His Holiness Pope Shenouda III is the 117th Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria. His Holiness' Papacy is marked by the growth in Coptic Orthodox Churches outside of Egypt. To address the needs of these churches, His Holiness felt the urgency to establish dioceses abroad. Hence, in 1991 His Holiness established the first Coptic Orthodox Diocese in the United Kingdom - the Diocese of Birmingham, later known as the Diocese of the Midlands & Affiliated Areas. H.H. Pope Shenouda III appointed His Grace Bishop Missael (previously a General Bishop) to be enthroned as the first Bishop of the diocese.
The Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Midlands & Affiliated Areas is composed of the following regions:
- Bedfordshire
- Buckinghamshire
- Cambridgeshire
- Cheshire
- Cumbria
- Derbyshire
- Gloucestershire
- Greater Manchester
- Herefordshire
- Lancashire
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Merseyside
- Northamptonshire
- North Wales
- Nottinghamshire
- Oxfordshire
- Rutland
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Warwickshire
- West Midlands
- Worcestershire
