In response to the Australian Coptic Commission for Antiquities Preservation, Coptic Christians, led by Reverend Fred Nayel, President of the Christian Democratic Party of Australia, and member of the Parliament of New South Wales and former Australian Foreign Minister and member of the Federal Parliament Antony Benesi , headed to St. Mary and St. Mina church to declare their condemnation of arbitrary decision of the west of Sydney city Council to remove the oldest Coptic Church in Australia and the first Church of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate outside Egypt, after less than 24 hours of the church going up in flames as investigations are ongoing to determine the circumstances of the incident by the Australian police.
The demonstration was attended by some Coptic organizations and three priests of the Coptic Church, where everyone showed their full solidarity with the Coptic community’s demanding to stop the decision to remove their memories. The attendees also sent a strong message to those who failed and missed more than an opportunity to return the church to the Coptic community, and they will not forgive them for their shameful positions for not giving up a few dollars that was enough to retain the church before things get complicated, in order to stop the removal decision and register it in the Australian archaeologist and also it will be written down in history that the first Coptic Church outside Egypt was bought during the reign of Pope Cyril VI and inaugurated in the reign of Pope Shenouda III and removed during the reign of Pope Tawadros II .
In the same context, some major Australian newspapers, including the Daily Telegraph and Harold Sun, highlighted in their news titles the decision to remove the church and its history, and the reaction of the Federal Parliament member Anthony Bennisi, who opposed the decision to remove it.
