14 MARCH 14, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Street name honors R’wood spiritual leader
Members of the St. Mary’s and St. Antonio’s Coptic Orthodox Church congregation hold a
portrait of Father Yohanna T. Guirgis.
Members of the Guirgis family and congregation at the sign presentation.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
Hundreds gathered at the
corner of Woodward
Avenue and Grove
Street in Ridgewood on March
9 to rededicate the corner in
honor of the neighborhood’s
first Coptic Orthodox
spiritual leader.
With the help of City
Councilmen Robert Holden
and Antonio Reynoso, the
intersection was rechristened
as Father Yohanna T. Guirgis
Way, honoring the founding
pastor of St. Mary’s and St.
Antonio’s Coptic Orthodox
Church, the fi rst of its kind in
the United States.
Father Guirgis arrived in
Ridgewood in 1973 at a time
when Coptic Christians were
fleeing from persecution
in their native Egypt. Just
10 percent of the Egyptian
population are followers of
the orthodox faith.
Upon arriving in the United
States, Father Guirgis worked
to establish a church based
on public ministry, helping
hundreds of Coptic Christians
arriving in the area to settle
in their new home. He would
spend the next 45 years of
his life providing help for
hundreds of Coptic families,
sometimes even opening the
doors of his own home to
assist them.
St. Mary’s and St. Antonio’s
Coptic Orthodox Church
has grown into one of the
largest faith communities in
Ridgewood, holding various
public events every year.
Last September, the church
welcomed Pope Tawadros
II, the leader of the Coptic
Orthodox church, during his
visit to the United States.
The pontiff consecrated
the altar of St. Mary’s and St.
Antonio’s second Church on
60th Place, which was formerly
the United Presbyterian
Church of Ridgewood.
Unfortunately, Father
Guirgis didn’t live to see the
pope’s visit, as he died in May
of 2018
Councilman Holden with Hany Youssef. Photos by Dean Moses
Councilman Holden, Father Antonios Makaryus, Hany Youssef,
Saad Farag and City Councilman Antonio Reynoso.
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