Bechara Giuda Mata

Bechara Giuda Matta (born 28 August 1971) is an Egyptian Coptic Catholic hierarch. He has served as the first bishop of the Eparchy of Abu Qurqas since its establishment in 2020.

Biography Bechara Giuda was born on 28 August 1971 in the village of Al-Nujaila, located in the Sohag Governorate, Egypt. He entered the Seraphic Seminary of the Franciscans in Asyut in 1983.

Giuda studied philosophy at the Franciscan Seminary in Giza. Following his mandatory military service, he pursued his theological training, initially studying at the Patriarchal Seminary in Maadi, Cairo, and subsequently graduating from Saint Paul University in Harissa, Lebanon. Since 2010 he has served as pastor and guardian of the Shrine of the Stigmata of Saint Francis in Assiut.

On 7 January 2020, following the assent of Pope Francis, the Synod of Bishops of the Coptic Catholic Church officially established the Eparchy of Abu Qurqas, carving it out of the territory of the Eparchy of Minya. Giuda was elected as its first eparchial bishop.

He received his episcopal consecration on 27 February 2020 from Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, with other Coptic Catholic bishops serving as co-consecrators.