Our Bishop

His Grace Bishop David was born on August 7, 1967, in Cairo, Egypt. In 1984, at the age of 17, he immigrated with his family to Toronto, Canada, where he attended York University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology in 1991.

In March 1992, His Grace joined the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natroun, Egypt, as a novice. He was ordained a monk on January 22, 1995, and later that year, on October 21, was ordained a priest. From November 1995 to November 1999, he served in the Diocese of Birmingham in the United Kingdom.

In November 1999, His Grace was ordained a General Bishop by the Thrice-Blessed Pope Shenouda III of blessed memory. He was appointed as the Patriarchal Exarch of the Archdiocese of North America in Cedar Grove, New Jersey, overseeing the papal residence and non-diocesan Coptic communities throughout North America.

Committed to spiritual and academic growth, His Grace earned a Master’s degree in Pastoral Counseling from Fordham University in 2010 and a Master’s in Theological Studies from Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology in 2013.

In recognition of the growing Coptic population in the northeastern U.S., His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, together with the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, established the Diocese of New York and New England. His Grace was consecrated as its first diocesan bishop in Cairo, Egypt, on November 16–17, 2013, and formally enthroned on December 7, 2013, at St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church in Woodbury, New York.

Today, the Diocese of New York and New England includes over 30 churches and communities across seven states—New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine—and is served by over 70 devoted priests under the pastoral care of His Grace.