DIOCESE HISTORY
————————————————————————— 2018 ————————————————————————–
Saturday, February 17, 2018
H.G. Bishop Karas inaugurated the new church named after Saint Monica and Saint Augustine in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania, by praying the first Divine Liturgy.
Saturday, June 2, 2018
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Dr. Shaker Marcos Nakhla as a priest at the altar of the Virgin Mary Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, under the name Fr. Daniel.
Sunday, September 9, 2018
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Virgin Mary Church in Delaware, and elevated the church’s priest, Fr. Mina Mina, to the rank of Hegumen in commemoration of the nineteenth anniversary of his ordination.
Saturday, November 3, 2018
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the church of the Virgin St. Mary & St. Mercurius – Conshohocken, PA, and ordained the Eng. Amgad Farok Fahmy priest for the church of St. Mary – Lancaster, PA.
————————————————————————— 2019 ————————————————————————–
Saturday, January 12, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the first liturgy at the church of St. John & St. Moses – Dover, DE.
Saturday, February 23, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Deacon Shenouda Mikhael as a general priest of the diocese under the name Fr. Angelos. The ordination took place at the Church of St. George in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Saturday, May 18, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the inaugural Divine Liturgy at our new church in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, named after Saint Mena and Pope Cyril.
Sunday, August 11, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine liturgy at St. Mary, Cookeville, MD. During the liturgy, H.G ordained Mr. Ayman Athansius to serve in the church as a full Deacon, he called him Antonios.
Saturday, september 30, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas signed the purchase agreement of St. Barnabas and St. Susanna – Baltimore, MD building.
Saturday, November 23, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Engineer Makarios Salib, as a general priest of the diocese under the name Fr. Makarios. This took place during the inaugural Divine Liturgy of the new building of our church in Baltimore, the Church of St. Barnabas the Apostle and St. Susanna the Righteous.
Sunday, November 24, 2019
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. George in Norristown, where he ordained Dr. Aouni Aziz as a full deacon under the name Botros.
————————————————————————— 2020 ————————————————————————–
Sunday, January 26, 2020
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Virgin Mary Church in Lancaster, where he ordained Engineer Ayoub as a full deacon under the name Deacon Ayoub.
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
H.G. Bishop Karas, signed the final purchasing agreement (closing) on the property of St. Mary & St. Joseph the carpenter Church in Levittown, PA.
Saturday, August 1, 2020
During the celebration of the feast of the departure of Saint Joseph the Just, H.G. Bishop Karas inaugurated the new building of the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph the Just Church in Levittown, Pennsylvania.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
During the celebrations marking the start of the Coptic Year 1737, H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the inaugural Divine Liturgy at our new church in Ephrata, “The Nativity Church.”
Sunday, October 4, 2020
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel Church in Charleston, West Virginia, and ordained Dr. Hosni Gabriel as a full deacon under the name Deacon Yohanna.
Saturday, November 21, 2020
During the celebration of the feast of the Archangel Michael, H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Engineer Sherine Saad as a general priest of the diocese under the name Fr. Michael.
Monday, November 30, 2020
H.G. Bishop Karas signed the closing documents for the Archangel Michael & St. Karas church building and the house nextdoor, York, PA.
Sunday, December 6, 2020
Laying the cornerstone for the building of the church of St. Mary – Lancaster, by the hand of H.G. Bishop Karas.
————————————————————————— 2021 ————————————————————————–
Sunday, August 8, 2021
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin St. Mary in Pittsburgh – PA, and ordained Mr. Magdy Habib as a full deacon under the name Maximus.
Saturday, November 6, 2021
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Deacon John Rofail as a priest at the altar of St. Mark the Apostle Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, under the name Fr. Markos.
Saturday, November 13, 2021
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Deacon Antonios Athanasius as a priest at the altar of the Church of Archangel Michael & St. Karas the anchorite in York, PA. Under the name Fr. Abraam. The ordination took place during the Divine Liturgy at St. Mark the Evangelist Church in Harrisburg.
Saturday, December 11, 2021
H.G. Bishop Karas inaugurated the new church dedicated to St. Abanoub the Martyr in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, by praying the first Divine Liturgy.
————————————————————————— 2022 ————————————————————————–
Saturday, February 26, 2022
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained Engineer Deacon Abanoub Fana as a priest at the altar of the Virgin Mary and St. Bishoy Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, alongside Fr. Bishoy Awad, the church’s priest, under the name Fr. Abanoub. The ordination took place during the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. George the Great Martyr in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
Sunday, April 3, 2022
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Virgin Mary and Archangel Gabriel Church in Charleston, West Virginia, and promoted Fr. Shenouda Sabeel, the priest of the church, to the rank of Hegumen.
Thursday, September 1st, 2022
H.G. Bishop Karas signed the purchase agreement of St. Monica & St. Augustine church building, Elizabethtown, PA.
On Sunday, October 2, 2022,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Maryland and ordained Dr. Peter Abadir, the church’s service leader, as a full deacon named Deacon Peter.
On Saturday October 8th, 2022,
H.G. Bishop Karas inaugurated the first phase of the new building of the Virgin St. Mary’s Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday November 23rd, 2022
H.G. Bishop Karas signed the purchase deed for the Church of the Chaste Martyr St. Demiana, located in Scranton – Pennsylvania.
————————————————————————— 2023 ————————————————————————–
On Saturday, January 21, 2023,
In celebration of the Wedding Feast of Cana and the martyrdom of Saint Demiana, H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy and inaugurated the new church dedicated to Saint Demiana in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
On Friday, April 7, 2023,
H.G. Bishop Karas elevated Deacon Paul Bashara to the rank of Archdeacon during the Divine Liturgy at St. George’s Church in Philadelphia.
On Saturday, April 8, 2023,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Washington, D.C., and ordained Mr. Amin Sorkis as a full deacon named Deacon Gabriel.
On Sunday, June 18, 2023,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Saint Mercurius in Conshohocken (Diocese headquarters) and ordained Mr. Moris Gorgi as a full deacon for the church.
On Saturday, July 22, 2023,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary and St. Bishoy in Allentown and ordained engineer Emad Saad as a full deacon named Deacon Estephanos, as a general deacon for the diocese.
On Sunday, August 20, 2023,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin St. Mary in Delaware and ordained Mr. Naeem Elias as a full deacon named Deacon Abraam for the church.
On Friday, October 20, 2023,
H.G. Bishop Karas, signed the final purchasing agreement (closing) on the monastery of St. Mary & St. George Monastery – Elysburg, PA which sits on 92 acres of flat land.
————————————————————————— 2024 ————————————————————————–
On Sunday, January 21, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. George in Philadelphia and ordained two deacons, Mr. Akram Yacoub as Deacon Antonios and Deacon Bishoy.
On Sunday, January 28, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Pope Cyril in Hatfield and promoted Father Antonios Slalib to the rank of Hegumen.
On Saturday, February 10, 2024,
During the Feast of St. Antony the Great, Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy and ordained Deacon Bola Louka as Father Bola, a priest at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Pope Cyril in Hatfield.
On Sunday, June 9, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at St. Mark’s Church in Harrisburg and ordained engineer Wagih Basta as a full deacon named Deacon Guirgis.
On Sunday, June 16, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Pittsburgh and ordained engineer Magid Kamel as a full deacon named Deacon Domadius.
On Sunday, June 23, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Lancaster and ordained Mr. Emil George as a full deacon named Deacon Arsanious.
On Sunday, July 7, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Virgin Mary and Pope Cyril in Hatfield and ordained Mr. George Ayoub as a full deacon named Deacon George.
On Saturday, September 14, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas ordained engineer Raymond Eskaros as a priest at the Church of St. Mina and Pope Cyril in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and named him Father Kyrillos during the Divine Liturgy at St. Mark’s Church in Harrisburg.
On Sunday, November 3, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. Antony in Annville, Pennsylvania, and elevated Father Philopater Kamal to the rank of Hegumen.
On Sunday, December 15th, 2024,
H.G. Bishop Karas prayed the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Freat Martyr St. George – Norristown, Pennsylvania, and elevated fr. Mina Shaheid, the priest of the church to the rank of hegumen.