Al-Azhar issued a statement today to declare its solidarity with the Coptic Church against Israeli attacks in the Sultan Monastery that was built by the Sultan Salah ad-Din Al-Ayyoubi who entrusted it to the Coptic Church. This Coptic Orthodox monastery is located within the walls of the Old City of East Jerusalem. The importance of the Monastery of the Sultan to the Copts is that it is their direct route from the Monastery of St. Anthony to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This monastery is the seat of the Egyptian Patriarchate and the Coptic Church in Jerusalem. The occupation forces took over the monastery without right and gave it to the Ethiopian Church on 25 April 1970. Ever since, the Egyptian Church has been doing its best to recover it.

The Dutch Coptic Association issued a statement to denounce the attacks on the Coptic monks in Jerusalem by the Israeli police. This Coptic Orthodox monastery is located within the walls of the Old City of East Jerusalem. The importance of the Monastery of the Sultan to the Copts is that it is their direct route from the Monastery of St. Anthony to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This monastery is the seat of the Egyptian Patriarchate and the Coptic Church in Jerusalem. The occupation forces took over the monastery without right and gave it to the Ethiopian Church on 25 April 1970. Ever since, the Egyptian Church has been doing its best to recover it.

Sources in the Coptic Orthodox church said a number of general bishops will be changed in the next weeks. The monastery of St. Demiana in Belqas will be separated from Damietta diocese. Abba Hermina, Bishop of Ain Shams will be moved to Eastern Alexandria, while Abba Isaac, Bishop of Tamia dn Snores in Fayoum will be moved to Ain Shams.

Abba Serapion, Bishop of Los Angeles, accused Father Makari Younan, Priest of St. Mark Church in Klout Bai, of disobedience after he held a prayer meeting in a hotel in Los Angeles. For his part, Father Makari said he traveled to America after taking permission from Pope Tawadros and Bishop of Central Cairo Churches, and he had to hold the prayer meeting at a hotel after the attendees reached 1500 people..

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism launched a program to promote tourism in 9 Egyptian cities starting from April 29, 2020. According to the program, Egypt will pay 3500 $ to flights heading to Taba, Aswan, Luxor, Abu Simbel, al-Amein and Matrouh.

In a gesture of love, a young Christian calligrapher named Wassfi Tawadros decorated a mosque in his village in Abu Qurqas, Minya. He added that he was offered the job by a friend and he welcomed it and refused to receive money for it as a gesture of love to his friends and neighbors.

Abba Pfnotius, Bishop of Samalout, ordained 30 young deacons for Coptic martyrs in Libya church at the Cathedral of Savior of the World. 20 Coptic men were slain by ISIS in Libya; most of them are from Samalout where a Cathedral carrying their name was built in their village.

The third level of the Development of Ecclesiastical Education project has started by training 234 priests and ministers from 13 dioceses. The delegations arrived from Abu Tij, Sadafa, Ghanayem, Dir Mawas, Samalut, Monofiya, Tanta, Al-Mahalla Al-Kubra, Al-Beheira and Matrouh. Ain Shams and Mataria. The training program is scheduled to take place on 5 training sessions from October 1 to November 1, 2018. The project aims to train 1000 priests, ministers and servants from all the dioceses and pastoral areas.

Asya Bibi, a Pakistani woman, was sentenced to death, on charges of insulting Islam or blasphemy. Her family appealed to the court to release her, and the Vatican supported their call. The story dates back to 2009, when she was accused of insulting Islam before women she worked with in a field, and was sentenced later to death.

His Grace Bishop Guargius, Bishop of Matay, inaugurated today the church of St. Mark the Apostle in Koum Matai where 6 alters were inaugurated at the church. The Church was built according to a royal decree in 1942, and was rebuilt recently by a presidential decision issued in 2011. The prayers were attended by Abba Markos, Bishop of Shobra al-Khaima who also participated in the promotion of three priests to the rank of Hegumin.

Police in Assuit are investigating the mysterious murder of a Coptic Christian doctor who was killed in his clinic in the center of Dairout, Assuit. The murderer was wearing a shawl that hide his face and used white weapons to commit his crime.

His Grace Abba Serapion, Bishop of Los Angeles, said that the Egyptian Church was officially invited to the Conference of World Leaders and Traditional Religions. He added that Coptic church always talk about its good relations with Al-Azhar and gives an example of tolerance existed in Egypt.

The Egyptian government agreed on Thursday to regulate the status of 120 churches and a service buildings. It s wroth mention that this decision raises the total number of 340 churches and a service buildings.

For the first time in the Arab world, parliament of Tunisia has adopted a law criminalizing racist speech, incitement to hatred and discrimination. The legislation was approved after a lengthy debate with 125 members of parliament voting for it, one against and five abstaining.

Professor Abdul Wahhab Ezzat, President of the University of Ain Shams, received Bishop Armia, President of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center, and Dr. Paolo Sabatini, Director of the Italian Cultural Center in Cairo. The meeting was attended by senior officials of the university and aimed to discuss means of cooperation between Ain Shams University and Italian universities in the field of education, cultural relations and restoration of antiquities.

In a surprise tour, Major General Magdy Amer, Minya security director, visited the monastery of St. Mary in Jabal al-Tir to inspect its security measure. After visiting the monastery he headed to other security establishments in the area.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, headed to Florida, his last stop in the current pastoral care visit to the United States of America. Spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church Father Abraham Azmy, said that Pope opened a new building at the church and inaugurated the church. It is worth mentioning that this is the second visit of Pope Tawadros II to America since his enthronement as Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

During his visit to New York, Pope Tawadros II opened a service center of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Brooklyn. Pope also honored police officers who were among the first Egyptian immigrants to America. Among the honored members was the investigator Mohammed Amin, an Egyptian American who is responsible for places of worship in New York City.

Copts United visited the new archaeological well that was discovered in the monastery of St. Makkar in Wadil Natroun. The well was discovered coincidentally next to the monastery s archeological church.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, sent a congratulatory message to the Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to congratulate him on the victory of October 45th anniversary. Pope wished the best for Egypt and its army against all dangers and foreign threats.

Thousands of Copts and Muslims attended today the funeral of the late Metropolitan Bishoy of Kafr El-Shiekh, Damietta, and head of St. Demiana monastery in Belqas. Governors of Dakahlia, Damietta and Kafr El-Sheikh were among the attendees of the funeral that witnessed extra security measures.