About Us
What is Coptic Orthodox Church?
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is:
An Ancient Christian Church. It is one of the most ancient Churches in the world, having been founded by Saint Mark the Apostle, the writer of the second gospel, in the first Century. The word ‘Coptic’ comes from the ancient Egyptian word ‘hekaptah’ meaning ‘Egypt’, and thus ‘Coptic’ merely means ‘Egyptian.’
As a conservative Church, the Coptic Church has carefully preserved the Orthodox Christian Faith in its earliest and purest form, handing it down from generation to generation, unaltered and true to the Apostolic doctrines and patterns of worship.
Coptic Church’s Dogma
The Coptic Church is an Apostolic Church founded in Egypt by St. Mark the apostle between 60-70 AD.
Our Church believes in the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (being one God); and that our Lord, God and Savior Jesus Christ, the true Son of God, became incarnate, was born of the Virgin Saint Mary, died for us on the Cross that He may grant us Salvation, rose on the third day that He may grant us everlasting life with Him, and ascended to heaven after forty days, sending the Holy Spirit to His disciples as He promised them, on the day of Pentecost.
Church’s Hierarchs
Pope Tawadros ll
Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch on the see of St. Mark
Metropolitan Serapion
Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii
Bishop Abraham
The Auxiliary Bishop for Diakonia in the Diocese of Los Angeles
Bishop Kyrillos
The Auxiliary Bishop in the Diocese of Los Angeles
Father Philemon Nashed
Priest for Archangel Michael and Gabriel’s Church in Fresno
About the Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii
The Diocese was officially established in 1995 by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, under whom the Coptic Orthodox Church has grown exponentially outside of Egypt. Although the foundation of the Diocese was planted in the mid-1970s when numerous Coptic families emigrated to the United States from Egypt under the leadership and guidance of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, the time came in 1995 for the official establishment of a Diocese under the auspices of His Grace Bishop Serapion.