Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of London is the Coptic Orthodox Church's diocese for London, the south of England and south Wales. It was established in 2017 by Pope Tawadros II and the Holy Synod, and its seat is the Cathedral of Saint George at the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Foundation

The diocese's own history records that, before 2017, the Coptic Orthodox parishes of London, the south of England and south Wales were under a Papal Diocese, which the Pope of Alexandria oversaw through a delegate. Bishop Angaelos, a general bishop since 1999, was that delegate.

On 11 November 2017, in a service at the Monastery of St Bishoy in Wadi El-Natrun, Pope Tawadros II and the Holy Synod proclaimed him the first diocesan Bishop of London, according to the church's UK press office. He was enthroned on 18 November 2017 at the Cathedral of Saint George in Hertfordshire. The diocese's page on its archbishop says that he was granted the ecclesial title of Archbishop of London on his proclamation, and that Pope Tawadros II delegated him to represent the church in the United Kingdom at the ecumenical and official level as papal legate; the Patriarchate's own diocese listing names him as Bishop Angaelos.

Cathedral and parishes

The Cathedral of Saint George stands in the grounds of Shephalbury Manor, a Victorian gothic house built in 1865 that the diocese says has been the Coptic Orthodox Church Centre in the United Kingdom for more than two decades. The diocese describes the cathedral as the first purpose-built Coptic Orthodox place of worship in the United Kingdom. It was inaugurated in 2006, and its twentieth anniversary was marked on 5 September 2026 in the presence of the Duke of Gloucester, who had also attended the inauguration.

The diocese's parish listing names the cathedral and eight parishes, among them St Mark's, St Mary and Archangel Michael, St Mary and St Shenouda, and the Sanctuary. Its ministries page lists bodies for students, young professionals, the homeless and apologetics, and the Coptic Orthodox Office for Advocacy and Public Policy (REFCEMI). The church in the United Kingdom holds an annual Nayrouz service at St Margaret's, Westminster Abbey; the 2026 service, on 14 September, was the fourteenth.

The other dioceses in Britain and Ireland

The Patriarchate's dioceses listing names three dioceses in the United Kingdom and Ireland: London, Birmingham, and Ireland, Scotland and North East England. Wikipedia speaks of four diocesan bishops in Great Britain and Ireland but names three dioceses. The Patriarchate's listing gives the Diocese of Birmingham, under Bishop Missael, a founding date of 25 May 1980; Wikipedia records his consecration as its first bishop on 26 May 1991 and its later name, the Diocese of the Midlands. The Diocese of Ireland, Scotland and North East England, under Bishop Antony, was founded in June 1995 according to the Patriarchate's listing.

Before the diocese

1. 10 August 1954

   The first Coptic Orthodox liturgy in Britain is prayed in London, by delegates to the World Council of Churches assembly.

2. February 1969

   Bishop Shenouda, later Pope Shenouda III, prays a service in London that leads to regular gatherings at St Andrew's church in Holborn.

3. 1978

   Pope Shenouda III consecrates St Mark's church in Kensington, the first Coptic Orthodox parish in Europe, as the diocese's history dates it; Wikipedia gives 1979.

4. 26 May 1991

   Bishop Missael is consecrated as the first bishop of the Diocese of Birmingham.

5. June 1995

   The Diocese of Ireland, Scotland and North East England is founded under Bishop Antony.

6. 1999

   Angaelos is consecrated a general bishop for the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom.

7. 2006

   The Cathedral of Saint George is inaugurated in Hertfordshire.

8. 18 November 2017

   Bishop Angaelos is enthroned over the new Diocese of London.