The Holy Synod of the Syriac Orthodox Church, our Sister Church in the faith, met on March 31, 2014 under the leadership of Catholicos Abune Basalios Thomas I of India and Archbishop Mor Severios Hawathe of Baghdad and Basra, the locum tenens of the Patriarchal See, and elected Metropolitan Mor Cyril Aphrem Karim Elected as the 123rd Patriarch of Antioch and All East. Since January 1996, he has served as the Metropolitan and Patriarchal Vicar – …

With a strong hope in the Resurrection of our Savior, the Diocese offers condolences to our brothers and sisters in the Antiochian Orthodox Church for the departure of His Eminence Metropolitan Philip (Saliba), Archbishop of New York and Metropolitan of All America. Upon hearing the news, His Grace Bishop Serapion immediately offered condolences to Archbishop Joseph of the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles and the West. The Antiochian Orthodox Church is one of two – …

Christian unity is an exalted goal that all faithful seek. We pray that God may grant His children to be united in faith. In order to achieve this unity, we must return to the Early Church, especially the Apostolic Era, to understand Christian unity. In the Book of Acts, we read, “Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as – …

Fellow Graduates and Young Professionals, Join us this October in the beautiful beach town of Oxnard, California for our 11th Annual Graduates and Young Professionals (GYP) Convention: Orthodoxy Uncensored: Defining Truth; refining tradition This year, we will be navigating the complexities of the often blurred lines between dogma and culture. Find where you stand (and where you should be standing) as we explore together our Church’s core beliefs and the effect and role of various, – …

The ecumenical Christian organization, Christian Churches Together (CCT), has issued a powerful statement in support of the Copts in wake of the recent unprecedented violence against them in Egypt. The statement reads as follows: Grace and peace be to you, in the name of our Lord and Savior! We write to you as leaders of Christian Churches Together in the USA. During the last three weeks of political unrest in Egypt, we have witnessed with – …

LOS ANGELES, July 11, 2013 – The Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, His Grace, Bishop Serapion, along with local Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) leader Dr. Hathoot Salam, were presented with a certificate of acknowledgement from the City of Los Angeles Human Rights Commission (CLAHRC), at the Annual Iftar dinner (July 10, 2013), highlighting His Grace’s promotion of peace, love and dignity. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the CLAHRC hosted an inter-faith – …

On Friday, May 10, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark and the Church of Alexandria, concluded an historic meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis, the Patriarch of the See of St. Peter and the Church of Rome. The two Popes discussed the ongoing ecumenical dialogue between the Coptic Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches on the 40th anniversary of a similarly historic visit to Pope Paul VI by Pope – …

On Wednesday, May 8, His Grace Bishop Serapion traveled to the Vatican to join a delegation of Coptic Orthodox bishops accompanying His Holiness Pope Tawadros II in an historic visit to meet His Holiness Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Tawadros’ visit marks the first official visit by the Pope of Alexandria to the Pope of Rome in over 40 years, since Pope Shenouda III of thrice-blessed memory met with Pope Paul VI – …

His Holiness Abune Paulos, Patriarch and Catholicos of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, passed away last night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He was 76 years old. Official sources have confirmed the departure of the Patriarch. Lately, he had been seriously ill at the Dejazmach Balcha Hospital in Addis Ababa. Coptic Orthodox Christians will remember the warm friendship between the Thrice-Blessed Pope Shenouda III and the Thrice-Blessed Patriarch Paulos as the hierarchs of the Coptic and – …

With the grace of God and the blessing of His Grace Bishop Serapion, St. Peter and St. Paul Coptic Orthodox Church will hold the Fifth Annual Orthodox Day of Praise on May 12, 2012. This day is a gathering and a participation of different Orthodox churches with love which is the greatest truth for a praise day. This is a humble effort is to unite our Orthodox congregation using the language of heaven – hymns and praises. In the past years we had the – …

On Sunday, January 8, His Grace Bishop Serapion attended a service and reception at St. Nicholas Cathedral honoring the Antiochian Orthodox Archbishop Joseph (Zehlaoui) who was elevated to the rank of Archbishop by His Beatitude Patriarch Ignatius IV on December 11, 2011. Archbishop Joseph is the hierarch of the Antiochian Orthodox Diocese of the West. On behalf of the Diocese, Bishop Serapion relayed congratulations and wishes for a long and blessed service to the newly – …

The North American Orthodox-Catholic Theological Consultation held its 81st meeting at St Paul’s College in Washington October 27-28. The meeting was chaired by Catholic Archbishop Gregory Aymond of New Orleans. The Eastern Orthodox co-chairman since 1987, Metropolitan Maximos of Pittsburgh, has retired, and a successor has not yet been named. During this meeting the members heard reports about major events in the lives of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches and issued a brief statement, “On – …