“‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.
      This was the LORD’s doing and it is marvellous in our eyes.’”

^{(Matthew 21: 42)}

Four years ago, the beautiful Cathedral of Saint George began its’ journey and the foundation stone was laid in the hope and promise of a vibrant future, and a year and a half on from its’ Inauguration in September 2006, the Cathedral was once again at the centre of a joyful day and a momentous event- a holy consecration by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.

It had been a long wait and the masses gathered; the modern Cathedral steeped in history welcomed some eighty dignitaries from around the United Kingdom: heads and representatives of Churches from around the world, as well as the Ambassador of Egypt, and even letters from the Her Majesty the Queen and the Prime Minister Gordon Brown were received.

This was all well and good, but it was the buzz of more than 1,500 Copts from around the UK that filled the Cathedral with song and praise that day; they were the ones who came and stood as witnesses; they celebrated most because it was they for whom the Cathedral had been built.

His Holiness, always a magnificent preacher, saw the people under his ministry, and with fatherly love, gave word to their attentive ears. Standing on the Episcopal throne of a Cathedral, that was built not only as a church but a centre of activity and service, His Holiness spoke at length about the importance of letting the Holy Spirit abide within us as the Church: as a congregation of people, and as children of God. Reminding us that we are one body in Christ, His Holiness pointed out that we have a responsibility to one another, being a family of individuals created in the image and likeness of God, “Remember who you are”, he said.

When we reflect on who we are, it is easy to look at who we are to the world, but His Holiness spoke strongly of our proud heritage and the gift of having such an inheritance in Christ. He spoke in affirmation of our place in the busy, modern world and its’ high demands.

Resolutely, His Holiness looked at a church full of young and old and prompted us with a question: “What is the work of the Church?” His then answer, “The work of the Church is to build the Kingdom of God on earth.”

Recognising that we are a conservative Church, and without apology for that, he pushed that the Church should always be full– that it is our ministry as much as his to maintain our Church and her heritage as a living Church.

“A Church without a youth, is a Church without a future”, he said, pushing home the message that the Church is there to serve its’ members:  ‘More than a building, the Church is somewhere that God helped us build so that we may take care of its’ members, and deepen their Faith.”

Whilst His Holiness reminded us that we are ambassadors of Christ and our heritage, Egyptian Ambassador Gehad Madi spoke of how much the Coptic community in the United Kingdom were ambassadors of Egypt: “Egypt is not a country that we live in; it is rather a country that lives within us,” he said, quoting His Holiness with much respect.

Our very own Bishop Angaelos was thanked by His Holiness – who mentored him many years ago - for his tireless efforts in establishing the Cathedral and its’ related work, and I cannot help but smile remembering a verse that His Grace once shared with me: “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us;
therefore we his servants will arise and build…”(Nehemiah 2:20); such a fitting a verse for this day on which we celebrated many efforts and many hopes.

Bishop Angaelos chose another verse in praise of what had been achieved, and most of all, blessed; saying ‘This is indeed “the day that the Lord has made,” and we together are “rejoicing and being glad in it.”’

Acknowledging that the Cathedral’s journey from that first laid foundation stone was now realised, His Grace noted not only the unity of efforts that had gone into that journey, but how the Cathedral itself and the event of its’ consecration were a ‘meeting place’ of hearts and spirits.

On this day and in its lead up, the cathedral church really came together, with many faces up front and behind working together to make it a special event – from the deacons who shone in their vestments and led the congregation in beautiful hymnology, to the organisers, those who arranged the mass parking, those who ushered the masses and, lest we forget, those who laboured in the kitchen to feed us all. All these people united, as members of one body, to make this day a complete success.

‘We tire ourselves and we give our people rest,’ said His Grace, recalling a lesson that His Holiness had taught him about service a long time ago. Talking of the labour that had gone into turning that foundation stone into the gloriously beautiful Cathedral it is today, he described it as holding “a heart of faith and hope…for a church with an active congregation, and a proud future”.

HG Bishop Angaelos’s lesson this emotional day came in his calling us as Christians and witnesses in the world, as ‘a presence of light in an ever-darkening world,’ echoing His Holiness’ words on us as ambassadors of God, who need to live our faith.

Armenian Orthodox Bishop Nathan Hovhanission, a returning guest to our Cathedral, followed through on this sentiment saying, ‘Keep the faith. Rely on it in your lives. Live by it. Guide your personal, family, and social actions by it.  Then our lives will become beacons.” We are, furthermore, ambassadors of Christ within us, he seemed to be saying. We, like the Church, are a temple, where God should be glorified in every way.

At the end of a long morning and the priceless speeches, two gifts were presented to His Holiness: First came the long-worked-on unified translation of the Liturgy of Saint Basil, then came the first graduates of the Saint Athanasius Theological College. Each gift resonating the day’s lessons, that the Church was ‘a meeting place of generations,’ one that was drawn all together in one Faith and one spirit.

Throwing to this recurring point of our unity in Christ, Abouna Shenouda, in his speech, alluded to St Paul’s epistle to the Thessalonians: “the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God”.

It is with hope that I cling to this last verse from Thessalonians- for the Thessalonians were a people much like us- they struggled, yes, but they persevered, constant in their Faith. Like them, we must not grow weary, we must hold true to our Faith and as His Holiness said, we must remember who we are – for therein lies our strength and our salvation.

This was indeed a truly wonderful and glorious day, not only for the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom…but for the Church of God.