Abba Makarious, Bishop of Minya, condemned the terrorist incident that killed 305 martyrs during prayer on Friday. The bishop canceled a celebration to ordain new priests and rang sad bell melodies in all churches of the diocese in mourn for mosque attack.

Coptic America organization denounced the bloody attack on the Al-Rawda mosque in which 305 people were killed including children. The organization offered its sincere condolences with Dr. Abdul Hadi Qasabi, Sheikh of Sufi leaders in Egypt and Chairman of the Social Solidarity Committee in the Egyptian Parliament, and called the government to take revenge for the martyrs and victims.

Abba Serafim, Bishop of Ismailia, headed a church delegation to visit, victims of the terrorist attack against a mosque in North Sinai assuring that the attack crosses all borders and was a bad surprise to reach mosques and kill innocent Muslim worshippers. He said the church prays for the victims and their families and for Egypt to overcome terrorism and increasing obstacles.

Samallout diocese announced that the shrine prepared for martyrs of faith and homeland in the village of Aour in Minya is ready. The Bishop of Samalut, Abba Pfinotius, said the shrine is now ready to receive the bodies of the martyrs at any time.

Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told families of the 21 martyrs of Libya that the DNA test they performed proved the bodies belong to their children. The 20 Copts from Minya were beheaded by Daesh, also known as Islamic State (IS) or ISIL, in Libya January 2015.

For the first time, Egyptian Currency Bureau issued a group of commemorative coins about the life of Jesus Christ. The collection included 12 coins made from silver demonstrating stories about Christ taken from the Holy Bible.

A delegation of Coptic bishops traveled to London to participate in the enthronement ceremony of Abba Angelos, Bishop of London. The celebration was attended by the Egyptian ambassador to London, a number of British officials, Bishop Bakhomius, former acting Patriarch and Bishop Raphael, Secretary of the Holy Synod.

Families of the martyrs of Libya appealed to the government to return the bodies of their sons to their hometown. A church was built on the name of the martyrs in Awr village and a special shrine was prepared to bury their bodies in.

Priest of the church of St. Mary and St. George in Sheikh Alaa village in Minya governorate held a sit-in in the church to denounce the closer of it after the fanatics attacked the building and destroyed its contents. The priest is accompanied by 3 deacons in the church were they hold the holy mass every day. It s worth mentioning that the church was attacked two years ago by the fanatics and the police had decided to close it then after the attack without accountability for the fanatics.

The total number of churches that were closed in Minya within a week reached three churches, and Copts were prevented from holding their prayers in them. This came after fanatics had demonstrated against the churches claiming they are not licensed, which made police close them.

A group of hardliners stoned a building related to the church as well as some houses of Copts as punishment for performing their prayers in the building. They perpetrators tried to storm into the building and destroy the surveillance cameras and also to set the church on fire. Police intervened and stopped them from breaking into the church and attack the Copts.

Council of Churches of Egypt issued a statement to condemn the terrorist attack on policemen in Wahat province near Cairo. On Saturday, Egyptian Interior Ministry announced that 16 policemen were killed and another was missing in the Friday shootout with terrorists in Wahat area in the desert of Giza province.

A group of Coptic activists in America called the Egyptian President Abduld Fattah al-Sisi during his visit to New York to seek full citizenship and to stop targeting the Copts for their religious identity. They denounced killing a priest in Cairo and the imprisonment of another monk from Rayyan monastery in addition to the way assailants of Coptic old women and stripped her off in the streets were acquitted.

Coptic Orthodox Church said today in a statement that Father Samaan Shehata, priest of St. Julius Al-Akfahsi Church in Baba Al-Fashn diocese. The priest was attacked by a man holding a knife who stabbed him several times to death.

Abba Pfnotious, Bishop of Samalout, is preparing a bigger shrine for the 21 Coptic martyrs in Libya after their bodies were discovered and will be moved to the church soon. The current shrine was used as a church, but is being prepared as bigger shrine for the martyrs.

Abba Younis, Bishop of Assiut, said that the people were happy to know the bodies of the martyrs of Libya were found. The martyrs are honored in Egypt as modern Coptic martyrs whose prayers and blessings to be sought by the Copts in Egypt. A church was built on their name and a special shrine was prepared for the body in the church.

Egyptian and Libyan authorities coordinate in order to transfer of the bodies of the 21 Coptic martyrs to Egypt after they were found this week in Libya. On the other hand, the Church of the 21 Martyrs in their village of Al Awar is getting ready to receive the martyrs in their own shrine.

The Copts of Forn village in Minya celebrated the inauguration of the Church of St. Mary and Archangel Michael after being closed by security forces on the eve of St. Mary s feast last August. The Holy Mass was celebrated in the church and a number of Muslims visited the church to congratulate the congregation on the reopening of the church.

Copts of Bir Shams village, Menoufya, held the funeral of a Coptic man in the streets as they have no church. The village has 400 Coptic Christians, but they have no permits to build a church though they bought a building to pray in, but police refused to give them the due permits.

Police in Minya have been investigating the murder of Coptic policeman by unknown men. Church surveillance cameras showed that three men used motorcycle and two of them used white weapons to kill him.

Abba Makarios, Bishop of MInya, said that Police refused to open a church in Kedwan village in Minya to protect the feelings of hardliners. He explained that there are 15 closed churches and 70 villages without churches thanks to the hardliners whom refuse to build and open churches.