Father Zakariah Boutros was born on the 24th October 1934 in the town of Kafr el Dawar in the governorate of Behaira, in close proximity to Alexandria. He was born in a Christian family who were deeply involved in evangelical work and cared for all those who crossed their way. It is in this context that Fayez Boutros (Father Zakariah’s name before ordination) developed an awareness of the importance of evangelism to the Muslims.
In the 1960s Father Zakariah wrote a few booklets targeting Muslims, aiming to show common grounds between Christianity and Islam and explaining issues that obstructed Muslims’ openness to Christianity, such as the Trinity, Crucifixtion and the Incarnation of God in Christ.