His Grace Bishop Karas
His Grace Bishop Karas is the bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Pennsylvania and its Affiliated Regions, which serves Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia, including our church in Morgantown.
Born on November 18, 1965, he studied at the Coptic Orthodox Seminary from 1983 to 1987, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Theological Sciences. After a year of military duty in Egypt, he served as a consecrated deacon in the Diocese of Tahta and Johaina from 1989 to 1992.
In 1992 he entered the Monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadi El Natrun, Egypt, and was consecrated a monk on June 8, 1993, as Abouna Karas El Orshalimy (Fr. Karas of Jerusalem). He served in Jerusalem from 1993 to 1995 before returning to the monastery.
He was ordained a priest on June 7, 1999, and served in the Diocese of Ireland, Scotland and North East England with His Grace Bishop Anthony until 2014, also acting as secretary of the diocese. He was elevated to the rank of Hegumen on September 10, 2011.
On June 1, 2014, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II consecrated him a bishop, and on August 2, 2014, he was appointed the Pope's Exarch for North America. In 2017 he was enthroned as the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and West Virginia.
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Abouna Daniel Nakhla
Fr. Daniel Nakhla was born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1977. He graduated from the Alexandria University School of Medicine in 2001 and studied at the Coptic Seminary in Alexandria.
He moved to the United States with his family in 2009. On June 2, 2018, His Grace Bishop Karas ordained him a priest at St. Mary's Coptic Orthodox Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he serves alongside Hegumen Fr. Bishoy Mikhail.
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