The first Copts from Egyptimmigrated 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. 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. Pope Tawadros consecrated the diocese' first bishop, David, as diocesan bishop in a two-day ceremony from November 16–17, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt. An official enthronement ceremony for Bishop David took place on 7 December 2013 at St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church in Woodbury, New York. 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 was exposed and later defrocked. 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. 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 not defame the church, to prevent Khalil from going to prison and potentially being killed there, and to prevent church leaders of the diocese from being prosecuted in the United States. 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.
Demographics
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
St. Pishoy and St Karas Coptic Orthodox Church, Brewer, Maine
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.
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.
