[img]2083|right|His Grace Bishop Serapion||no_popup[/img]The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, led by His Grace, Bishop Serapion, strongly condemns the attacks on innocent Egyptian civilians, as well as historic churches, monasteries, Christian schools and private Christian citizens’ property,including many homes and businesses.
“We follow the current events in our beloved Egypt,” he said, “with lifted hearts praying to our beloved God that He has compassion on the beloved people of Egypt and alleviates the distress of terrorism and terrorists’ attacks.”
Bishop Serapion explained the situation in Egypt as viewed from the Copts’ perspective:
“What is happening against innocent Copts is the result of the suffering of Christians for many decades of hate speech and incitement against them and the repeated attacks on their lives and their churches and their property with the inability of the consecutive governments to provide them with security, safety, and the rights of citizenship.”
Bishop Serapion went on to say that “we should express our condemnation and rejection of the injustice of our loved ones in Egypt.
“We should do this through all peaceful and legal means in our American society that gets an incomplete and sometimes inaccurate picture of the violence by terrorist groups against innocent people, especially the Copts.”
Calling on Egyptian-Americans, the Bishop states, “Each and every one of you has the responsibility to witness to the truth and expose injustice and evil.”
In addition, Bishop Serapion has called on every member of his diocese to continue to fast and pray in the days ahead.
“I ask all the children of the church to unite in fasting and praying during these blessed days,” he said, “which carry the name of our compassionate mother, faithful intercessor and mother of light, St. Mary,” referring to the two week-long period of fasting for St. Mary, the mother of Christ, which began Aug. 7, and ends Wednesday.
The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the largest Christian church in Egypt and the Middle East. The church was founded by St. Mark the Evangelist and Apostle in 42 A.D. Today, Coptic Christians are led by His Holiness Pope Tawadrous II, and make up 10 to 15 percent of Egypt's population.
With more than 30 parishes, the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles and Hawaii is the largest Coptic diocese outside of Egypt.
Led by His Grace Bishop Serapion, the Diocese of Los Angeles accounts for 12,000 to 15,000 families.
Continuous persecution of Egypt's Christian population paved the way for a Coptic Diaspora throughout the world, with a great number finding refuge in the United States where Christians are given the same opportunities and freedoms as everyone else.
Today, the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles serves to create strong ties with the community at large and improve relations with other churches and faiths, while still preserving and sharing the Church's rich and ancient heritage.
Father Gorgy may be contacted at frcyrilgorgy@lacopts.org
