Grenada, West Indies – Several years ago, on June 5, 2019, the President of the Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches (SCOOCh) – His Grace Bishop David, Coptic Orthodox Bishop of New York & New England – met together with His Eminence Archbishop Thaddaeus, – Archbishop of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Archdiocese of the Caribbean and Latin America – on the island of Bermuda to discuss the cooperation and brotherly unity of their respective flocks in the region. At that time, His Grace Bishop David was also serving as Patriarchal Exarch of the Coptic Orthodox Archdiocese of North America and was responsible for overseeing the Coptic Orthodox mission parishes in Bermuda and in the Caribbean. The responsibility for those parishes has since been assumed by another member of SCOOCh, His Grace Bishop Karas – Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and Its Affiliated Territories – and under His Grace’s fatherly care, the spirit of love and unity established by His Eminence Archbishop Thaddaeus and His Grace Bishop David at their momentous meeting in Bermuda has not been lost.
In keeping with that spirit, His Eminence Archbishop Thaddaeus and His Grace Bishop Karas each gave their blessings for a recent concelebration of the Divine Liturgy by the Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox clergy and faithful on the island of Grenada. On Sunday, March 31, 2024, the island was blessed by the visits of two Orthodox priests – the Very Reverend Father Samuel Zaki of the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary & St. Athanasius, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and the Very Reverend Father Kesis Haile Mikael of Holy Trinity Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Kingston, Jamaica, West Indies. Each of the priests was visiting the island to see to the pastoral care of the faithful there, and with the blessings of their respective bishops, they celebrated the Divine Liturgy together in Bourne Hall on the campus of St. George’s University. The Liturgy was hosted by the St. John Orthodox Christian Club – a student-led organization – and prayed in English in the Coptic Rite. There are plans for the Ethiopian faithful to host the next Concelebrated Liturgy in the Ethiopic Rite in the near future, God willing.
The Standing Conference of Oriental Orthodox Churches encourages Oriental Orthodox unity and brotherly cooperation in North America, the Caribbean, and throughout the world, wherever Orthodox Christians find themselves living together, most especially through the ultimate expression of our unity before the Holy Altar of our merciful God, and applauds the blessed efforts of His Eminence Archbishop Thaddaeus, His Grace Bishop Karas, and their respective flocks. May God preserve their lives upon their thrones for many years in peaceful times for the sake of their people, united in Christ and in our common Orthodox Christian Faith.