Unite Church

God the Father arranged the nuptials for God, His Son, when, in the womb of the Virgin, He united Him to humanity, when He willed that He who is God before all the ages, become Man.

He united the Holy Church to Him, through the mystery of the incarnation.

Now, the bridal chamber of this Bridegroom was the womb of the Virgin Mother. That is why the Psalmist says, "He has set His tabernacle in the sun: and He is as a Bridegroom coming out of His bridal chamber" (Ps. 19: 4 - 6). And it was as a Bridegroom is in fact that He came forth from His bridal chamber, because to unite the Church to Himself, the Incarnate God went forth from the inviolate womb of the Virgin.

Pope Gregory The Great

Christ is Head to One Body


Since St Paul feels that he is obligated to fulfil the "Mystery of Christ" through the grace, enduring all difficulties for them, it is befitting that they realize the divine call by which they were called.

The servant should not be the only one who works, but every member has to play his role, or in other words, has to keep his church membership through hard work. The focus of that work is to abide in fervent love, which grants the unity of the spirit through the harmony of all the members as one body to the One Head.

Fr Tadros Yacoub Malaty
 

How To Benefit Spiritually From Pascha Week

By - H.H. Pope Shenouda III

How do we enjoy the most spiritual week of the year?

1. Our behavior inside and outside church:

It is very noticeable that many people during Passion Week act very differently inside church than they do outside church. Inside church… black curtains, sad hymns, solemn readings, and complete concentration on the suffering of Christ. However, outside of church, we often laugh, joke around, socialize, think and talk about many worldly issues. We lose all the spiritual depth that we gained inside church. Let us concentrate our thoughts, conversations, and meditations around the events of this Holy Week and the passion of our Savior.

2. Retreat:

During our regular fasting days, we put the words of the Bible before us, "Consecrate a fast, call a sacred assembly". (Joel 1: 14) How much more then should we apply this commandment during Holy Week? This week should be characterized by solitude and retreat with God by staying away from idle discussions, various means of entertainment and pleasures. Reserve your time for God and to spiritual activities worthy of this week.

3. Follow the steps of Christ:

Meditate on the events of the week one by one, from Palm Sunday when Christ refused His worldly kingdom and the Jews gave up their hopes in Him, until they crucified and buried Him. On Palm Sunday, ask yourself: Is Christ King and Lord over everything in my life? Do I, like Christ, turn down worldly glory for spiritual and eternal glory? And during the "general funeral" afterwards, consider yourself attending your own funeral (because during this week the church will not hold funeral services). Also, when the church denounces Judas' betrayal with a kiss on the eve of Wednesday's Pascha, ask yourself in prayer, "How often, O Lord, have I betrayed You?" "How many times have I told You words of love in prayers, while my actions show the opposite and my heart is far away from You?"

4. Share in the fellowship of His suffering:

St. Paul said "That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death". (Philippians 3:10)  Can we give ourselves an exercise this week to share in the fellowship of His suffering and be conformed to His death? Can we follow Him in His suffering and ascend with Him to the cross? Can we say with St. Paul "With Christ I have been crucified; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Therefore, in order for Christ to live in us, we have to carry our cross and follow Him. If you have a cross in your life, don't complain about it, but rather rejoice in it and bear it for Christ’s sake. "For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him but to suffer for His sake". (Phil. 1:29)

5. Asceticism:

Whoever puts the suffering of Christ before Him will not take any pleasure in eating, drinking or pampering the body. But in order to succeed in pursuing asceticism, we must satisfy our souls with spiritual food so that it may thrive and overcome physical hunger.

6. Spiritual readings:

Spiritual readings are also food for the soul. The church has organized for us a treasure of appropriate readings for every day of Holy Week. This consists of Gospel readings, Old Testament prophecies that correspond to the events of each day, spiritual explanations and sermons of the church fathers and on Holy Saturday (Apocalypse night) the church reads the entire book of Revelation.

7. Hymns:

The hymns of Passion Week are moving and full of spiritual depth. Also, Hymns, like reading, preserve thoughts from wandering and guides them in a spiritual direction.

8. Prayer:

Since the prayers of the Agpeya are not used during Holy Week, we are to substitute personal prayers in their place. This is in addition to the intensive prayers of the church asking the Lord, who bore the sins of the world and died for us, to forgive and have mercy upon us according to His great mercy.

Commemoration of Consecration of The Church of St. Demiana

On this day, the church commemorates the consecration of the church of the virgin St. Demiana. This pure and fighting virgin was the daughter of Mark, who was the governor of El-Borollus, El-Zaafran and the valley of Saisaban. She was the only child of her parents. When she was one year old, her father took her to the church that was in the monastery of El-Maima. He offered gifts there so that God might bless this daughter and keep her safe Him.

When she was fifteen years old, her father wanted to get her married. She refused and told him that she had vowed herself a bride for the Lord Christ. When she found that her father was pleased of her decision, she asked him to build her an isolated palace, so that she could worship God with her virgin friends, and right away he did what she asked. He built the palace where she and the forty virgins lived in. They spent their time by reading the Holy Bible and praying fervently to God.

Shortly after, Emperor Diocletian sent for Mark her father and ordered him to worship the idols, but he refused at first. However, after some persuasion, Mark obeyed him and worshipped the idols, forsaking the creator of the universe.

When Mark returned, and St. Demiana knew of what her father had done, she rushed to meet him without a greeting saying: "What have I heard about you? I wished I have Heard the news of your death, and not knowing that you have forsaken God who have created you and worshipped what is made by hands. If you insist on what you have done and you do not relent by denouncing the idols, you are not my father, and I am not your daughter." She also said to him: "It is better for you, O my father, that you die a martyr and live with Christ in heaven forever, than you live as a pagan here and die with the devil in hades forever." Then she left him. Her father was moved by what she said and wept bitterly. He went in hurry to Diocletian and confessed the Lord Christ before him. When Diocletian could not change his mind, he ordered him to be beheaded.

When Diocletian knew that the one who turned Mark away from worshipping the idols was his daughter Demiana, he sent to her a prince to persuade her at first, and if she did not obey, he would cut off her head. The Prince came to her with an entourage of one hundred soldiers armed with all instruments of torture. When he arrived to her palace, he went to her and said: "I am an envoy sent by Emperor Diocletian. I came to ask you, according to his orders, to worship his gods, so he might grant you whatsoever you wish." St. Demiana shouted at the prince saying: "Curse the messenger and he who sent him. Are you not ashamed to call stones and wood gods that only dwelt by devils? There is no other God in heaven or on earth except the one God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Creator, Who has no beginning and no end, the Omnipresent, and the Omniscient God, who will throw you in hell for eternal condemnation. As for me, I worship my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His Good Father and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Trinity. I profess Him, depend on Him, and in His name I die and by Him I will live forever." The Prince became angry of what she said, and ordered her to be placed in the body press. Her blood poured out on the ground, and the virgins were standing, weeping for her. Then they put her in prison, where the angel of the Lord appeared to her and touched her body with his celestial wings and healed her from all her wounds.

The Prince was creative in the ways he tortured St. Demiana, sometimes by rending her flesh, or placing her in boiling grease and oil. In all that, the Lord strengthened her and raised her up whole. When the Prince saw that his efforts were of no avail and the steadfastness of this pure virgin, he ordered her to be beheaded with all the virgins with her. They all received the crowns of martyrdom. (The account of her martyrdom is mentioned in the 13th day of Tubah)

The Prince returned to Antioch, the city of the Emperor. The faithful came and gathered the bodies of the martyrs and kept them until the end of the days of persecution and the reign of the righteous Emperor the Christ-loving Constantine the great. He ordered to destroy the idol temples and built many churches after the names of the martyrs. He gathered the bodies of the martyrs in every place and placed them in the churches. He endowed the churches with the necessary income to maintain them.

When Constantine knew of all what had happened to St. Demiana, and how she endured for a long time in the valley of El-Saisaban, he delegated his blessed mother St. Helena to take burial clothing, go to El-Zaafran, and build a church in the name of St. Demiana and the forty virgins, there.

St. Helena came to the valley, went up to the palace, and found that the bodies were unharmed. She found St. Demiana in the place where she used to sit and around her the forty virgins. She kissed the body, taking the blessing of the Saint and wrapped the bodies with expensive shrouds. She gathered the craftsmen and architects, tore down the palace, and built instead a well built tomb (Cellar) underground. She laid the body of St. Demiana on an ivory bed, and covered her with a precious bedspread and laid the forty virgins around her in it. Then she built a small and beautiful church which had one dome on the top of it. The church was consecrated by Pope Alexandros, the nineteenth Patriarch of Alexandria, on the 12th. of Bashans. He also ordained a saintly bishop, priests, and deacons to serve in the church day and night in prayers.

The bishop of this area, El-Zaafran and El-Borollus, was martyred and his body was placed in this church among the bodies of other martyrs. Abba Yoannis, Bishop of El Borullus, said in his book, The History of the Church: "The church was destroyed in the 8th. century by one of the Arab rulers, who built in its place a palace for his residence."

At this time, the water of the Mediterranean sea flooded the Delta of the Nile river until it reached the city of Samannoud to the western side of the church that called "Zion" by the old citadel. This flooding was caused by the deterioration of the barrier, which held back the sea water. When the news reached the king Hassan Ibn Atahia, he was saddened because this district brought the government much money because it was rich in its highly priced aromatic plants. One of his close aids, who was a Jew, told the king to bring the Patriarch of the Copts and order him to pray in faith to return everything to where they were before the flood.

God assisted this Patriarch through the help of one of the holy men who was known as El-Toffahi in this trying time. The Patriarch prayed in the church at Samannoud in the presence of the king. Then the Patriarch went out of the church raising the Cross. The people were saying Lord have mercy and the holy man, El-Toffahi, behind him. Instantly, the water receded to the north before them. The Patriarch, behind him El-Toffahi, the priests, the people, and the king continued to walk until they arrived to El-Zaafran where they erected tents for the king beside the destroyed palace, under which the body of St. Demiana along with the bodies of the forty martyrs were kept. The Patriarch prayed and knelt to the ground with all the people with him. At this moment, a great miracle and sign occurred that amazed everyone. A great wind blew in the sea and the waves became very high, which caused great quantities of sand to form a great barrier with the power of God almighty which was stronger than the original one. Then the winds calmed down.

The Patriarch returned to the king, who received him with honor and told him: "O Patriarch, ask from me, something to do for you." The Patriarch replied: "I need your assistance in building a church in this place because it contains the bodies of Saints who were martyred, for they refused to worship idols. The king ordered that the place be cleaned. The Patriarch opened the door of the cellar, went down, and found the forty bodies of the martyrs around the bed of St. Demiana. The king ordered at once to build a church with one dome, which was consecrated by the Patriarch on the 12th day of Bashans.

The news of this church spread in all the country and the people came with their offerings to it. The church was consecrated for the first time during the reign of Constantine and the second time was on this day.

The king ordered that no one disturb the Copts, so it was a peaceful and tranquil time in all Egypt. The king returned to his palace in Misr (Cairo) and always asked the Patriarch to visit him periodically. He came to visit the king with great honor till his departure.

The king of Egypt at that time was Hassan Ibn Atahia, who was just, loved the churches, and treated the bishops and the monks with great respect. He loved Pope Khail the first, the forty-sixth Patriarch of Alexandria (743 - 767 A.D.), and came often to visit him. He discussed the affairs of the country with him.

May the prayers of St. Demiana be with us. Amen.

 

The Cross in Christianity

By Fr. Bishoy Kamel
 
The Cross has weak appearance to the uninformed, but to the Christian, it is a weapon to overcome our worldly desires, and threats. With it we defeat Satan. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1Cor 1:18). Our teacher St Paul tells us: “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” (1Cor 1:25)

Let us look at different ways in which the Cross has revealed its power and wisdom:

1. If the Christian faith had spread by the power of weapons or human wisdom it would have been a weak man-made faith. But because it spread with the greatest weapon that is hated by the Jews and Greeks; the weapon that has the appearance of foolishness and weakness, that is the cross.
   
Therefore our faith became Godly and divine, through the power of our Lord and not of humans, as St Paul said: “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” (1Cor 2:1-4)
 

2. The Cross was the strength of the Apostles while they preached:
 

When Jesus sent the disciples to preach He said to them: “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves. Carry neither money bag, knapsack (food), nor sandals.” (Luke 10:3-4). This is how Christianity spread. Christ asked them not to worry about food, or money or weapons for defence, because the power of the Cross accompanied them and that is more powerful than any worldly weapon.
   
With the Cross they exorcised demons. With the Cross, they turned those who persecuted Christianity, to servants of God and preachers. With the Cross, they loved their enemies, prayed for them and blessed them.
   
Compare that with the amount of money and resources now spent in the Western world to spread different religions, printing books, radio broadcasts, university courses to learn the art of preaching. This reflection helps us realize the divine power that accompanied the disciples during their missionary trips.
 

3. The Cross is a condition to follow Christ:
 

The Lord said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me”. (Luke 9:23). Whoever desires to be Christian, he must endure pain and sacrifice much for the sake of Christ. But he who does not, will receive many earthly delights and rewards.
   
Therefore Christians are Cross-bearers. They chose the narrow way (the only way) to enter the Kingdom of heaven to receive Heavenly rewards. If the Cross was not powerful, then how can people leave their worldly pleasures, desires and ranks and follow Christ?
 

4. The Disciples of Christ were Jews:
 

Most of the Disciples of Christ, as well as St Paul the Apostle, were Jews like Christ. It is well known that Jews reject the Cross. So what attracted the disciples to the Cross? If the Cross was not powerful, then how did the disciples believe in it? How did they preach about it to the Jews and Greeks? “But we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.” (1Cor 1:23)
 

The apostles preached about the Holy Cross, so they became weak and ignorant in the eyes of people. They had no weapons, they were Jews, they faced so many threats and persecutions. They carried the cross in their lives. They were all martyred, except for St John. Their pure blood became the seed of faith for the rest of the world, through the power of the Lord of the Cross.
 

5. The Church is always in a state of joy:
 

Although the Christian is always carrying his cross, he is always in a state of internal joy that is indescribable. St Paul used to sing and praise God in jail after he was beaten.
 

We cannot forget the story about the governor who asked the Christians to carry Crosses that weighed 5 tones (it was so heavy to the point of bruising, therefore Christians were labeled ‘blue bones’). At night, this governor pried into a Christian house through a hole in the door. He found this specific Christian doing chores whilst carrying the 5 tone Cross on his back. The governor asked him as to why he does that inside his house, where that was not required. The Christian simply answered: “the power and joy that this Cross gives me fills my life, so I do not want it to stop, that is why I continuously carry it.”
 

6. St. John Chrysostom said:
 

The Cross is a powerful weapon

The Cross is a weapon for preaching

The Cross is the basis for following Christ

The church without a Cross, is like a bride without a groom

If you are asked by anyone whether you believe in the Church of the Cross and you say yes. If he then mocks you, you should cry for him, because he still does not know that Christ was crucified for his sake.

Finally …

My brethren, I offer you advice for this era and all times:

The power of our Christianity is closely and deeply tied to our faith and our relationship with the Holy Cross, and its apparition in our lives is a powerful force against the devil, materialism and worldly desires. The Cross is a power that transforms envy to love, revenge to forgiveness and flaunting to simplicity. The Cross then fills you with joy, so we pray with St Paul: “ But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

Therefore, the Cross must be clearly seen in the Church, so our church also becomes bearing the Cross of our Lord; the Cross of service and missionary; the Cross of partaking of our Lord’s passions and glory; the Cross of loving EVERYONE and abhorring the world, a cross from which the aroma of love, blessing and peace spreads to the ends of the earth.

May the blessings of the Holy Cross be with us all.  Amen.

  

St. Mark The Apostle and The Evangelist

St. Mark

The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, also known as John Mark (Acts 12:12), was one of the Seventy Apostles, and was also a nephew of St Barnabas (June 11). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates, on the night that Christ was betrayed he followed after Him, wrapped only in a linen cloth. He was seized by soldiers, and fled away naked, leaving the cloth behind (Mark 14:51-52). After the Ascension of the Lord, the house of his mother Mary became a place where Christians gathered, and a place of lodging for some of the Apostles (Acts 12:12).

St Mark was a very close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) and Barnabas. St Mark was at Seleucia with Paul and Barnabas, and from there he set off to the island of Cyprus, and he traversed the whole of it from east to west. In the city of Paphos, St Mark witnessed the blinding of the sorcerer Elymas by St Paul (Acts 13:6-12).

After working with the Apostle Paul, St Mark returned to Jerusalem, and then went to Rome with the Apostle Peter. From there, he set out for Egypt, where he established a local Church.

St Mark met St Paul in Antioch. From there he went with St Barnabas to Cyprus, and then he went to Egypt again, where he and St Peter founded many churches. Then he went to Babylon. From this city the Apostle Peter sent an Epistle to the Christians of Asia Minor, in which he calls St Mark his son (1 Pet 5:13).

When the Apostle Paul came to Rome in chains, St Mark was at Ephesus, where St Timothy (January 4) was bishop. St Mark went with him to Rome. There he also wrote his holy Gospel (ca. 62-63).

From Rome St Mark traveled to Egypt. In Alexandria he started a Christian school, which later produced such famous Fathers and teachers of the Church as Clement of Alexandria, St Dionysius of Alexandria (October 5), St Gregory Thaumatourgos (November 5), and others. Zealous for Church services, St Mark composed a Liturgy for the Christians of Alexandria.

St Mark preached the Gospel in the inner regions of Africa, and he was in Libya at Nektopolis.

During these journeys, St Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to go again to Alexandria and confront the pagans. There he visited the home of Ananias, and healed his crippled hand. The dignitary happily took him in, listened to his words, and received Baptism.

Following the example of Ananias, many of the inhabitants of that part of the city where he lived were also baptized. This roused the enmity of the pagans, and they wanted to kill St Mark. Having learned of this, St Mark made Ananias a bishop, and the three Christians Malchos, Sabinos, and Kerdinos were ordained presbyters to provide the church with leadership after his death.

The pagans seized St Mark when he was serving the Liturgy. They beat him, dragged him through the streets and threw him in prison. There St Mark was granted a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who strengthened him before his sufferings. On the following day, the angry crowd again dragged the saint through the streets to the courtroom, but along the way St Mark died saying, "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit."

The pagans wanted to burn the saint's body, but when they lit the fire, everything grew dark, thunder crashed, and there was an earthquake. The pagans fled in terror, and Christians took up the body of St Mark and buried it in a stone crypt. This was on April 4, 63. The Church celebrates his memory on April 25.

In the year 310, a church was built over the relics of St Mark. In 820, when the Moslem Arabs had established their rule in Egypt and oppressed the Christian Church, the relics of St Mark were transferred to Venice and placed in the church named for him.

In the ancient iconographic tradition, which adopted symbols for the holy Evangelists borrowed from the vision of St John the Theologian (Rev 4:7) and the prophecy of Ezekiel (Ez. 1:10), the holy Evangelist Mark is represented by a lion, symbolizing the might and royal dignity of Christ (Rev 5:5).

St Mark wrote his Gospel for Gentile Christians, emphasizing the words and deeds of the Savior which reveal His divine Power. Many aspects of his account can be explained by his closeness to St Peter. The ancient writers say that the Gospel of Mark is a concise record of St Peter's preaching.

One of the central theological themes in the Gospel of St Mark is the power of God achieving what is humanly impossible. The Apostles performed remarkable miracles with Christ (Mark 16:20) and the Holy Spirit (Mark 13:11) working through them. His disciples were told to go into the world and preach the Gospel to all creatures (Mark 13:10, 16:15), and that is what they did.

Troparion - Tone 4

From your childhood the light of truth enlightened you, O Mark,

and you loved the labor of Christ the Savior.

Therefore, you followed Peter with zeal

and served Paul well as a fellow laborer,

and you enlighten the world with your holy Gospel.

Kontakion - Tone 2

When you received the grace of the Spirit from on high, O Apostle,

you broke the snares of the philosophers and gathered all nations into your net,

bringing them to your Lord, O glorious Mark,

by the preaching of the divine Gospel.

The Creator Offers Himself to the Creature for his Enjoyment

St. Cyril the Great

The Creator Offers Himself to the Creature for his Enjoyment!

Come, eat my bread, He urges, and drink the wine I have mixed for you.

Eat me, Life, and you will live, for this is my desire. Eat the Life that does not fail, for this have I come, that you may have life, and have it more abundantly. John 10:10

Eat the bread which renews your nature. Drink the wine, the exultation of immortality.. I became like you, for you, without being changed from my nature, that you might through me become “partakers of the divine nature”. 2 Peter 1: 4


Sermon 10 on the Mystical Supper (Message of the Fathers of the Church, 7. The Eucharist, page 149-152).

Egypt's crowds mourn Coptic pope

Tuesday, 20 March 2012

The body of Pope Shenouda III at the Coptic Orthodox cathedral during his funeral in Cairo (AP)

Tens of thousands of Egyptian Coptic Christians joined a funeral mass for their patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, led by senior clerics at the main cathedral in Cairo today.

St. Mark's was packed with local clerics, visiting clergymen and dignitaries as deacons chanted sombre hymns and bearded, black-clad priests and monks recited prayers and dispensed incense smoke from censers. Shenouda's body lay in a white casket in the elaborate regalia he traditionally wore to oversee services, complete with an ornate golden crown.

Many in the congregation broke down in tears, while others frantically waved goodbye as the mass came to a close. Clerics, deacons and lay people gathered around the casket, kissing it, standing in silence or bowing in respect.

Tens of thousands more who could not get in followed the mass outside the cathedral, carrying portraits of Shenouda and crosses. Many wept, wiping tears off their faces as the melancholic tunes of the hymns reached them through loudspeakers.

Scores of military police were deployed to maintain security outside the cathedral, with the normally congested traffic of central Cairo backed up for hours because of the crowds. The cathedral is located on a main downtown artery.

Shenouda died on Saturday aged 88 after spending 40 years at the helm of the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world's most ancient Christian denominations. Most of Egypt's estimated 10 million Christians are Orthodox Copts.

After the mass, Shenouda's body was ferried to a military airport east of Cairo, from which it was to be flown to the desert St. Bishoy monastery north-west of the capital where he will buried.

The monastery, which dates back to the 4th century, has been a favourite of Shenouda's. He spent more than three years of exile there after he was banished in 1981 by late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, who claimed the patriarch was fomenting sectarian strife. Sadat's successor, long-time authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak, released the Pope in 1985.

Egypt's military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, declared a nationwide state of mourning. A successor to Pope Shenouda has yet to be found and it could take months before the complex process is completed.

Egypt's Coptic Christians have long complained of discrimination by the nation's Muslim majority. The political ascent of Islamists since the ouster of Mubarak a year ago has added to their worries

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/egypts-crowds-mourn-coptic-pope-16133592.html

Egypt’s Coptic Pope dies at 88

Sunday, March 18, 2012 , by AFP

Coptic Pope Shenuda III in a picture dated October 20, 2008. Photo: AFP

Egypt’s Coptic Pope Shenuda III, spiritual leader of the Middle East’s largest Christian minority, died yesterday at the age of 88, state television and cathedral sources said.

The cause of death was not immediately clear, but the Christian leader has suffered health problems for years.

State television reported he was 89, but the pope was born in August 1923, which would make him 88 at the time of death.

The official MENA news agency said Shenuda suffered from several diseases, including liver problems and tumours or swelling in the lungs.

He was forced to cancel a weekly sermon last week over health concerns.

Named Coptic pope of Alexandria in 1971, Shenuda led the Copts, estimated at 10 per cent of Egypt’s population of 80 million, for the best part of a generation that saw Egypt hit by a wave of Islamic militancy from which he sought to protect it.

News of Shenuda’s death was certain to cause dismay among Egypt’s beleaguered Coptic population, many of whom looked up to him as a spiritual guide.

He was placed under house arrest by former president Anwar Sadat for his outspoken criticism of Sadat’s courting of Islamists.

But Shenuda was supportive of Sadat’s successor Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown by a popular uprising more than a year ago which led to an Islamist-dominated parliament – the first in the country’s history.

Shenuda, immediately recognisable by his long white beard, was believed to have viewed the widely despised Mubarak as a bulwark against Islamists who believe Copts should not be allowed to rule the country.

He was seen as a check on more radical Copts who urged more forceful reactions to sectarian attacks that have plagued their community, especially after Mubarak’s ouster.

Theologically, Shenuda was conservative, slamming a court decision calling on his church to allow divorce.

Shenuda, whose community is one of the Oriental Orthodox churches that recognise the primacy of neither the Catholic papacy nor the Eastern Orthodox patriarchate, maintained a keen interest in promoting church unity.

He served as head of both the World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches, and founded churches in several African countries.

http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20120318/world/Egypt-s-Coptic-Pope-dies-at-88.411666

Copts prepare to bury Pope Shenouda

Body to remain on display until burial on Tuesday
By AFP

Published Sunday, March 18, 2012

The body of Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, is displayed for public viewing inside the Abassiya Cathedral in Cairo on Sunday March 18. (Reuters)

Egypt's Coptic Church began preparations on Sunday for the funeral of Pope Shenuda III and set in motion the process to elect a new patriarch for the Middle East's largest Christian community. Shenuda died on Saturday aged 88, following a long illness.

He led the Copts, estimated at 10 per cent of Egypt's population of more than 80 million, for the best part of a generation.

Shenuda's body, dressed in formal robes and a golden crown, was placed on the papal throne in Cairo's St. Mark's Cathedral where it will remain on display until his funeral on Tuesday.

In highly emotional scenes, thousands of worshippers hoping to get a final blessing from their spiritual leader, streamed into the cathedral, taking pictures of him on their mobile phones, amid tears and wailing.

Based on wishes stated in his will, Shenuda will be buried at St. Bishoy monastery of Wadi Natrun in the Nile Delta, where he spent his time in exile after a dispute with late president Anwar Sadat, state media reported.

Bishop Pachomious of the Nile Delta province of Beheira has taken over papal duties for two months until a council of senior clergy meets to choose a new pope, state television said.

The pope would be chosen according procedures laid out in 1957 church bylaws.

"Egypt Weeps," read the headline of the state-owned daily Al-Akhbar as others bid "Farewell, Pope Shenuda".

Coptic bishops from around the world have already started to fly in to attend meetings over funeral arrangements and plan for Shenuda's succession.

The spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian minority had suffered health problems for years, travelling to the United States frequently for treatment.

Recently he stopped receiving treatment for liver failure and tumours or swelling in his lungs because he was too feeble, the Coptic Church said.

Condolences came in from around the world, with US President Barack Obama hailing Shenuda as an advocate for tolerance and religious dialogue.

Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, had offered prayers for Shenuda, the Vatican said.

Muslim leaders in the country were quick to send their condolences soon after news of his death broke.

Shenuda's death is "a grave calamity that has afflicted all Egypt and its noble people, Muslims and Christians," the country's mufti, Ali Gomaa, said in a statement.

Shenuda was placed under house arrest by former president Anwar Sadat for his outspoken criticism of Sadat.But he was supportive of Sadat's successor, Mubarak.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/region/copts-prepare-to-bury-pope-shenuda-2012-03-18-1.449041


 

Egypt’s Coptic Christians grieve for pope amid unrest fears

An Egyptian Coptic cleric stands next to the body of Pope Shenouda III

Published on Wednesday 21 March 2012 07:57

THOUSANDS of mourners packed Cairo’s main cathedral yesterday for the funeral of the leader of Egypt’s Coptic church, Pope Shenouda III.

Shenouda, who died of prostate cancer on Saturday at the age of 88, was a controversial figure, facing an increasingly Islamist Egypt where Copts, a Christian sect which claims a direct link to Saint Mark the Evangelist, have come under attack in the majority Muslim nation.

Tensions have worsened since the overthrow of president Hosni Mubarak last year.

“I can’t tell you how much sorrow I have inside me. This was a great, great man and it will be hard to find anyone like him again,” said Ivon Mosaed, a 52-year-old Copt who heads a foreign language school.

Religious leaders from across the world, including a delegation from the Vatican, joined thousands of Copts in the Orthodox Cathedral of St Mark’s where bearded priests in black mitres prayed over the open coffin. A delegation from Egypt’s ruling military council and several candidates for upcoming presidential elections also attended.

Security was tight around the event, with police and army trucks outside and plainclothes police posted on bridges and in streets nearby.

Prayers, conducted in Egypt’s ancient liturgical Coptic language, were led by Bishop Bakhomious, head of a diocese in the Nile Delta, who will hold the post of pope for two months until a new leader is elected. Billionaire Copt Naguib Sawiris, a vocal critic of radical Islam, was also in attendance.

“I am so sad, of course, and many of my Muslim relatives are sad as well,” said Muslim student Iman, who was dressed in black and wearing a black veil as she stood outside the cathedral. “He was a decent Egyptian man who was known for being very wise.”

Shenouda’s body was driven away to a military air base and was due to be flown to the Wadi el-Natrun desert monastery north-west of Cairo, where he spent several years of prayer, contemplation and abstinence and had asked to be buried.

Egypt has seen less of the religious violence that has prompted members of ancient Christian communities to migrate from Iraq and other Arab countries. Syria also has a Christian minority which fears persecution if president Bashar al-Assad is toppled.

Coptic Christians, who comprise about a tenth of Egypt’s 80 million people, have long complained of discrimination. Shenouda opposed Islamic militancy yet also tried to soothe growing anger among Copts over attacks on churches, sectarian clashes sparked by inter-faith relationships, family feuds and disputes over church building permits.

His task grew harder on New Year’s Day last year when 23 people were killed in a bomb attack on a church in Alexandria, blamed on Islamic militants based in Gaza. Many Copts accused the government of failing to protect them, a stance that sat uneasily with Shenouda’s support for Mubarak. Since Mubarak was ousted last February, sectarian clashes have continued. At least 25 people died in October when Christians clashed with military police in Cairo.

Shenouda’s successor will need to deal with a new political establishment dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement banned under Mubarak, which won recent elections. Egyptian media said board members of the church’s city councils would vote for three candidates to replace Shenouda. A child would then pick the new pope’s name from a hat.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/egypt-s-coptic-christians-grieve-for-pope-amid-unrest-fears-1-2185331#


 

US-funded Egyptian Military Kills Civilians

970 Letters and Emails Sent So Far


Today, October 9, 2011, the Egyptian Army brutally attacked a peaceful protest in Cairo, Egypt, killing at least 24 civilians and injuring at least 300. In one case, a military tank ran over a protester's head, smashing it to pieces. Mina Daniel, a youth activist who protested in Tahrir for the 18 days of the January 25th Revolution and survived, was among those killed during today's protest. Thugs have also attacked the Coptic Hospital in El-Daher, Cairo, where the injured are being treated. The protesters were made up of Muslims and Christians protesting the burning of a church in Aswan, Egypt.

During this violence, three members of the military were also allegedly killed. It is not clear who was responsible for their deaths, but SCAF has tried to pin these deaths on the Copts who were protesting. Eyewitnesses have confirmed that no protester was armed, and yet SCAF has now used this as an opportunity to pit Egyptian against Egyptian, using state television to call upon Egyptians to "protect" the army from these attacks!

Under the rule of Egypt's Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), 12,000 Egyptians were sentenced to military court since last January. During Mubarak's rule, only 500 Egyptians were sentenced by military court. More churches were burned and the perpetrators un-sentenced under this military rule. The hated Emergency Law has been renewed, and heavy-handed censorship has brought upon the arrest of journalists and the storming of the offices of independent news media.

In the meantime, lawlessness rules the streets in Egypt, and it seems that SCAF is only uses its security forces to attack protesters and independent media, rather than to do its job to protect its citizens.

Every year, the US government gives $1.3 billion to SCAF. My tax dollars are being used to fund a ruling army that is attacking, killing and oppressing the citizens of its own country. This same army, while on one hand accepting all military aid from the US, has refused any US aid that would help build a truly free, fair and democratic country that respects the rights of all its citizens--and that could hold SCAF accountable.

SCAF has proven itself incapable of ruling Egypt and presiding over elections planned in November. It is trying to incite a civil war in Egypt, and is using the Egyptian state media to spread this message of hatred.

Do not use my tax dollars to support this regime. Use your influence and stand with the Egyptian people, not their oppressive military government. Call for a complete investigation of these criminal acts and full prosecution of those responsible at the highest levels. Egypt needs a transitional, secular civilian government that is capable of presiding over free and fair elections and legitimate constitutional changes.

The over 800 Egyptians who died during the January 25th Revolution did not die for this. Enough is enough.


http://www.petition2congress.com/
http://www.petition2congress.com/5297/us-funded-egyptian-military-kills-civilians/

British Orthodox Churches Celebrate Holy Pascha

British Orthodox Churches Celebrate Holy Pascha
Paschal Sermon - Abba Seraphim

As once again, the date for Holy Pascha was common to both East and West, there was a great sense of oneness among Christians in celebrating the Lord’s Resurrection. British Orthodox congregations observed the Holy Week services whilst at Charlton, Father Sergius Scott joined in an Ecumenical Procession of Witness on Good Friday. In all our churches the Paschal Vigil and Liturgy was celebrated on Pascha Eve (23 April), which also coincided with the traditional observance of St. George’s Day in England. The exceptionally fine weather and the fact that so many trees, shrubs and flowers had burst into bloom, added to the sense of the glory of the new life revealed in the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of its elderly congregation and the church being isolated in the countryside, St, Mary & St. Felix at Babingley in Norfolk began the Vigil service just before sunset. Abba Seraphim presided and was the first to proclaim, “Christ is Risen”. As there were a good number of Orthodox Christians from Moldova and Russia joining the regular congregation, they were also greeted in Russian. At the conclusion of the Liturgy when Abba Seraphim blessed and distributed dyed eggs, he also blessed their traditional festive foods of pascha and kullich, which they had brought to the church. Father Simon reports that the Bournemouth and Portsmouth congregations celebrated Holy Week and the feast at the Church of Christ the Saviour at Winton (Bournemnouth) and services were well supported. Following the Vigil and Liturgy on Pascha Eve, on the forenoon of Pascha, prayers for the departed were said at church and in a long-established local tradition their graves at Wimborne Road Cemetery were visited and the Resurrection hymn sung as eggs were placed on their graves. At Cusworth the local congregation were also joined by Orthodox Christians from Eastern Europe and the church was filled, whilst at Chatham a new catechumen was received during the evening and the joyous celebration concluded with an extensive buffet which continued into the early hours.

At the conclusion of the service at Babingley Abba Seraphim read the Paschal message from His Holiness Pope Shenouda III and all churches prayed with great fervour for Pope Shenouda and also Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka of Antioch, having a great burden of concern for their brothers and sisters in Egypt and Syria who are caught up in the civil disturbances in both countries.

Abba Seraphim returned to London at noon on Holy Pascha and went first to greet Father Michael Robson at Morden College, Blackheath, before visiting sick and housebound members of the church with Holy Communion.


http://britishorthodox.org/
http://britishorthodox.org/1738/british-orthodox-churches-celebrate-holy-pascha/

http://youtu.be/4gXyUj9octg

Paschal Message from Pope Shenouda III

Easter Message

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III

Pope of Alexandria & Patriarch of the See of St. Mark

April 2011

My beloved children in the lands of immigration, both clergy and laity.

I congratulate you for the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection, wishing you all that the Lord returns it upon you with all goodness and blessing.

The resurrection of the Lord Christ was distinguished with an amazing power. He is the only One who was victorious over death by Himself. In His resurrection, He crushed death, and arose with the power of His Divinity. Also, by His power, He came out of the closed tomb which had a great stone upon it, without anyone seeing Him. Also with the same power, He entered the upper room where the disciples were, while its doors were shut. After He spent forty days with them speaking to them about matters pertaining to the Kingdom of God, He ascended to the heavens with a great power, which is against all the laws of gravitational force. Of course, it is the power of His Divinity.

Therefore, St. Paul the Apostle said about Him, in the Epistle to the Philippians 3:10 “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings...” This is why we also praised Him throughout the Holy Week, confessing His power and saying to Him: “To You is the power ... Thok te tee gom.”

Our Lord Jesus Christ, who arose with power, and ascended with power, also grants us power. The Church started its history with power, when the Holy Spirit descended upon the pure disciples. The Bible says: “And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all.”

This power remained in the life of the Church. With great power, St. George was able to tear the decree of the emperor. Even all the martyrs received death with power, and they did not fear it. Instead, they reiterated the expression “...having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.” (Philippians 1:23)

Therefore, my beloved children and brethren, always be powerful. I mean, that you have spiritual power by which you defeat Satan, all the power of the enemy, all the wars of the ego, and all evil desires.

And in your victory, do not attribute this to your own personal power, but to the power of God which works in you, now and always.

Lastly, be well and absolved from the Holy Spirit; and pray for me.

(Signed)

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III

Glorious Feast of Resurrection

April 2011

http://www.copticpope.org/
http://www.copticpope.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=67

At the conclusion of the service at Babingley Abba Seraphim read the Paschal message from His Holiness Pope Shenouda III and all churches prayed with great fervour for Pope Shenouda and also Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka of Antioch, having a great burden of concern for their brothers and sisters in Egypt and Syria who are caught up in the civil disturbances in both countries.

http://youtu.be/xZ7YtAShGwc


http://www.copticpope.org/
http://www.copticpope.org/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=67

http://youtu.be/xZ7YtAShGwc

Ecumenical Prayer Service

Ecumenical Prayer Service for the Coptic Martyrs of Alexandria 1st January 2011.
St, Paul Anglican Cathedral 7th January 2011

Copts celebrate but mourn

Bishop Mousa Interview with Wounded

Christian Youth Channel - CYC

http://www.cycnow.com/

Pope condemns Egypt church attack

Pope Benedict XVI delivers his weekly Angelus blessing to the crowd gathered below in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican January 2, 2011

VATICAN CITY | Sun Jan 2, 2011 11:37am GMT

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Sunday condemned the bomb attack outside a church in Egypt on Saturday that killed at least 21 people, the latest in a string of attacks against Christians in the Middle East and Africa.

"This vile gesture of death, like that of putting bombs near to the houses of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave, offends God and all of humanity," the pope said after his angelus blessing.

Reporting by Catherine Hornby; Editing by Janet Lawrence


http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE6BU2X620110102?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a54:g12:r4:c0.386561:b40658884:z3

Factbox - Details on incidents involving Egypt's Christians

Sat Jan 1, 2011 1:30pm GMT

(Reuters) - A suspected suicide bomber attacked a church in Egypt's northern city of Alexandria, killing at least 17 people and wounding dozens more as Christians in the Muslim-majority country marked the New Year. Although sectarian tensions often flare, analysts said this incident was on a much bigger scale than the kind of communal violence that can erupt over issues such as building churches or relationships between men and women of the two communities.

Below is list of recent developments related to violence involving Christians in Egypt:

January 1, 2011 -- A suspected suicide bomber hits a church in Alexandria, killing at least 17 and prompting Christians to take to the streets in protest. Some Christians and Muslims pelt each other with stones. Police fire tear gas to disperse protesters.

Nov 24, 2010 -- Clashes between riot police and hundreds of Christians protesting after construction of a church is halted in Cairo takes a sectarian turn as dozens of Muslims join the violence. Two Christians are killed by the violence, and more than 150 people are detained.

November 1, 2010 -- The Islamic State of Iraq, the al Qaeda-affiliated group which claimed responsibility for an attack on a Baghdad church, threatens attacks on the Christian church in Egypt over its treatment of women the group said the church was holding after they had converted to Islam.

April 11, 2010 -- Egyptian group the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights issues a report saying the number of cases of sectarian violence rose between 2008 and 2009 and calls for the prosecution of offenders to prevent a further escalation.

January 6, 2010 -- Six Christians and a Muslim policeman are killed in a drive-by shooting on the eve of the Orthodox Coptic Christmas outside a church in the southern town of Nagaa Hamady. The shooting leads to protests. Some Christian and Muslim homes and shops are set a blaze in the violence.

May 10, 2009 -- A small homemade bomb explodes near a church in Cairo but no one is hurt, security sources say. The device damages a car and a second one is found and detonated by police in the same area in the northeast of the capital, sources say.

(Compiled by Edmund Blair in Cairo; editing by Philippa Fletcher)


http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE7000Y520110101?loomia_ow=t0:s0:a54:g12:r1:c0.533249:b40658884:z3

Statement From His Grace Bishop Suriel‏

Copts Massacred on New Years Day 2011