On Saturday, March 5, while representing the Custody of the Holy Land, Custodial Vicar, Br.DobromirJazstal, greeted the new Coptic archbishop of Jerusalem, AnbaAntonios, during the ceremony that took place at the Jaffa gate and that was meant to lead a large, joyful crowd to the Basilica of the Resurrection and then to the Coptic Patriarchate.
AnbaAntonios was ordained a bishop in Cairo on Saturday, February 27, by Pope Tawadros II. His election to the episcopal seat of Jerusalem was announced a week earlier. AnbaAntonios, also known as Theodore Al-Antouny, came to Jerusalem following the death of MonsignorAnba Abraham three months ago.
Monsignor Theodore Al-Antouny was born in 1969 in the city of Abutig in Upper Egypt on the Nile. He grew up in a pious family. His father is a priest, and he is the eldest of seven children, two of whom are priests. He studied agriculture and pharmacology at Assiut University.
Monsignor Al-Antouny’s spiritual director,Theophilos Al-Miharki, of the former monastic generation, had a great influence on him. He soon followed in his footsteps in choosing Saint Anthony’s monastic life. Later he was chosen by PopeTawadrosto study theology in Greece.
Monsignor Antouny, who is 47 years old, will also be in charge of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Kuwait.
Although the Archbishop of Jerusalem is usually responsible for an additional 12 countries in Asia, Tawadros II has declared that other countries would be under the direct supervision of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.
The Diocese of Jerusalem was formerly managed by the Syriac Church before the Coptic Orthodox Church began to appoint its own archbishops. Monsignor Al-Antouny is the 22nd Archbishop of Jerusalem. The person in this role is considered the second most important figure after the pope in the Coptic Holy Synod.
In November 2015, Coptic Pope Tawadros II made an unofficial visit to Jerusalem for the funeral of the Metropolitan Archbishop Monsignor Anba Abraham. This was the first time that a Coptic pope had visited the Holy Land since 1967.
AnbaAntonios was ordained a bishop in Cairo on Saturday, February 27, by Pope Tawadros II. His election to the episcopal seat of Jerusalem was announced a week earlier. AnbaAntonios, also known as Theodore Al-Antouny, came to Jerusalem following the death of MonsignorAnba Abraham three months ago.
Monsignor Theodore Al-Antouny was born in 1969 in the city of Abutig in Upper Egypt on the Nile. He grew up in a pious family. His father is a priest, and he is the eldest of seven children, two of whom are priests. He studied agriculture and pharmacology at Assiut University.
Monsignor Al-Antouny’s spiritual director,Theophilos Al-Miharki, of the former monastic generation, had a great influence on him. He soon followed in his footsteps in choosing Saint Anthony’s monastic life. Later he was chosen by PopeTawadrosto study theology in Greece.
Monsignor Antouny, who is 47 years old, will also be in charge of Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Syria and Kuwait.
Although the Archbishop of Jerusalem is usually responsible for an additional 12 countries in Asia, Tawadros II has declared that other countries would be under the direct supervision of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt.
The Diocese of Jerusalem was formerly managed by the Syriac Church before the Coptic Orthodox Church began to appoint its own archbishops. Monsignor Al-Antouny is the 22nd Archbishop of Jerusalem. The person in this role is considered the second most important figure after the pope in the Coptic Holy Synod.
In November 2015, Coptic Pope Tawadros II made an unofficial visit to Jerusalem for the funeral of the Metropolitan Archbishop Monsignor Anba Abraham. This was the first time that a Coptic pope had visited the Holy Land since 1967.