The congregation of Archangel Raphael and St. John the Beloved Coptic Orthodox Church prayed its first liturgy January 3, 2009 in a rented church near downtown Chapel Hill. We then moved into a rented space across from Southpoint Mall in October 2009 and prayed there for 3 years until moving into our new church on Old Lystra road in November, 2012. Our congregation first bought 21 acres of land on August 19th 2010, on the Feast day of the Transfiguration of our Lord. Then, in January 2012, the church broke ground and the construction of our new church began. From its beginning, our church had over 18 visiting priests serving us in over a 4 year period since the church began. Fr. Morcos Habib prayed the first liturgy on January 3, 2009 and stayed with us for 1.5 years until moving to another church in New Jersey. With the approval of Pope Tawadros II, Fr. Angelos became our permanent priest on November 11th, 2012. We prayed the first liturgy in our new church on Old Lystra Road on November 18th, 2012, the same day that Bishop Tawadros was enthroned Pope. Today our congregation is over 100 families and continues to grow. We have many activities for the kids, youth and adults, including Bible studies, special lectures from outside speakers, retreats, summer camps, and sports. Our church is also in the process of establishing a new Sunday School curriculum for Kindergarten through high school. Much of the curriculum is already posted on the church website.