In 2015, H.H. Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, established the Coptic Institute for Church Administration & Development as one of the specialized educational institutes in the Coptic Church to achieve His Holiness’ vision in the organizational development of the service in the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt and abroad, and to support the efforts of the church fathers in developing and improving the spiritual, pastoral and administrative service structure everywhere.
Vision & Mission
The institute seeks to fulfill its vision of “Every Coptic Church is a spiritual, fruitful and developing establishment.” In order to achieve this vision, the Institute assists dioceses and churches in adopting organizational and developmental concepts in the Church by using methods and tools of church management and development in a practical and fitting manner, and in consideration of the distinct characteristics of the Coptic Church as a spiritual institution that possesses developing resources, plays a national role, and strives to develop its services in a systematic manner through training, consulting, and designing and evaluating programs.
Goals
- Training leaders gives the Coptic Church ambition in making a significant transformation in the management and development of church services for her people and the local community
- Granting certifications and academic degrees in church management and developmental studies that are accredited by the Academy of Theological Sciences and Coptic Studies, and compliant with the standards of relevant international institutes
- Providing consulting services to dioceses and churches in the fields of organizational development, evaluation of development programs and church projects, and documenting and publishing successful models such projects inside and outside Egypt
- Raising awareness and spreading concepts of organizational development for the Church and the developmental approach in the service, through seminars, academic conferences, forums, periodical publications, printed and/or electronic articles, studies and research
Objectives and Themes of the Teaching Topics and the Institute’s Training Programs
- Rooting the organizational perspective of the Church to deepen the organizational identity of the Church.
- Development of leadership and management skills for administrators and servants in the Church.
- Utilizing and managing the various resources of the Church (human, financial, physical, and informational).
- Development of Church services (programs, projects, activities).
- Adopting the developmental approach in service (Church and comprehensive development).
- Applying the methods and tools of rational leadership (or governance) in the Church.
Certificates Awarded
Since 2015:
– Certificate of Completion of General Basic Course
For 2020 – 2025:
– Certificate of Achievement of a specialized training course in the subjects of church management and development
– Professional Diploma Certificate
– Master’s degree in Church Administration
Activities & Achievements
From March 2015 to December 2019, the institute offered a total of 59 training courses, of which 1101 trainees benefited, representing 158 churches from 28 dioceses and districts, including 340 priests (31%), and 761 service leaders and church boards (69%). Women represent about 24% of the total number of trainees. The institute also offered two training courses for 98 newly-ordained priests during their forty-days in 2018 and 2019.
His Holiness, the Pope, granted certificates of completion of basic training courses during the graduation ceremonies of 2017 and 2019, which was an honor to those who were present, including several bishops of the dioceses that benefited from the institute’s services.
The institute also performed the interim evaluation of the “Comprehensive and Integrated Community Development” program, which has been managed by the Bishopric of General Services since 2018, within the framework of the bishopric’s strategy (2018-2020).
The institute is one of the founding members of the “Development Partners Committee of the Coptic Church,” and it participates in the annual meetings of His Holiness with the metropolitans, bishops and priests responsible for social care services in the See of St. Mark, organized by the Pope’s secretariat for social care.
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