The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

The research was done by The University of Michigan-Dearborn Pluralism Project

History and Description

St. Mark is the only Coptic Orthodox church in Michigan. The first Copts who would eventually form St. Mark Church came to Michigan in the 1960s. During these years, a priest came once a month to conduct the liturgy in people's homes. The first priest to serve the church in an official capacity was Abouna ("Our Father") Mikhail Melika (1967-77). He was followed by Abouna Roufail Michail. It was Abouna Mikhail who led the congregation in the purchase of property in Troy for a church building. Construction began on May 1, 1977 as Pope Shenouda III laid the cornerstone. The church was completed in May 1979, and the first Divine Liturgy was celebrated on May 8, 1979, the feast day of St. Mark the Evangelist. The center sits on nine acres of land in Troy, an upper-middle class suburb of Detroit. The church is near homes and businesses. In addition to a worship area, the church has a meeting room, library, and kitchen.

The Members

Approximately 350 families are affiliated with this center; almost all are of Egyptian descent. There have been some non-Egyptian converts to the religion, however, most often through marriage. The congregation has grown over the past few years due to immigration, births, and people from the Middle East resettling in metropolitan Detroit from other areas of the United States. Due to this growth, the church plans to expand its present building.

Leadership and Worship

The congregation is led by its current priest, Abouna Essak Mina. A former chemical engineer, Abouna Mina has been a part of St. Mark since 1991, first as a Sunday school teacher, and was nominated by the church's former priest, Father Michail, to become a priest. Under Abouna Mina there are four levels of leadership: singers, readers, sub-deacons, and deacons. Singers and readers are young boys who take an active part in the service. Sub-deacons are adult men who assist the priest in all parts of the service, except administering the Eucharist. The church exhibits a mixture of North American and traditional Egyptian patterns. Men and women tend to sit separately during the liturgy, but some couples sit together. Men and women do receive communion on different sides of the altar, but not all women cover their hair, as would be the traditional practice. While shoes are not removed upon entering the church, they are removed when one enters the altar area.

Activities

In addition to Sunday worship, which is in the Arabic, Coptic and English languages, there are also services on Wednesday evening and Friday morning. On the first Saturday of each month there is a service in English to accommodate the increasing number of monolingual English speakers in the congregation. On Tuesdays, there is a youth prayer meeting. Saturday evening activities include the Deacon's meeting, the Young Deacons Meeting, Bible study, Bible study in Arabic, a Youth meeting, pre-youth meeting, Deacons' (pre-youth) Coptic hymns meeting. In addition on Saturday evening, there is an evening service of raising incense. Sunday school is available for all age groups. The youth meetings focus primarily on Coptic history and the church youth are involved in the community primarily through the Pontiac Rescue Mission. There are health programs and activities for senior citizens.