HH Pope Tawadros II will be given the keys to the city when he visits Casey on September 8.
Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria is the second Coptic Christian to be given the key, the other was Bishop Anba Suriel in 2012.
It is only the third time the City of Casey has handed out the keys. The other time was to Liverpool City FC.
Mayor Sam Aziz is a devout Coptic Christian.
The Cranbourne Leader was originally asked to keep the man’s identity a secret for security reasons related to terror threats, but the Coptic Church has since released full details of his visit.
Mayor Sam Aziz put forward a motion to award the key to Mr Tawadros at the July 4 meeting, in honour of his “outstanding efforts in promoting love and peace between all people, and his wisdom in leading a persecuted church to spiritual revival and triumph.”
Councillors can nominate anyone to receive a key but recipients are supposed to “further the ideals of the City of Casey,” according to the city’s policy.
Casey governance manager Holly de Kretser said the city had not covered any of the pope’s travel expenses and would not cover any costs while he was here.
Coptic Christians are one of the most persecuted groups in the middle east, with a number of bloody attacks against Coptic Churches in recent years.
On April 9 this year 45 people were reported killed and 126 injured after two suicide bombings at churches at St George’s Church in Tanta and at Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria
The second incident occurred minutes after Pope Tawadros II left the church to respond to the St George’s bombing.
The bombers were later linked to the Islamic State group.
In May, 28 Copts travelling to a monastery near Cairo were dragged from their vehicles and executed after refusing to recite a Muslim profession of faith.
In June, the federal government announced Coptic Christians who had their refugee claims refused would be reconsidered in light of the violence.
Coptic Christians comprise 10-20 per cent of the population of Egypt.
There are approximately 100,000 Coptic Christians in Australia and a few hundred at the Coptic Christian church in Hallam.
