May 2, 2015
COLLEYVILLE, TX. May 2, 2015 -- Through the grace of God, we are pleased to share more information regarding the 8 new churches that will be establised within the Diocese: American Orthodox Church of Alexandria (AOCA).
Below is an excerpt from the abbreviated document:
The American Orthodox Church of Alexandria (AOCA) is the name given to a new set of parishes that are being established by His Grace Bishop Youssef in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern USA to serve the needs of American-raised Copts and other Americans.
The goal of the AOCA is to provide an environment where both American-raised Copts and other Americans can worship, learn, and live the true Orthodox faith in a language and culture familiar to them. Essentially the AOCA seeks to be for Americans in the US, what the Coptic Church is to Egyptians in Egypt.
The AOCA is first and foremost an Orthodox Church. Not only that, but it is an Orthodox Church under the See of Alexandria, just like the Coptic Church. The AOCA does not change the church rites, liturgical length, fasting regulations, feast dates, church tunes, dress of the priest, role of the priesthood, the centrality of the Mysteries (Sacraments), the emphasis on spiritual struggle and prayer, etc.
The goal of the AOCA is not to remove "difficult" or "unfamiliar" elements from the Coptic Church and present it to Americans that want a wide-road approach to Christianity. Instead the AOCA carefully considers how best to take an authentic, undiluted Orthodox faith and make it accessible to Americans.
God willing, the extensive document will be available soon.
We ask for your prayers.
http://suscopts.org/press/2015/may/02/american-orthodox-church-of-alexandria-aoca/
