Anba Suriel

Anba Suriel (born 9 May 1967) is a bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church leading the Diocese of Melbourne and affiliated regions, Australia since 1999. He previously served as a bishop in New Jersey, USA, in the Archdiocese of North America.

Early years and background

Suriel was born in Port Said, Egypt. When he was three his family migrated to Sydney where they were founding members of St Mary and St Mina, the first Coptic Orthodox church in Australia.^[1] He was educated at Marrickville West Public School, Tempe High School, the University of Sydney where he was awarded a Bachelor of Science, and the Sydney Institute of Education where he achieved a Diploma of Education. He taught mathematics at Fairvale and Dulwich high schools.

Beginning of vocation

On a pilgrimage to Egypt and the Levant in 1985, Suriel met Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria, which had an inspiring impact on the youth.^[1] On returning to Australia he began leading youth meetings and conventions in the church and translated one of the Pope's books into English, "The Life of Repentance and Purity".^[2] In 1990 Suriel was the youth representative on the NSW Board of Deacons and the following year at the 7th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Canberra, he once again met the Pope. At this audience Suriel shared his desire for a religious life and the Pope invited him to the Monastery of Saint Pishoy, Egypt, where he was consecrated a monk on 6 July 1991.

Priest and Bishop

On 8 June 1993 Suriel was ordained a priest and continued to serve in the monastery before moving to the fledgling St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Honolulu, USA in 1996.^[3] There he lived with and studied with the local Roman Catholic community. On 15 June 1997 he was ordained a bishop and later that year moved to administer the Coptic Archdiocese of North America based in New Jersey where his ministry included touring to connect with churches and further establishing the charity BLESS USA ^[4]. In 1998 he completed another year of study towards his Masters of Christian Education at Saint Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.

Suriel's book “Habib Girgis, Coptic orthodox Educator and A light in the Darkness” is the first biography of Coptic saint Habib Girgis

On 10 November 1999 Suriel was appointed the first Bishop of Melbourne, Canberra, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand, and was enthroned in his diocese on 4 December 1999.^[5] After being appointed to Melbourne he completed his Masters in Religious Education at Australian Catholic University and received his doctorate from Fordham University on 20 March 2014. His doctoral dissertation was “Habib Girgis, Coptic orthodox Educator and A light in the Darkness” and reworked into a book published in 2017. He is now an associate professor and dean at St Athanasius College a constituent college of the University of Divinity where he lectures in religious education; youth ministry; comparative religions; homiletics and pastoral theology.^[6]

Under his leadership the church established a new Coptic Centre and the Theological College in Coburg in 2000 and, having outgrown it in two years, moved to the former Carmelite Monastery at Whitefriars Park in Donvale. In 2015 the church built a new CBD apartment tower and religiousn complex.^[7] The complex includes the Coptic Orthodox Church of St Verena and St Bishoy and a campus of St Athanasius College.^[8]

In 2018, a complaint to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission led to an investigation into the diocese of which Bishop Suriel was the ultimate decision maker under the constitution. The commission concluded that there were adequate process, checks and balances in place to ensure the diocese was complying with governance and reporting obligations.^[9]

He campaigned publicly against the inclusion of inverted crosses in the branding of the Dark Mofo festival in Hobart, saying it was particularly offensive to Christians who "witnessed the living reality of persecution, and many other Christians who have lost loved ones or suffered themselves for their faith."^[10]

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