Introduction:  Few would dispute that the Coptic Church, which was founded by St. Mark the evangelist, began its modern renaissance towards the latter half of the nineteenth century, after many centuries of darkness. A darkness which was forced upon her by two major historical events. The first of which were the woeful decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) which separated her from the rest of Christiandom. The second was the Arab conquest of Egypt (641 A.D.), as a result of which the church's major preoccupation was sheer survival. Indeed the survival of the Copts till this day is a miracle and a witness for thirteen centuries of unwavering faith.

T'he renaissance of the church is due to three important developments:

The establishment of the Coptic Theological College.

The Coptic Sunday School movement.

The founding of Coptic Benevolent Societies

+ College graduates for the last one hundred years have been responsible for spreading Orthodox Christian education.

+ Sunday School which was a tiny seed planted and watered by men and women of faith, grew by the Almighty till it became a great tree giving fruit and shelter to countless many.

+ Coptic Benevolent Societies were responsible for the establishment of the great majority of newer churches, Coptic schools, hospitals, orphanages, and publishing houses, spreading education and social welfare to all Egyptians without discrimination.

Behind these three institutions lies a great army of selfless workers who were moved by faith and love for their church to arise and build with all the support and encouragement of the church leadership. Our church has recently celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the departure of one of the pioneers of Coptic renaissance, one who stands as a giant among his contemporaries, Archdeacon Habeeb Guirguis, a man of vision who inspired many generations of Copts.