On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, a summary of Fr. Athanasius' service so far was printed. That article is reprinted here, as it also gives an overview of the history of this parish:

TWENTY FIVE YEARS OF SERVICE
Father Athanasius Iskander


The year 2006 marks 25 years in the priestly service of Father Athanasius Iskander. A short history of these years will be given in the following pages.

Born Adel Iskander on March 9, 1938 in Shoubra, he grew up in this district of Cairo, which is notable for its abundance of Coptic churches. He was accepted into Ain Shams University Medical School at the age 15. While there, he had two distinguished classmates, Emile Aziz (currently H.G. Bishop Moussa) and Emile Maher (currently Fr. Shenouda Maher, serving in Rochester, New York).

After graduating in 1962, he worked as a doctor in Egypt and East Africa before immigrating to Canada in 1968. He served as a deacon with Father Marcos Marcos at Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church (Scarborough).

On August 1, 1970, he married Odette, a Sunday School servant and a final year Engineering student at the University of Toronto. He earned his licence to practice Medicine in Canada in July 1971, and worked as an Emergency Physician in Hamilton, Ontario till 1981. On March 27, 1981, he was ordained, “Athanasius, a priest for the holy Orthodox altar of the Christ loving city of Mississauga, Canada.”

01
Ain Shams University Anatomy Lab, 1955: Adel Iskander (centre),
Emile Aziz (right). At the back, the late Prof. Shafik Abdel Malek.

02
Abu Simbel (Egypt), November 1966: Dr. Adel Iskander, then resident physician to the project for the relocation of the temples of Nubia, takes one last look at the temples before leaving Egypt for Europe, then Tanzania. He returned to Egypt 15 years later to be ordained.






03
Toronto Airport, March 1981: Dr. Adel Iskander, his wife and two children on their way to Egypt for the ordination. To his right: Mr. Sorial Sorial. In front: two nephews.









04 05
Saint Mary’s Chapel, Anba Reweis, Cairo, Friday, March 27, 1981:
Ordination of Father Athanasius Iskander.


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The Church of the Virgin Mary & St. Athanasius
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada