctrinal aspects. The Church is also well known for her numerous saints: ascetics, clergymen and laymen. She offered many saints throughout ages and is still offering the same today.
Our Church is ancient and new at the same time: ancient in being apostolic, founded by St. Mark the Evangelist and traditional in holding fast to the original apostolic faith without modification. She is also new through her Living Messiah who never becomes old and through the Spirit of God who renews her youth (Psalm 103:5).
The Coptic Church is rich with her evangelistic and ascetic life, her genuine patriotic inheritance, her heavenly worship, her spiritual rituals, her effective and living hymns, and her beautiful icons. She attracts the heart towards heaven without ignoring actual daily life. We can say that she is an apostolic, contemporary church that carries life and thought to the contemporary man without deviation. One finds in her life, sweetness and power of Spirit, with appreciation to and sanctification of arts, literature and human culture.
For more information on the Coptic Orthodox faith, please visit our Diocese website at http://suscopts.org/coptic-orthodox/church/.
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| About St. Philopateer Mercurius |
Philopateer was born in 224 A.D. in the city of Eskentos in Cappadocia (Eastern Asia Minor.) The word Philopateer is a Greek word which means Father of Love (Pateer = father, Philo = love).
His family used to live on hunting wild animals. One day his father, Yares, along with his grandfather, were hunting in the forest when they were attacked by a wild beast. While Yares was unconscious, he had a vision: he saw a brilliant light and heard a voice saying, "Yares, I am your God who loves you. I know that you have a good heart and that you hate the pagan idols. I want to inform you that your son Philopateer will become like a tree bearing good fruits, and because of him, I will bless you and your wife. Philopateer will be my witness and will defy all prejudice in my name." Shortly after, Yares, his wife and his son were baptized and they were given new names. Yares became Noah, his wife became Saphina and Philopateer became Mercurius.
After the death of Noah, the pagan Emperor Decius chose Mercurius to replace his father in the army. He led the army against the Berbers. After several days of fighting, the archangel Michael appeared to Mercurius holding a shining sword. He said, "Mercurius, servant of Jesus Christ, don't be afraid. Take this sword from my hand and fight the Berbers with it. Don't forget your God when you come back victoriously. I am Michael the Archangel, whom God sent to inform you that you should suffer for the Lord's name. I shall be with you and support you until you complete your testimony. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you. " (That is why he is called, "of the two swords", "Abu-Saifain", one is the military sword and the other is the sword of the divine power).
The saint took the sword from the Archangel. He went to fight the Berbers with two swords. He conquered them as he felt the divine strength fill his heart. When Decius heard the news about the triumphant victory, he was very pleased. He appointed Mercurius prince and gave him many honorable medals.
After a military victory, the emperor sent for Mercurius to join him in offering incense to the pagan gods. Mercurius answered with courage, "Your Majesty, the victory was not due to dumb idols made by human hands. It was accomplished by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who sent his Archangel to give me a sword and strengthened me. I cannot deny my God and worship statues."
The Emperor became angry and ordered him to be beaten with whips and stalks. When the Emperor saw how the people of the city and the soldiers were attached to St. Mercurius, the Emperor feared that they might revolt. So instead, he bound him in iron fetters and sent him to Caesarea where they cut off his head. Mercurius was martyred on the 4th of December in the year 250 A.D. He was only 25 years old.
He thus completed his holy fight and received the crown of life in the Kingdom of Heaven.
May his prayers be with us, and glory be to God forever. Amen
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