By the 1970s, many had settled in New York and New England, and their numbers continued to grow as the years went on.[1] For many years, the few Coptic churches there were administered by the Archdiocese of North America under the auspices of only the Pope of Alexandria. By the 2010s, the Coptic population had grown sufficiently large to support an independent diocese. Pope Tawadros II of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria created the Diocese of New York and New England out of the geographic areas written in the name of the diocese; its territory was taken from the Archdiocese of North America.[1] Pope Tawadros consecrated the diocese' first bishop, David, as diocesan bishop in a two-day ceremony from November 16–17, 2013, in Cairo, Egypt.[1] An official enthronement ceremony for Bishop David took place on 7 December 2013 at St. Abraam Coptic Orthodox Church in Woodbury, New York.[1] Bishop David had formerly served as a general bishop in New England under the aforementioned archdiocese for several years.