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The Church of Saint Paul the Anchorite
London, Ontario Canada
A BRIEF HISTORY OF
SAINT MENA’S COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH
HALIFAX, NOVASCOTIA, CANADA
BY: FATHER ATHANASIUS ISKANDER
One day in December, 1983, during my service in Mississauga, I received a call from Dr. Magdy Mansour (Currently, Fr. Marcus Mansour, serving in Arizona) concerning seven families that lived in Halifax, in the province of NovaScotia in Eastern Canada. They needed a priest to celebrate the Liturgy for them.
My relationship to Dr. Magdy went back to 1970s, when I was practicing Medicine and he was pursuing his PhD in Engineering. At that time we co-operated in holding a Bible study for the Copts in Hamilton, Ontario.
The first liturgy was held in January 1984, on the Saturday following Christmas. This was followed by three other visits throughout 1984. The service increased gradually to become once a month.
By 1993, the number of families had reached 28. It was then that I suggested to them to register a church. They agreed, and chose to call their church after Saint Mena. Registration was approved by the Province on June 22, 1995 (the feast of the dedication of the church of St. Mena). By that time several other priests had joined in serving the congregation.
On November, 1996, a church building was purchased and to the credit of the good Copts of NovaScotia, it was bought for cash, without the need for a mortgage. In August 2001, Father Daniel Rizg started serving the congregation as a full time priest.
December 19, 1997: Some members of the congregation of Saint Mena’s church in Halifax receiving Fr. Athanasius at the airport during a visit to the church, which he had served for 14 years.
Father Athanasius during one of his many visits to Saint Mena’s Church
His Grace Bishop Reweis during a visit to the congregation of Saint Mena’s Church in Halifax with Father Athanasius. The person in white shirt behind Father Athanasius is Michele Fam (currently Fr. Mikhail Fam, serving in Ottawa). The lady in orange jacket to the right of His Grace is Dr. Lilian Fam (currently Tasoni Lilian). The congregation of Saint Mena’s Church, Halifax gave us also Fr. Marcus Mansour.