Archdeacon Youssef Ragheb Abdelmalek reposed peacefully on the evening of February 17, 2008. Archdeacon Youssef was born in Egypt on March 8, 1923. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Cairo University in 1948. He worked as an Engineer for many years and reached the rank of Deputy Chairmen of the National Organization of water and Sanitary Drainage in Cairo. He served in many churches in Egypt before coming to California in 1985. – …

Due to the presence of HH the Pope at the Monastery, the Orthodox Russian Delegate headed there on the evening of Thursday, December 16 to meet HH at His papal Residence at the Monastery. His Holiness the Pope received them and discussed matters concerning the Theological dialogue between the two Orthodox families and the Orthodox cooperation at the Ecumenical Councils especially at the World Council of Churches, also the Orthodox Joint responsibilities in confronting the – …

October 25, 2006–His Holiness Pope Shenouda III had a successful spinal surgery at the Cleveland Clinic on Sunday, October 22, 2006. The surgery and immediate recovery have been excellent. His Holiness the Pope is currently receiving routine physical therapy, which is the natural follow-up to such surgery. Pope Shenouda is overseeing the daily affairs of the Coptic Orthodox Church from his hospital suite in Cleveland. On Monday, October 23, 2006, His Holiness the Pope called – …

Under the guidance and leadership of His Grace Bishop Serapion, the Diocese of Los Angeles has established a theological library in the name of the great Alexandrian fathers, St. Athanasius and St. Cyril, with the mission to establish a library to encourage the study of the biblical and patristic heritage of the great Alexandrian Fathers, especially Saint Athanasius and Saint Cyril. It is hoped that this effort will help respond to the theological, pastoral, and – …

In August 2003, the Coptic Orthodox Church, through the leadership of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III and the Holy Synod, issued a formal declaration against homosexuality and same-sex marriage. In part, the declaration stated, Same-sex marriage is against the Divine Plan for marriage and its purpose of procreation. “But from the beginning of the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’ For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined – …

On Saturday, March 14, St. Marina Coptic Orthodox Church will hold a spiritual day for junior-high youth on the topic “Creation versus Evolution.” The aim of the programme is to educate young Orthodox Christian youth on the Church’s teaching on the creation versus evolution debate. In addition, the day will offer fellowship, skits, and games to both educate and entertain the youth. The schedule will be as follows: 10:00 – 10:30 Welcome 10:30 – 11:00 – …

The word Copt is derived from the Greek word Aigyptos, which was, in turn, derived from "Hikaptah", one of the names for Memphis, the first capital of Ancient Egypt. Following the Arab conquest of Egypt in 640 A.D., the land of Egypt has been called "dar al-Gibt" (home of the Egyptians) and since Christianity was the official religion of Egypt at the time, the word "Gibt" came to refer to the practitioners of Christianity as – …

The Lord Christ and the Cross The Lord invited to bear the Cross and said: “If anyone desires to come after ‎Me, let him deny himself, and take up his Cross, and follow Me” (Matt. 16:24; ‎Mark 8:34). And He said to the rich young man: “Go your way, sell whatever you ‎have and give to the poor,…and come, take up the Cross, and follow Me.” (Mark ‎‎10:21). ‎ He made the bearing of the – …

We all know that our Lord Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead after four days. The woman who poured the fragrant oil was celebrating–albeit unknowingly–the end of the stench of death and the beginning of a new era. On that day, our Lord Jesus Christ was invited to the house of His beloved. Who are those beloved? They were Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha. And what about this new era? We – …

Introduction Occasionally, the Copts have been described as a schismatic eastern Christian minority, a lonely community in the land of their forebears. They have been forgotten since they chose living in oblivion after the tragedy of Chalcedon (451 A.D.) which was followed by a new wave of persecution inflicted upon them by fellow Christians and Byzantine rulers. Though they were not unknown to mediaeval and early modern travellers from Europe, Western Christendom appears to have – …

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, this holy period is specified for correction, purification, an enlightenment of our entire being, both physically and spiritually. Great Lent is considered the spring of our spiritual life, and for every soul that yearns for her Heavenly Bridegroom, this is considered “a honeymoon,” in which the soul relinquishes worldly cares in order to be free for the Bridegroom and can say with the bride of the Song of – …

POMONA, CA – On Thursday, January 19, 2009, His Grace Bishop Serapion and the clergy of the Diocese will convene at St. Marina Coptic Orthodox Church in Irvine, California for their monthly clergy meeting.  By special invitation of His Grace Bishop Serapion, the clergy will be edified with a lecture on the history of Oriental Orthodox liturgies by Dr. Hans-Jürgen Feulner. Dr. Feulner is a university professor for Liturgical Studies and Theology of the Sacraments – …