The St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church of Bermuda was honoured this week with a visit by the Coptic Orthodox Bishop of Brazil, His Grace Bishop Aghason.

He was formally welcomed by the priest in charge of Bermuda, Fr. Isaac El Anthony, and Mrs. Marilyn Outerbridge. Fr. Isaac, incidentally, has only been in the island for seven months.

Australian-born Fr. Isaac came here by way of Egypt. It was Mrs. Outerbridge and her late husband Gladwyn (also known as Fr. Rafael), who were principally responsible for establishing the denomination here, following an extentended visit to the seat of the religion in Alexandria, Egypt in 1990.

During his whirlwind visit Bishop Aghason administered three of the seven sacraments of the church, a full communion service, unction of the sick and baptisms. He was en route to New Jersey and Canada for a series of conferences with dignitaries.

This writer was privileged to be given an audience by His Grace and to receive a briefing on the history of what at first appeared to be have such an ominous name.

In short, he explained how Christianity was born around 2,000 years ago following the birth of Christ. When Jesus grew up and started His teachings, those who followed Him and believed that He was truly the Son of God were the first Christians.

The first 12 people Jesus chose to go forward and spread His holy word were the 12 disciples. Later 70 more people were named to be disciples of Christ to travel the lands preaching and baptising.

St. Mark was one of those 70 disciples, explained the Bishop. He is mentioned in the book of Acts and was author of the gospel of St. Mark.

It was he who took Christianity to Egypt. Up until that time some of the people of Egypt worshipped the ancient Egyptian gods, others worshiped the ancient Greek and Roman gods. Others were Jewish.

"So when St. Mark first arrived in Alexandria, Egypt he had quite a task ahead of him. But God was with him and many people of Egypt became Christians; and the new faith spread rapidly throughout Egypt and subsequently. the world.

"That was in spite of the severe persecutions, by the Roman Empire, killings of those early Christians and their martyrdom, "said the Bishop.

Fr. Isaac, who is a monk, explained that the word Coptic is a derivative of the Greek word that was the latter's name for Egypt.

The idea of becoming a monk and living alone to dedicate one's life to God started in Egypt where many great monasteries arose.

He is a product of one. Coptic services are similar to the Greek Orthodox and other Eastern Christian faiths, but are spoken in the ancient Coptic language and Arabic.

The church in Bermuda comes under the direct administration of the Pope or Patriarch of Alexandria, who sits on the throne of St. Mark. Weekly services are held in St. Augustine Hall in Middletown, Pembroke

My photo shows visiting Bishop of Brazil, His Grace Bishop Aghason, second from the left, rear, holding staff, and Fr. Isaac Anthony, right front, who is overseer of the Coptic Church in Bermuda. Others participating in the ceremonies at St. Augustine Hall, Middletown are, front, young Shagville Smith and Keitaro Darrell. Standing, left, are Calvin Richardson, Sheridan Smith and C.J. Richardson. The latter two were readers in both English and the Coptic language. They were ordained junior deacons.