Dear Reverend Fathers and blessed congregations,
I wish you blessed Great Lent.
I am pleased to advise you that a new parish church under the name of St. Paul
American Coptic Orthodox Church is established under the the Coptic Orthodox
Diocese of Los Angeles. The mission of St. Paul Church is “to be an open multi-cultured community where people of all ethnic backgrounds who join our Church can
feel welcome and at home.” The mission of St Paul Church is rooted in the Living
Tradition of our Holy Orthodox Church. The Holy Orthodox Church is the Body of
Christ and all Her members are a new creation in Christ, as St Paul wrote to the
Colossians “and have put on the new man who is renewed in Knowledge
according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but
Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:10-11). The Holy Orthodox Church is the Household
of God and all Her members are equal fellow citizens as St. Paul wrote to the
Ephesians, “Now,therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow
citizens with the saints and members of the Household of God” (Eph. 2:19).
St Paul Church is located at a temporary location in Orange County (12702 9th
Street, Garden Grove, CA) and will be served by four English-speaking priests until a
permanent priest is ordained.
I will celebrate the Divine Liturgy at St. Paul Church
on Sunday, March 4,2012 from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
May Our Lord Jesus Christ bless the mission of St Paul
Church for the Glory of His Holy Name.
Bishop Serapion
