Our Clergy

Fr Jacob was born in Alexandria, Egypt, to Gamal and Nabila Benyamin. Together with his family, he migrated to Australia in 1994, where he was raised within the Coptic Orthodox Church and became closely connected with the community of St Mark’s Church.

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Fr Jacob is one of four children, with his siblings Rania Ibrahim, Reneh Aziz and Robert Benyamin. From a young age, the Church formed an important part of his life, with St Mark’s becoming his spiritual home and the community in which his faith, service and relationship with Christ continued to grow.

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Education and Professional Life

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Fr Jacob attended St Mary’s Coptic Orthodox College, where his education was undertaken within the life and traditions of the Coptic Orthodox community.

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Prior to entering the priesthood, he pursued a professional career in finance, gaining extensive experience in the field while continuing to remain actively involved in the life and service of the Church.

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Alongside his professional career, Fr Jacob has maintained a particular love and appreciation for Coptic iconography, reflecting his deep connection with the spiritual, artistic and liturgical heritage of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

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Family

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Fr Jacob is married to his beloved wife, Monica, and together they have a daughter, Mira.

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His family has accompanied and supported him throughout his journey of service and his calling to the Holy Priesthood. Their commitment to the life of the Church has been an important part of the journey which ultimately led Fr Jacob to dedicate his life to the pastoral service of Christ and His people.

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A Life of Service at St Mark’s

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Fr Jacob’s relationship with St Mark’s extends well beyond his attendance as a parishioner. Having grown within the Church, he became actively involved in its ministries and developed a longstanding commitment to serving its children and youth.

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From 2009 until 2017, he served within the St Mark’s Youth Ministry, helping to support and guide young people during an important stage of their spiritual lives.

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He subsequently served in Sunday School, particularly with students in Years 11 and 12, before later returning to serve once again within the Youth Ministry.

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Through these years of service, Fr Jacob developed strong relationships with generations of young people and families within the parish. His involvement allowed him to experience the life of St Mark’s from many perspectives — as a child of the parish, a member of its congregation, a servant and, ultimately, as one called to its priesthood.

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St Mark’s has therefore remained a constant throughout his life in Australia: the place in which he worshipped, served, formed friendships, raised his family and deepened his relationship with God.

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Journey to the Priesthood

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In 2026, following a period of prayer, consultation and discernment concerning the pastoral needs and future of St Mark’s Church, Mr Remon Benyamin was nominated as a candidate for the Holy Priesthood.

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The nomination took place with the blessing and guidance of His Grace Bishop Rewis, Papal Legate of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne, and was received with great joy by the congregation.

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For the parish, the nomination held particular significance. Fr Jacob was not a stranger being called to serve the community, but one of St Mark’s own sons — a person who had grown within its walls, worshipped at its altar and spent many years serving its people.

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On Sunday 26 April 2026, following the Divine Liturgy, the congregation gathered to participate in the parish election concerning his nomination to the priesthood.

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The overwhelming support of the congregation was received with thanksgiving to God and began an important period of spiritual and ecclesiastical preparation for Fr Jacob and his family.

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Following the completion of the required diocesan and ecclesiastical processes, the parish awaited the blessing of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, as the journey towards ordination continued.

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Ordination as a Full Deacon

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In preparation for the Holy Priesthood, Remon Benyamin was ordained to the rank of Full Deacon on Saturday 5 September 2026, by the blessed hands of His Grace Bishop Rewis.

At his ordination, he received the name Deacon Peter.

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The Divine Liturgy and ordination were celebrated at St Mark’s Church and represented another important step in his preparation for priestly ministry. The occasion brought together the congregation in prayer and thanksgiving as the parish looked forward to his forthcoming ordination.

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Ordination to the Holy Priesthood

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On Saturday 19 September 2026, St Mark’s witnessed a historic and deeply joyful occasion as Deacon Peter was ordained to the Holy Priesthood, receiving the priestly name Fr Jacob.

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The ordination took place during the Divine Liturgy at St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church – Melbourne by the blessed hands of His Grace Bishop Rewis, Papal Legate of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Melbourne.

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The blessed occasion was also graced by the presence and prayers of His Grace Bishop Daniel, Bishop and Abbot of St Shenouda Monastery, New South Wales, together with beloved clergy from across the Diocese of Melbourne, Fr Jacob’s family and the congregation of St Mark’s.

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His ordination represented the culmination of many years of service and a long period of prayer by the parish for God to provide a priest to assist in shepherding its growing spiritual and pastoral needs.

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It also represented a significant moment in the history of St Mark’s. A son of the parish who had once sat among its congregation and served its young people was now entrusted with the priesthood and called to return to that same community as one of its spiritual fathers.

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Beginning His Priestly Ministry

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Following his ordination, Fr Jacob entered the traditional 40 day period of prayer, spiritual formation and preparation associated with the commencement of priestly ministry.

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His first Divine Liturgy as a priest is scheduled to be celebrated on Saturday 10 October 2026, at St Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Monastery in Putty, New South Wales.

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Following this period of preparation, Fr Jacob will return to Melbourne, with his Rite of Reception at St Mark’s Church taking place on Thursday 29 October 2026.

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His reception will mark the formal beginning of his pastoral ministry among the congregation which has been part of his life since childhood.

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As a priest of St Mark’s, Fr Jacob is called to serve through the sacramental and liturgical life of the Church, pastoral care, spiritual guidance, teaching, visitation, prayer and the many other responsibilities entrusted to the priesthood.

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His knowledge of the parish, its families, its history and its ministries provides a unique foundation for his service. Having experienced St Mark’s as a child, young person, servant, husband, father and member of the congregation, he now begins a new chapter as a priest and shepherd of its people.

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The Parish Board and congregation of St Mark’s give thanks to our gracious Lord for the gift of Fr Jacob’s priesthood and for His guidance throughout this journey.

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We pray that the Lord may preserve and strengthen Fr Jacob throughout all the years of his ministry; granting him wisdom, humility, patience and love, and blessing every work entrusted to his hands.

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May God grant him a fruitful and blessed priesthood, that through his service many may be drawn closer to Christ and strengthened in the life of His Holy Church.