Welcome
Welcome to St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Kensington. We invite you to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 33:8). We hope to see you soon and to welcome you to one of our many services. Our Lord Jesus Christ declares “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”(John 14:6). Our ancient Christian faith constitutes an entire Way of Life, whose purpose is holiness. This path to holiness is one of healing, one that we are all on together. We all have a unique journey with a common path and goal- to grow in the love of God, and to share this love with others. We invite all people to experience this loving unit with God, wherever they are on their journey.
We hope to see you face to face so we can welcome you more personally. Below you will find some information about what we believe and our community. We welcome you to drop in and attend any of our worship services and speak to any of our priests. If you would like to attend our weekly ‘Introduction to the Coptic Orthodox Faith’ classes (catechism), please contact us here.
We look forward to meeting you!
Our Faith
The Coptic Orthodox Church was founded by St Mark the Apostle and Evangelist around 42 A.D., making it one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. The Coptic Orthodox Church has kept what Our Lord Jesus Christ taught, what the Apostles preached, and what the Church Fathers kept, unbroken for 2000 years. We believe, worship, serve and live as the New Testament Church and Christians did. We invite you to read the Orthodox Creed which contains the summary of our core beliefs and is proclaimed in church each time we gather together for prayer.
Christianity is not to simply know about God , but to enter into a relationship of loving union with Him. This is done through the whole life of the church- worship, learning, service, fellowship and proclaiming the gospel. At this point you probably have a lot of questions which is both normal and great! Please feel free to approach any of our priests with your questions or contact us here ad we will arrange a priest to meet with you.
Come and See- visiting our church
All people of any age or background are welcome to attend any of our services. Our community is multicultural, made of people of all ages and many different cultural and ethnic backgrounds who speak many different languages. We have dedicated services in English, as well as mixed language services (English, Arabic and Coptic) to meet the needs of our diverse congregation.
There are many new things to experience in a Coptic Orthodox Church service. Feel free to attend and go at your own pace and ask as many questions as you like. We believe that experience comes first (tasting), followed by explaining (seeing)- “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 33:8)- so feel free to approach any of our priests after you attend and ask as many questions as you like.
Below are some frequently asked questions that may help you navigate your first visit.
Frequently asked questions to help navigate your first visit
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Yes! All people are welcome to attend our services. We regularly welcome newcomers, inquirers and visitors, many of whom are searching, wanting to discover ancient and unchanged Christianity, or just simply walking by the church building and popping in. If you have any questions, any of our parish priests will be happy answer them.
When you enter the church, please feel free to sit anywhere that you like. You can follow the service on the screens or with any of the Liturgy books provided. You may follow the text, or if you prefer, close your eyes and enter into the worship of the church at your own pace.
After the service, please stay and say hello to any of our priests. We would love to meet you.
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The traditional posture of worship and prayer is to stand before God. We have pews in the church for when people need to sit down based on their own personal and health needs. There are parts of the liturgy (such as the sermon) when everyone is invited to sit.
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To receive Holy Communion in a Coptic Orthodox Church, one must be a baptised member in good standing of any of the the Oriental Orthodox Churches (Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopian, Indian or Eritrean Orthodox Churches). This is not a way to exclude people, but Holy Communion is the sacrament of the church that sustains baptism, so it is reserved for those that have been baptised into the Oriental Orthodox Church. If you are not a baptised member of these churches you are welcome to join us in receiving the Eulogia (blessed bread) from the priest at the end of the Divine Liturgy. Please feel free to ask the priest about any questions related to receiving Communion.
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Feel free to attend as little or as much of the service as you would like- go at your own pace. Vespers services held in the evenings are typically 30min long. Divine liturgies are usually 2-2.5 hours in length. For someone who hasn’t attended an Orthodox church before this may seem like a very long service, but once you begin participating regularly in the worship of the Church you will see the timeless and heavenly nature of the worship of the church. If you are preparing for baptism your priest will speak to you about how to prepare and attend these services more intentionally.
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A large proportion of our services involve congregational singing. We do not use musical instruments apart from softly using the cymbals and triangle to keep musical time. A choir of deacons lead the congregation in harmonious chanting. If you are attending an English services, most of the hymns will be sung in English. If you are attending a mixed-language service, please follow along on the screen to see the English text. Our hymns are reverent and prayerful and intended to bring us into deeper worship and prayer.
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Of course! We do not segregate services by age, we invite people of all ages to worship with us. Our Lord Jesus Christ said “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). We understand that children can Get wriggly or make loud sounds, please do not let that be an obstacle. Children are full members of the church and their presence in the church is vital.
Becoming an Orthodox Christian
Each person’s journey toward joining the Orthodox Church is unique. The general shape is as follows:
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Attend services, get to know the community and speak to the priest. At this stage there are no expectations and you have made no commitment. This is when a person is inquiring and thinking about joining the faith. Speak to one of our priests to guide you with your questions. You are welcome to attend the “Introduction to the Coptic Orthodox Church” sessions which are run most Tuesday evenings. To attend these sessions please contact us here and we will be in touch to give you all the details.
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Once a person has decided that they want to walk the path toward joining the faith, they become a catechumen which is a work that refers to someone who is receiving instruction for the purpose of joining the faith. The length of time that one spends as a catechumen varies, but usually lasts about a year. During your time as a catechumen there will be set topics that you will attend on Tuesday evenings (or otherwise as arranged with one of the priests) that cover the basics of the faith. During this time we encourage you to attend as many services as you an on a weekly basis. You will be guided through the journey toward joining the faith individually with a priest from the church.
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This is done either by full immersion baptism or by Chrismation (sealing with holy oil). The form of reception, baptism or Chrismation, is determined by the Bishop depending on a person’s faith background). The priests will be able to provide you with more information and answer any questions you may have.
Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding the faith, or if you would like to talk about becoming an Orthodox Christian, please speak to any of our priests or contact us here and we will arrange a time for one of the priests to meet with you.