The construction of the very first Coptic Catholic church in Australia is a dream currently coming true before the eyes of the small community of Sydney Catholics who originally migrated from Egypt.

As Deacon Antoun Salama stands among the ladders and paint tins in the stark interior of the almost-completed church, he describes how a beautiful iconostasis from Egypt will adorn the altar. A magnificent icon of the Twelve Apostles will also decorate the sweeping arch above the altar, he says.

"It's a dream for everyone to have a church like this. The icons, the seats, the altar, will all be made in Egypt."
St Mark's Coptic Catholic Church in the outer western Sydney suburb of Prospect is currently under construction. It is expected to be officially opened in January 2019 by the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria himself-Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak - who will travel from Cairo for the occasion.

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