November 6, 2007

St. George Coptic Orthodox Church breaks ground

St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, the first Coptic—Egyptian Orthodox Christian—church in the South Bay, broke ground on the foundation of its new sanctuary and hall on Oct. 22.

An artist’s rendering of the new sanctuary and hall of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church with a completion date in the next 18- to 24 months.

The church was established in Campbell in May 1995. It began planning to build a new church in May 2003, when it moved to its current location on W. Rincon Avenue. It obtained the building permit for construction of the church in November 2006.

The new church will be built over the next 18 -to 24 months and will consist of two phases: the sanctuary and an adjoining hall. The architectural style of the sanctuary is traditional Coptic Orthodox with an octagonal-shaped structure and two domes sitting atop a cross-shaped barrel-vaulted roof. Stained glass windows and classical Coptic architectural details are planned throughout the building. The sanctuary will join with a two-story structure via an open landscaped courtyard. The first story of the adjoining building will include a hall, an industrial kitchen, offices and a bookstore. The second story will hold Sunday school classrooms and meeting rooms.

“We are very excited to begin building our new church,” said Caroline Fahmy, a St. George Coptic Orthodox Church board member. “We’ve worked very hard to design a traditional yet functional facility to meet the needs of our growing congregation. It will prove to be a very beautiful and unique church for the Bay Area to be proud of.”

The Coptic Church is one of the oldest Christian churches in the world. It is based on the teachings of St. Mark, who brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero in the first century. Christianity spread throughout Egypt within a half century of St. Mark’s arrival in Alexandria.

The sanctuary and hall were designed by Safwat A. Malek of Enviro-International Architects, Inc., of Pebble Beach, Calif. Malek is a proponent of green building practices and will work with the St. George board and planning committee to incorporate as many Green elements into the building as they can. A major goal of the building project will be to join the handful of churches that are Green certified through the Santa Clara County Green Business program.