Holy & Faithful Shepherds
Meet our Church Fathers
Learn from the wisdom of our holy fathers — past and present — through sermons that uplift, guide, and anchor us in Christ.
H.H.Pope Tawadros II
Pope & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark
The name “Tawadros” means “a gift from God” in the Coptic language. His Holiness was born as Wagih Sobhi Baqi Suleiman on 4. November 1952 in the city of Mansoura in Egypt and grew up in a religious home. Many of his family members consist of priests and clergy. His father was an engineer, his mother a housewife and he has two younger sisters.
His motto: Love Never Fails
(1 Cor. 13: 8)
On August 20th, 1986, he joined the monastic life in the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun and on July 31st, 1988, he became a monk with the name Theodore Ava Pishoy.
On February 10th, 1990, he began his service as an ordained priest in the diocese of Beheira, Matruh and other cities.
On June 15th, 1997, he was appointed general bishop for serving the youth and assisting His Eminence Metropolitan Pachomius, Metropolitan of Beheira.
He was also responsible for the children’s issues committee in the Holy Synod.
On November 4th, 2012 – on his 60th birthday – he was chosen to be the 118th Patriarch.
On November 18th, 2012, H.H. Pope Tawadros II was enthroned in a grand traditional ceremony where he was handed over the papal staff, the cross from the holy altar, and the leadership of priesthood. There were thousands of bishops, priests, clergy members and Christian representatives from all over the world, as well as public figures and governmental authorities at the enthronement.
H.E. Metropolitan Serapion
Metropolitan of the Diocese of Southern California, Los Angeles, and Hawaii
Metropolitan Serapion is the first hierarch and bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii. November 14, 1995, His Eminence was called to be the Bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles and Southern California. He was later enthroned as the Bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles on December 23, 1995, at Holy Virgin Mary Church in Los Angeles. He is on the Governing Board of the National Council of Churches of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Steering Committee of Christian Churches Together in the USA. For many years, he served on the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, the Life and Service Committee of the Middle East Council of Churches, and as Vice President of the All Africa Conference of Churches.
On Sunday, February 28, 2016, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II elevated Bishop Serapion to the episcopal dignity of Metropolitan. His official title is Metropolitan of Los Angeles, Southern California, and Hawaii. He is also the abbot of St. Katherine of Alexandria & St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Convent.
H.G. Bishop Abraham
Auxiliary Bishop
On May 31, 2001, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, along with then Bishop Serapion, ordained him as a celibate priest for the St. Paul Brotherhood, where he served until 2016. On March 14, 2016, His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion elevated him to the priestly dignity of Hegumen before he was tonsured as a monk in St. Antony Monastery in Yermo, California.
On June 12, 2016, he was consecrated as the Auxiliary Bishop for Diakonia in the Diocese of Los Angeles by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II at the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Mary in Zeitoun, Cairo.
He currently oversees Diakonia (i.e., Social Services) within the Diocese of Los Angeles under the auspices of His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion.
H.G. Bishop Kyrillos
Auxiliary Bishop
His Grace Bishop Kyrillos is the first American-born bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church. After serving as a consecrated deacon at the Coptic Orthodox Christian Center from 2000-2002, he was ordained as a celibate priest for St. Paul Brotherhood on October 20, 2002. He served at St. Mina Coptic Orthodox Church in Riverside for several years. On March 14, 2016, His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion elevated him to the priestly dignity of Hegumen. On Thomas Sunday, May 8, 2016, he was tonsured a monk by His Grace Bishop Sarabamon at the Monastery of Abba Antony in Yermo, California.
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II consecrated him as an Auxiliary Bishop to serve alongside His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion in the Diocese on Sunday, June 12, 2016, at the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Mary in Zeitoun, Egypt.
He oversees Christian education in the Diocese, serves as Dean of St. Athanasius and St. Cyril Theological School at Claremont University.