There will be a spiritual day for the youth (high-school and college) On Saturday 3/22 at the church of Archangel and St. Mina. Guest speaker Fr. Pishoy Salama from Toronto.

Fr. Pishoy was born in Giza, Egypt in 1970. He immigrated with his family to Toronto, Canada in 1984 where he completed his high school education. In 1993 he graduated from York University with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Math and Statistics. He served at St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Toronto as a youth counsellor until he was ordained as a priest in the same church on November 14, 1999.

On November 14, 2007, Fr. Pishoy was appointed by H.H. Pope Shenouda III to establish St. Maurice & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church which is the first multicultural missionary Coptic Orthodox Church in North America.

Fr. Pishoy graduated from Tyndale Seminary in May 2006 with a Master of Divinity degree majoring in Youth and Family Ministry. In the same year of his graduation, he started his Doctor of Ministry degree at the University of Toronto and graduated in November 2012. The title of his dissertation is “Of All Nations: Exploring Intercultural Marriages in the Coptic Orthodox Church of the GTA”. In January 2013, Fr. Pishoy was appointed as an adjunct professor of Theology at the University of Trinity College in the University of Toronto.

On January 24, 2013, Fr. Pishoy received Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for his efforts in promoting diversity and multiculturalism. This medal is offered to “honour outstanding citizens for their dedicated service to peers, community and province”.

Fr. Pishoy is married to Tasoni Sandra and has three children: Mary, David, and Andrew. His hobbies include reading and playing sports (especially basketball and soccer).