Our Church

The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria

"...On one hand, its theology is based on nothing outside the scriptures. On the other hand, the doctrines agree in all parts with those of the Early Church, i.e. the tradition which has the proper interpretation and application of the teachings of our Lord and the Apostles as understood and practiced by the Christians and the leaders of the Church during the period of the One Universal Church until the division of 451 A.D."
Bishop Athanasius of Beni Suef and Bahnassa (1977)

The Coptic Church was established in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by St. Mark the Evangelist in the city of Alexandria around 43 A.D. The church adheres to the Nicene Creed. St. Athanasius (296-373 A.D.), the twentieth Pope of the Coptic Church, effectively defended the doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ's divinity at the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. His affirmation of the doctrine earned him the titles "Father of Orthodoxy" and St. Athanasius "the Apostolic".

The term "Coptic" is derived from the Greek "Aigyptos" meaning "Egyptian". When the Arabs arrived in Egypt in the seventh century, they called the Egyptians "qibt". Thus the Arabic word "qibt" came to mean both "Egyptians" and "Christians".

The term "Orthodoxy" here refers to the preservation of the "Original Faith" by the Copts who, throughout the ages, defended the Old Creed against the numerous attacks aimed at it.

The Coptic Orthodox Church worships the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the Oneness of Nature. We believe in One God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three equal, co-essential and co-indwelling Hypostases (Persons). The Blessed and Holy Trinity is our One God. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten of the Father and One with Him in essence, is the only Savior of the world. We are Miaphysites. There is a difference between "Monophysites", who believe in just one single (divine) nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, and "Miaphysites", who believe in one united nature, or one composite nature (divine and human), of the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not believe in a single nature, but in one nature out of two, without mingling, confusion, or alteration.

St. Verena American Coptic Orthodox Church

St. Verena American Coptic Orthodox Church was established in January 2017 as part of a bigger initiative to bring Orthodoxy to America.

In 2015 our bishop, His Grace Bishop Youssef, envisioned a church that practiced the Coptic rite but emphasized the deliberate spreading and keeping of the faith by Americans and American-born Egyptians. He began to open American Coptic churches in the surrounding states of the diocese, and in 2016 he commissioned Father Theodore Ghaly to prepare for the first American Coptic Orthodox Church in Nashville.

On January 14th, 2017 we celebrated our first Divine Liturgy at Church of the Redeemer, who graciously hosted us. We continued to pray at the Redeemer for the next year and a half thanks to the generosity of our brothers in Christ, until September 2018, when we moved into our current home at 5240 Edmondson Pike.

We pray that we may be faithful to our mission and to what God has granted us. All thanks and glory be to Him.

Please stop by during any of our services or contact us so that we may serve you.