Sister Gabriella Reham Louka and Sister Philomena Rania Doss, pictured with His Grace Bishop Antony, of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and Archbishop Eamon Martin Chancellor of SPPU and Fr Neil Xavier O’Donoghue, Lecturer in Systematic Theology after they graduated from St Patrick’s Pontifical University, Maynooth with First Class Honours in the MTh programme. Sister Gabriella Reham Louka’s thesis was entitled “Christ’s Grace and Holy Spirit Works of Internalisation in Relation to Personal Freewill in the Macarian Fifty Homilies”, and Sister Philomena Rania Doss’ thesis was entitled “Pachomian Koinonia as an Archetype and Role Model of Christian Community: A Study of the ‘Instruction concerning a Spiteful Monk’”

The two Coptic Orthodox (Egyptian) nuns began their studies in Maynooth three years ago. The nuns live in the Coptic Orthodox Abbey of St. George in Delvin, Co. Westmeath where they are helping establish the monastic life for the Coptic Orthodox Church in the European diaspora.