Toma Adly Zaki

Contents

Toma Adly Zaki (also known as Thomas Adly Zaki; born 5 November 1966) is an Egyptian Coptic Catholic hierarch who has served as the Bishop of the Eparchy of Giza since 2019.[1] He previously served as the Titular Bishop of Cabasa and the Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of the same eparchy from 2018 to 2019.[2]

Early life and education

Maher Adly Zaki was born on 5 November 1966 in Minya, Egypt.[3] He initially pursued secular education, graduating with a degree in civil engineering in 1988.[2]

Feeling a religious calling, he made a theological training at the St. Leo the Great Major Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi and was ordained a priest for the Eparchy of Minya on 20 April 2001 by Bishop [[Antonios Naguib]].[3][1] Zaki continued his higher ecclesiastical studies in Rome, Italy, where he obtained a certificate in Islamology from the Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies (PISAI) in 1999 and subsequently earned a licentiate in biblical theology from the Pontifical Urban University.[2]

Priesthood

Following his ordination, Zaki served from 2001 to 2003 as the deputy parish priest of the Cathedral of Minya.[2][3] In 2008, he moved into academic and formative ministry, becoming a professor of Sacred Scripture and a formator at the St. Leo the Great Major Coptic Catholic Seminary in Maadi, Cairo.[3][4]

He later become the rector of the seminary since 2015 until 2018.[5] During this period, he also served as the Secretary General of the Assembly of the Catholic Hierarchy in Egypt and directed the "Saint Jerome" Centre for Bible Studies in Cairo.[2] In addition to his native Arabic, he is fluent in Italian and English.[2]

Episcopal ministry

On 10 April 2018, Pope Francis appointed him as the Titular Bishop of Cabasa and Apostolic Administrator sede vacante of the Eparchy of Guizeh, following the resignation of Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina.[2] Upon his appointment, he assumed the episcopal name Thomas.[2] He received his episcopal consecration on 25 May 2018 from Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, with several bishops of the Coptic Catholic Synod serving as co-consecrators.[1]

Less than a year later, on 25 March 2019, the Synod of Bishops of the Patriarchal Coptic Catholic Church officially elected Zaki as the canonical eparchial Bishop of Giza, an election assented to by Pope Francis.[4]

References

  1. 1.[1.2][1.3]Cheney, David M. "Bishop Toma Adly Zaki". Catholic-Hierarchy.org. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  2. 2.[2.2][2.3][2.4][2.5][2.6][2.7][2.8]"Rinunce e nomine, 10.04.2018". Sala Stampa della Santa Sede (in Italian). 10 April 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  3. 3.[3.2][3.3][3.4]تعرف على الأنبا توماس عدلى أسقف إيبارشية الجيزة بالكنيسة الكاثوليكية [Get to know Anba Thomas Adly, Bishop of the Eparchy of Giza for the Catholic Church]. Youm7 (in Arabic). 5 November 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  4. 4.[4.2]"Rinunce e nomine, 25.03.2019". Sala Stampa della Santa Sede (in Italian). 25 March 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  5. 5.الأب توما عدلي أسقفًا، ومدبرًا لأبرشية الجيزة للأقباط الكاثوليك [Father Toma Adly as Bishop and Administrator of the Giza Eparchy for Coptic Catholics]. Abouna.org (in Arabic). 11 April 2018. Retrieved 6 June 2026.