Bishop Karas

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Important Dates of Bishop Karas

Born:

18 January, 1955

Ordination of Monasticism:

14 November, 1981

Ordained Monk-Priest:

14 July, 1984

Elevated to Hegumen:

25 May, 1989

Attended University:

University of Khartoum

Ordained Bishop:

6 June, 1993

Diagnosed With Cancer:

May 1998

Death:

17 January, 2002

Bishop Karas (born Sorial Ayad Sorial) was the first bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United States and the first abbot of the church's first monastery outside of Egypt.

1 Biography
2 Pictures of Bishop Karas
3 See also
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Sorial Ayad Sorial was born on 17 January 1955, in the Sudan. He reportedly evinced an interest in religion at a very young age and one story has his Orthodox parents refusing permission for him to convert to Catholicism.

After Sorial finished his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from the University of Khartoum, he left to France to pursue a doctorate at the University of Toulouse.

On 18 January 1981, he attempted to enter St. Bishoy Monastery but was stopped by the monk on duty, who told him to return to France to continue his education. Sayedna replied, “No one, having put his hand on the plough can look back.” (Luke 9:62) The monk then allowed him to enter. Pope Shenouda III ordained him as a priest on 14 February 1984, and assigned him to head the Papal Center in St. Bishoy Monastery. On 23 May 1989 Pope Shenouda elevated Sayedna to Hegumen, taking the name Karas.

Hegumen Karas was appointed to head the new Monastery of St. Antony the Great in Newberry Springs, California (near Barstow, California) on 26 September 1989.

The bishops and metropolitans of the synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church unanimously agreed to the elevation of Karas as bishop and abbot in recognition of the monastery's prosperity; he was consecrated as a bishop on 6 July 1993, by Pope Shenouda.

In 1998, Bishop Karas was diagnosed with lung cancer and was given nine months to live. The bishop continued to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, followed the regular fast schedule, and met daily with visitors, even though he was receiving a chemotherapy treatment. On 10 January 2002, Bishop Karas suffered a stroke and fell into a coma; he died in the early morning of January 17, the day before what would have been his 47th birthday.