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 bishop is 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] 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 and Sexual Abuse

On July 14, 2020, after public declerations by a victims, the pedophile priest Yousef Aziz Khalil (under the title Hegomen Reweis Aziz Khalil) was exposed and later defrocked.[2] Khalil served in several churches and was reported throughout the years to have 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 several times reported to the church community, but nothing was done to bring him to justice. In a leaked church investigation it was revealed that priests and doctors from the community and council members kept quiet in order not to bring the name of the church into disrepute, to prevent Khalil from going to prison and potentially being killed there, and to protect church leaders of the diocese from being prosecuted in the United States.[3]

Pope Tawadros II and the late Pope Shenouda were both aware of the priest's actions but did not reprimand him. Bishop David, the bishop of this diocese, was aware of the priest's actions, but never reported Fhim to authorities. According to a leaked internal church document, a church priest reported 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]

Response to Allegations of Sexual Abuse

In response to the Allegations, on July 22, 2020, the diocese announced that it would be working on a plan to stop sexual abuse. Further, they stated " If anyone is aware of any suspected incident of sexual abuse of a minor by any such person, we urge you to immediately report to law enforcement and also to your Regional Vicar..." They further stated that they will put in all efforts to curb such conduct.[9]

The diocese has also implemented a new reporting method through a third party reporting system "integritycounts.ca," a Canadian reporting website.[9] This decision has been criticized as a means of avoiding lawsuits against the diocese and maintaining deniability since the third party organization is based outside of the United States. In New York, Law dictates that reporting of any incidence must be made to police within 48 hours following initial report of a minor,[10] this however does not apply to third parties outside of the state/ country who are informed concerning misconduct.

Further Incidence of Pedophilia: Priest Antonios Baky

Priest Antonios Baky, the Papal Secretary of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of Northern California and the Western U.S. (ANCW), who was assigned to St. Mary and St. John Coptic Orthodox Church in Pleasanton, CA was put on administrative leave on October 20, 2020 following accusations of misconducts on the Archdiocese's Sexual Misconduct and Physical Abuse and Neglect Policy. Following a request for the notice to be removed from the website by the Baky's lawyers, the request was accepted within 24 hours by Bishop David and the order was removed from the website on the same day.[11] The notice was returned once more following backlash.[12]

On November 19, 2020, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), where they disagreed with the handling of sexual abuse within the Coptic Church, calling on Bishop David and Pope Tawadros to be transparent with their flock. Further they addressed the church's approach to the allegations against Priest Antonios Baky saying "The Church investigation should only be conducted by someone outside of Fr. Baky’s diocese, and that the priest should be removed from ministry pending the outcome."[13]

Demographics
Year Membership Priests Parishes
Hegumen Presbyters Total
2013 - - - - -
2014 - - - - -
2015 - 19 31 50[14] 26

Parishes and Monastery

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. "Joint Statement on Sexual Misconduct". Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England. 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  10. "RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network". apps.rainn.org. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  11. "Coptic Archdiocese of North America". copticarch.org. Retrieved 2020-11-30.
  12. November 19; 2020. "SNAP Writes to Coptic Orthodox Officials: Group Should Learn from the Mistakes of the Catholic Church". Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Retrieved 2020-11-30.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. November 19; 2020. "SNAP Writes to Coptic Orthodox Officials: Group Should Learn from the Mistakes of the Catholic Church". Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. Retrieved 2020-11-30.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  14. "Our Clergy | Coptic Orthodox Diocese of New York & New England". www.nynecopts.org. Retrieved 2015-10-22.

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