A project curated by Elmahaba Center and Keria Nashed
Funded by Humanities Tennessee
1985: Sabry Hamayya lands in Tennessee and prays at the Greek Orthodox Church off Franklin Pike.
1987: There is a record of six Coptic families living in Nashville: Adel Salama, Kamal Habib, Abraham Barsom, Boules Morcos, Yousry Asmy, Mouser, and Sabry Hamayya.
They rent out Vanderbilt’s St. Augustine’s Chapel on campus for liturgies when a priest is able to hold the liturgy for them until they buy a church off Una Antioch Pike, which will be sold to the Ethiopian Orthodox community in 1999/2000 when St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church finishes construction.
1992: A monk is ordained as Bishop Youssef in Texas.
1994: George Hanna, a supervisor at Gaylord Opryland, busses in several Coptic families from New Jersey to work at the dying hotel/resort and their work revives it.
1995: Bishop Youssef is enthroned as the bishop of the Southern Diocese, the largest Coptic diocese in the world.
1997: Abouna Boutros Boutros ordained to St. Mina’s congregation which meets in a former Protestant church off Una Antioch Pike in South Nashville (later sold to the Ethiopian Orthodox community).
Abouna Youannes arrives in Florida, USA, and will migrate to Nashville and establish his service there, even though he was ordained in Egypt to a congregation there and there is a Synod rule forbidding priests from leaving their churches in Egypt. The church purchased a cemetery in Mt. Juliet.
L&E Market (owned by Yousief Yousief) is established alongside Gold Star Supermarket (owned by George Hanna at the time) in the same neighborhood, Millwood.
1998: First Coptic baby was baptized in Nashville, Veronica Nashed on May 10th.
1999: Henry Morcos, the maternal grandfather of Lydia Yousief, is the first to be buried.
2000: In August, St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church opens its door.
2001: Pope Shenouda visits the United States; consecrates St. Mina COC and ordains Abouna Mina Iskander. St. Clement Academy is established as well during this visit.
2003: St. Pishoy congregation separates from St. Mina’s congregation and building and starts “church-hopping” from a Korean Presbyterian Church in South Nashville to Una Antioch Elementary School to various locations in South Nashville before purchasing land in Antioch.
2005: In August, Bishop Youssef purchased the former Roman Catholic monastery in Galveston, TX and kept it as a Coptic monastery. He brings five Coptic monks from Wadi Natrun.
2006: St. Pishoy congregation purchases the 8 acres of land in Antioch; on the land is a small house that is converted to a small church until Abouna Mina designs the current three-level megachurch.
2007: Abouna Youhanna Ghebranious is ordained to St. Mary; Abouna Serapion Ghobrial is also ordained to St. George.
2009: Abouna Pavli Ebrahim is ordained a priest.
2010: Abouna Cherubim Khalil is ordained a priest to Archangel Michael.
The Great Flood happens in May, and Millwood is flooded alongside Gaylord Opryland Hotel and is in need to be rebuilt.
Bishop Youssef purchases a motel and makes it into St. Stephen Retreat Center in Titusville, FL.
Nag Hammadi Massacre sparks protests in downtown Nashville.
2011: Abouna Mina Iskander passes away.
The Egyptian Revolution disposed of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, dictator for over 30 years.
Tyson Factory opens in Goodlettsville.
The Mt. Juliet cemetery, the second Coptic cemetery, is purchased either this year or the next (2012).
Pope Shenouda passes away.
Fawzi Mikhail starts the TN Arab News; he asks Arab businessowners to buy ads in the paper in order for him to run pages from literary individuals in Nashville and in Egypt.
2013: Asurion opens up a new plant in Antioch that employs many of us, while their white-collar jobs are in the Gulch and downtown.
Bishop Youssef purchases a former boarding school right outside Atlanta, GA and turns into a convent: St. Mary and St. Demiana Convent (Dawsonville, GA).
The election of Muhammad Morsi sparks protests in downtown Nashville led by Mr. Samir Almotey.
2014: The megachurch St. Pishoy finishes construction and the first prayer is held in April.
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam passes the state’s free community college law, allowing Tennessee residents, Copts included, the opportunity to earn a higher education degree
2015: In February, 21 laborers in Libya of Southern Coptic heritage are martyred by ISIS, and in March, in Nashville, a protest is held and attended by clergy.
BNA adds international direct flight to London.
2016: Abouna Joshua Gerges is ordained to a church in Florida and moves from his congregation at St. Pishoy after much resistance from the congregation to go to St. George in Tampa.
2017: Abouna Boutros Boutros is inducted as hegumen.
Abouna Daniel Ibrahim is ordained a priest at St. Mina and also at a community church, St. Barbara.
Abouna Angelos Faltas is brought to Nashville from Egypt to serve in St. Mark
2018: Abouna Pemwah Honein is brought and ordained a priest in Nashville at St. Pishoy and then later St. Macarious.
St. Verena American Coptic Orthodox Church opens despite much resistance from the congregation for an English-only church/service.
Abouna Karas Sorial is also ordained and assigned to St. Philopater (a community church).
Bishop Basil and Bishop Gregory are ordained to help Bishop Youssef with the Southern Diocese in December.
2019: Mena Fawzy is at home on a Friday and shot and killed by a friend accidentally with a gun; conversation sparks about church failure to protect kids.
Mina Mossad and Father Daniel Ibrahim create conflict with STEM Prep, a charter school in MNPS, about children studying Islam in history class (link to news article)
In June, Elmahaba Center is founded.
Sister Yohanna is consecrated after serving several years in Nashville as a psychologist (though she is not board certified).
2020: Abouna Anastasi Ewida is ordained and assigned to St. Karas in Murfreesboro City.
Then, COVID-19 spreads in Tennessee leading to a shutdown in March 2020; the main infection of South Nashville comes from Tyson Factory refusing to close down and refusing to provide PPE to workers. The church reopens in the summer of 2020, and more are infected through unregulated interactions.
In July 2020, Sally Z comes out with her story of abuse and manipulation from religious hierarchs, launching the Coptic Me Too Movement via instagram until her abuser is defrocked.
Elmahaba, on November 15, 2020, is denounced as a heretical organization by Bishop Youssef alluding to unfounded un-Christian teachings.
St. Mina COC starts renovation to expand the main church building.
2021: Several Coptic men died of overdosing over the summer; funerals are held.
St. Macarious COC buys land off Hobson Pike in Antioch and starts funding for a brand new Coptic church.
St. Philopater COC begins construction in Wilson County.
2022
The monk Abouna Philoxemos comes to Nashville to be second-in-command
February/March: Kevin Botrous is beaten almost to death by a previously-violent white supremacist at Smyrna High School and is in the hospital from late February to early March for two weeks in a coma.
May: Metro Council gives Global Mall to Vanderbilt as final signal of gentrification of South Nashville and major displacement. TN ArabNews is out of commission after the sudden death of its editor, Fawzi Mikhail.
June: Vanderbilt Art Department opens the first Coptic art gallery of photographs, scans and sketches from local artists Mohsen Ramsis, Keria Nashed, and Bassam Habib.
August: Beshoi Beshay, a long-time Nashville resident who graduated from MTSU and Vanderbilt University, is ordained a priest to a congregation in Dallas, TX. St. John the Beloved Coptic Orthodox Church in Smyrna, TN is set to open as a community church.
Terms and Notes
Abouna: “father” in Arabic, in reference to a priest
Coptic: 1) a language of ancient Egyptian written in Greek letters 2) referring to the culture and Christian peoples of Egypt, specifically often to the Orthodox, but not limited to the Orthodox
Pope: the main head of the church based in Alexandria, Egypt for almost 2,000 years
Bishop: the ruling clergy member of a certain region
The Diocese of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky: a diocese is an area under the domain and jurisdiction of a bishop. This diocese is under Bishop Peter. It contains North Carolina, South Carolina, and Kentucky, and borders the Southern Diocese.
The Southern Diocese of the Coptic Orthodox Church: a diocese is an area under the domain and jurisdiction of a bishop. This diocese is under Bishop Youssef. It contains Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, and Louisiana. This is their website. This is the largest Coptic Orthodox diocese in the world.