Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York and New England

The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York and New England, also referred to as the Coptic Diocese of New York, is a diocese of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It was founded in 2013 and encompasses the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont in the United States of America. The diocese's first and current bishop is His Grace Bishop David.

Diocese of New York and New England
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryConnecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont
Statistics
Population
- Total		(as of 2015)
22,935,940
Parishes33
Information
DenominationCoptic Orthodox
RiteOriental Orthodox
Established16 November 2013
CathedralSaint Mina and Pope Kyrillos VI Cathedral, Chestnut Ridge, New York
Secular priests50
Current leadership
PopePope Tawadros II
BishopBishop David
Website
www.nynecopts.org

History

The first Copts from Egypt immigrated to the United States in the 1940s. By the 1970s, many had settled in New York and New England, and their numbers continued to grow as the years went on.[1] For many years, the few Coptic churches there were administered by the Archdiocese of North America under the auspices of only the Pope of Alexandria. By the 2010s, the Coptic population had grown sufficiently large to support an independent diocese. Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria created the Diocese of New York and New England out of the geographic areas written in the name of the diocese; its territory was taken from the Archdiocese of North America.[1] Pope Tawadros consecrated the diocese' first bishop, David, as diocesan bishop in a two-day ceremony from November 16–17, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt.[1] An official enthronement ceremony for Bishop David took place on 7 December 2013 at St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church in Woodbury, New York.[1] His Grace Bishop David had formerly served as a general bishop in New England under the aforementioned archdiocese for several years. The Bishop Seat or the Holy Metropolis of the Diocese is in Saint Mina and Pope Kyrillos VI Cathedral, Chestnut Ridge, New York.

Scandals

Pedophilia

On July 14, 2020, after public decelerations by a victims, the pedophile priest Hegomen Reweis Aziz Khalil (Now: Yousef Aziz Khalil) was exposed and later defrocked.[2] Khalil served in several churches and was reported repeatedly throughout the years Khalil assaulted several girls and women in the diocese during the sacrament of confession. Khalil was moved to another diocese following the discovery.[3][4][5][6][7][8]

Khalil served in several churches and was reported repeatedly throughout the years within the church community, little was done to bring him to justice. In a leaked church investigation it was revealed that priests and doctors from the community councillor members to keep quiet in order to (1) not defame the church, (2) to prevent Khalil from going to prison and potentially being killed there, (3) and to prevent church leaders of the diocese from being prosecuted in the United States.[3]

Pope Tawadros II and the late Pope Shenouda re both aware of the priest's actions but did little to reprimand him.

Bishop David, the current bishop of this diocese, was well aware of the priests actions never reported Fr. Khalil to authorities. According to a leaked internal church document: a church priest reports that when Bishop David met with a victim and talked about her experience, the bishop mocked and minimized her experience and completely disregarded the accusation.[3]

Demographics
Year Membership Priests Parishes
Hegumen Presbyters Total
2013 - - - - -
2014 - - - - -
2015 - 19 31 50[9] 26

Parishes and Monastery

Parishes

Connecticut
  • Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, Hamden
  • St. Peter and St. Andrew Coptic Orthodox Church, Stamford
  • St. Mary and St. Moses the strong Coptic Orthodox Church, Waterford

Maine

Massachusetts
  • St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, Natick
  • St. Mary and St. George Coptic Orthodox Church, Marshfield
  • St. Paul and St. John Chrysostom Coptic Orthodox Church, Boston
  • The Holy Family Coptic Orthodox Church, Attleboro
  • St. Philopateer and St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church, Wayland
  • St. Mary and St. Demiana Coptic Orthodox Church, Fall River
  • St. Mary and St. Tomas Coptic Orthodox Church, Gardner
  • St. Shenouda and St. Karas Coptic Orthodox Church, Milford
  • St. Mary and Pope Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church (El-Karma), Charlton

New Hampshire
  • St. Mary and Archangel Michael Coptic Orthodox Church, Nashua

New York

Rhode Island
  • St. Mary and St. Mena Coptic Orthodox Church, Hope
  • St. Mary and St. Mena Coptic Orthodox Church, Cranston

Vermont
  • St. Mary and Archangel Raphael Coptic Orthodox Church, Burlington

Communities and missions

Coptic Orthodox communities and missions are congregations of Copts who gather for religious services but do not have a sufficient number of people to support a full parish.

Connecticut

New York

St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Mission, Rochester

Monastery

The diocese has formally established a Monastery in The Boston Region, under the name of Virgin Mary & Pope Kyrillos VI in Charlton, Massachusetts. This is the first monastery to be established in the Diocese, and the third in North America. It is also the first monastery in the Coptic Orthodox Church to be named after Saint Pope Kyrillos VI.

Bishop
  • Bishop David (16 November 2013 – present)

References
  1. "The Diocese | Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England". www.nynecopts.org. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
  2. "https://twitter.com/copticsurvivor". Twitter. Retrieved 2020-07-28. External link in |title= (help)
  3. "Egyptian Coptic Priest Defrocked Following Allegations of Sexual Abuse, Paedophilia". Egyptian Streets. 2020-07-19. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  4. "Coptic Church strips alleged paedophile priest of clerical status". The National. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  5. Presse, AFP-Agence France. "Coptic Pope Defrocks US-linked Priest Accused Of Paedophilia". barrons.com. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  6. "COPTIC POPE DEFROCKS US-LINKED PRIEST ACCUSED OF PAEDOPHILIA". Voxafrica. 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  7. "Coptic pope defrocks US-linked priest accused of paedophilia". Arab News. 2020-07-18. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  8. "Coptic Pope Defrocks US-Linked Priest Accused Of Paedophilia". Channels Television. Retrieved 2020-07-28.
  9. "Our Clergy | Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England". www.nynecopts.org. Retrieved 2015-10-22.
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