St Demiana & St Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church

On Saturday 19/4/1997, St. Demiana & St. Athanasius Church moved to its third and final site at : 119 Highclere Ave. Punchbowl. The first Holy mass was also served on this day. (Lazarus Saturday Mass.)

The Church site at Punchbowl.

The first Holy Mass (Lazarus Saturday Mass) at this new site was also served on this day. The site - which included the church, two halls and the house next door used for Sunday School classes - was purchased for $800,000. Service continued for a number of years using the temporary iconstasis also used at the previous two sites, until further renovations and extensions would provide a much larger sanctuary.

Inside St. Demiana & St. Athanasius Church with the temporary iconstasis & before renovations.

Renovating our Church

Renovations and extensions were carried out in 1999/2000. New plans were drawn up to extend the church from the eastern end and build a large sanctuary with three new altars. Building is now complete, with three new marble altars and three domes in the sanctuary. The left-side altar was named after St. Mary and the angels and the right-side altar was named after Anba Abraam Ebn-Zara'a and St. Simon the Tanner.

Laying the foundations for the three new altars in the new sanctuary.

Building the three new domes above the sanctuary.

Building the three new altars in the new sanctuary.

The new altars in the sanctuary.

(More photos of the altars and sanctuary can be seen in the Church Altar Photo Album.)

Inside St. Demiana & St. Athanasius Church with the new iconstasis after renovations.

Renovating our Church from the Western end

Renovations and extensions were carried out in 2002/2003 extending the Church from the western end to include an office, two crying rooms and general walking area.

Fr. George Nakhil: Our Parish Priest

Fr. George Nakhil was ordained as a priest on May 29th 2002 in Egypt. On August 1st 2002, Fr. George Nakhil was established as parish priest of St. Demiana & St. Athanasius church in partnership with Fr. Hanna Gad. May God bless their service for many years to come.

Holy Visits

After being appointed Bishop of the Diocese of Sydney and affiliated regions, H.G Bishop Daniel blessed our church with his presence on October 23rd 2002. Shortly after, on November 4th 2002, our church was again blessed with the visit of H.H Pope Shenouda III; this was H.H’s first visit to St. Demiana & St. Athanasius church. Along with H.G Bishop Daniel (Bishop of the Diocese of Sydney and affiliated regions), H.G Bishop Suriel (Bishop of the Diocese of Melbourne and affiliated regions), H.E Metropolitan Bishoy (Demyat & Synod's Secretary), H.G Bishop Paula (Tanta) and accompanying bishops, H.H Pope Shenouda III consecrated the three church altars and the icons on the iconstasis.

The Bishop’s Advisory Board

The following are our church-elected representatives for H.G Bishop Daniel’s Advisory Board, which was decreed by H.G for the Diocese of Sydney & Affiliated Regions:

Fr. Hanna Gad

Wagdy Youssef {R.I.P}

Youssef Rizkalla

Zarif Awadalla

The General Church Committee

As well as an Advisory Board, H.G has also decreed a General Church Committee for each parish in the Diocese of Sydney & Affiliated Regions. The following were our churches inagrual(first) elected representatives :

Wagdy Youssef {R.I.P}
Youssef Rizkalla
Zarif Awadalla
Michael Awadalla
Karam Bishay
Abdel-Massieh Moussa
Nashat Bassal

Church Responsibilities

Deaconship: Malak Rizkalla
Sunday School: George Rafla
Church Choir: Malak Rizkalla, Heidi Ghabour
Church Sports Representative: Bishoi Rizkalla

May the prayers of St. Demiana and St. Athanasius be with us all. Amen.

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St. Demiana & St. Athanasius Church History : Part 1

St. Demiana & St. Athanasius Church History : Part 2

Church Statistics