Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii is the Coptic Orthodox Church's diocese for Los Angeles, the south of California and the state of Hawaii. It was established in 1995 by Pope Shenouda III, who named Bishop Serapion its first bishop on 14 November 1995. Pope Tawadros II raised him to the rank of metropolitan in 2016. The diocese's headquarters are in Pomona, California.

Foundation

The diocese's overview says its foundation was laid in the mid-1970s, when Coptic families emigrated to the United States from Egypt; the parish directory records that the first church acquired by Copts in Southern California was St Mark in Los Angeles.

According to the diocese's own history, Pope Shenouda III raised the question of a diocese for Southern California with the clergy during a visit to New Jersey in September 1995, and proposed Bishop Serapion, who had accompanied him on his visits to the region from 1989 to 1995. A petition signed by the congregations of the Southern California parishes was sent to Cairo. On 14 November 1995 the Pope called Bishop Serapion, then General Bishop of Public, Ecumenical and Social Services, to be Bishop of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii; on the same day he called Bishop Youssef to head a new diocese of the southern United States, from Arizona to Florida.

The papal document establishing the diocese, which the diocese publishes in English, is dated 23 December 1995. It names thirteen parishes, among them St Mark and St Mary in Los Angeles, St George in Bellflower and St Demiana in San Diego, and extends the diocese to Palmdale, Bakersfield, all of Southern California and Hawaii. Bishop Serapion was enthroned the same day at Holy Virgin Mary and St Pishoy church in Los Angeles, in the presence of six bishops. The Patriarchate's listing of dioceses gives the entry a date of establishment of 2 June 1985, the day of Bishop Serapion's ordination as a general bishop, rather than 1995; Wikidata records an inception of 14 November 1995.

Hierarchs

Metropolitan Serapion was ordained a priest on 18 July 1981 at El-Sourian Monastery, served the Coptic community in Switzerland from December 1983 to June 1985, and was ordained a general bishop for Public, Ecumenical and Social Services at St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo on 2 June 1985. On 28 February 2016 Pope Tawadros II elevated him to the rank of metropolitan; his official title is Bishop of Los Angeles and Metropolitan of Southern California and Hawaii. The diocese's page on him records that he sits on the governing board of the National Council of Churches of Christ.

Two auxiliary bishops were consecrated by Pope Tawadros II on 12 June 2016. Bishop Abraham, ordained a priest on 31 May 2001, is Auxiliary Bishop for Diakonia, the diocese's social services. Bishop Kyrillos, ordained a priest for the St Paul Brotherhood on 20 October 2002, holds a law degree from Georgetown University and a doctorate in the history of Christianity from the University of Notre Dame; he oversees Christian education in the diocese and is dean of the St Athanasius and St Cyril Theological School at Claremont.

Territory and parishes

The diocese's directory explains that, because its churches may lie more than a hundred miles apart, they are grouped in four regions of Southern California, north, south, east and west, and one region for Hawaii. The Eastern Region serves Riverside, Corona, Chino and the Inland Empire; the Western Region, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Hollywood; the Northern Region, the San Fernando Valley and the areas north of Los Angeles; and the Southern Region, Orange County and San Diego.

The directory lists 46 entries: 43 churches, the monasteries of St Antony and of St Paul the Apostle in the Eastern Region, and the Convent of St Katherine of Alexandria and St Verena. Three churches are in Hawaii, among them St Mary on Kauai and St Mena on Maui. The directory names no cathedral. Wikipedia counted 44 parishes as of 2023.

1. 2 June 1985

   Serapion is ordained a general bishop in Cairo.

2. September 1995

   Pope Shenouda III proposes a diocese for Southern California to its clergy in New Jersey.

3. 14 November 1995

   Bishop Serapion is named Bishop of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii.

4. 23 December 1995

   The establishing document is dated, and Bishop Serapion is enthroned in Los Angeles.

5. 28 February 2016

   Pope Tawadros II elevates Bishop Serapion to metropolitan.

6. 12 June 2016

   Bishop Abraham and Bishop Kyrillos are consecrated auxiliary bishops.