Every now and then, talks about the conflict between modernity and ecclesial traditions at the Coptic Orthodox Church appear, but such talks doesn t bring any results for many reasons. Yet, I believe that such topic has to be discussed to improve the effectiveness of the Ministry. It is worth noting that the Coptic Orthodox Church is one of the most important safety valves for the preservation of the Christian faith in the whole world and its history attests to this.

All cases of disappearance of Coptic women who have recently disappeared have been linked to a romantic relationship first and then Islamization. We have never heard about a woman who was convinced by the Islamic Sharia and had the courage to declare their conviction in public. But the whole subject of Islamization of minor girls can t be accepted since they are too young to understand even their own religion, not to mention another religion full of contradicting explanations. Moreover, older women are usually involved in romantic relationship with a Muslim man and I believe those usually suffer in their new life, which is very different in life style, and the way of thinking.

Our Coptic Church is the secret of the joy of our lives because it is the House of God and the residence of the Angels. Thus, David the Prophet said: I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.” Bishop Pachomius, former acting Patriarch, said in his article the Church is the place of joy that the church offers us the ways to ensure our gladness and joy.

A repetitive scenario of attacking the Copts by angry mobs denotes ignorance and racism, ignited by lack of renewal of religious discourse and disrespect for the other religious. Imam of a mosque calls people to attack a church of a service building aiming to mute sound of Christian prayers. I hope that such fanatic leaders will leave office soon before they set the homeland on fire. I also hope that religious discourse will be renewed instead of spreading such destruction. This goal can t be achieved without renewal of curricula and showing respect for the constitution and law. Freedom of worship should be respected even for the atheists.

It is said that Al-Mu izz li-Din Allah the Fatimid upon entering Egypt, he gathered around him scientists and dignitaries said to them: This is the my gold and this is my sword. Both are valid for those who claim any! Indeed, he did not need a sword, since his gold was more powerful and far-reaching. Governors have the power of the carrot and the stick in the form of sword and gold. In the days of Abbasids, the men of science and the intellectuals realized the size of corruption mixed with authority. They knew that they are not allowed to share power, but rather to follow the decisions of the governors as much as possible.

Our life without God s blessing is worthless, and blessing is obtained by obeying God and His commandments. This should bless our lives by love and joy. The late Pope Shenouda III in his article The blessing talked about the blessing, its effectiveness and its types. Since God created Adam and Eve, He created them in His image and likeness, and God blessed them and said to them, Go be fruitful and multiply , and the same blessing was for Noah and his sons after the floods. Our father Abraham was promised to be made a great nation and blessing to all nations. Elijah was a blessing in the house of the widow at the time of famine. Also Joseph the righteous was a blessing to the others.

Some militants from the village of Ashnin Al-Nassara in Magaghah, Minya Governorate assaulted two houses of the Copts and destroyed their contents to punish them for what they said a crime committed by one of the Copts who used to live in the village. A post that insults one of the Sheikhs was their reason to commit their crime. Family of the Coptic man was lucky to escape. The extremists insulted Christians and Christianity. The Church in a statement said that Fady Youssef, his brother and uncle were arrested following the attack! It is so sad that such repeated and regrettable incidents of attacks on Copts by some extremists disrupt public order, threaten the safety and security of society, harm national unity and social peace, intimidate and endanger the lives of others. Yet, the criminals who committed such crimes are still demanding forced displacement of families of Fady Youssef! It is even a bigger crime scene that violates the Egyptian Constitution in Article 63 as well as the international law. In case the Coptic man has committed a crime, he should be punished according to the law and by the state, not by the angry mobs!

A Coptic Christian woman from Shousha village in Minya disappeared before she appeared declaring she had converted into Islam and got married to a Muslim man. She decided to return to the village and dwell in the house next to her family. Fanatics in the village are trying to humiliate the Copts in the village by celebrating their victory of catching this woman. They are even trying to attack a number of Copts to incite a sectarian strife. Indeed freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution, but according to the law, she must get divorced from her Christian husband before she gets married to another.

The death of Christ was meant to give life. Death couldn t stand up to the force of life in Him. Resurrection made his death a sacrifice, power, and glory. Father Ibrahim Azer, priest of St. Paul and St. Anthony Church in Beni Suef, said in his article entitled Head of life that Lord Jesus decided to be such sacrifice on behalf of the whole world in order to give it salvation. Through His death, Jesus Christ invited us to carry the cross with joy and giving thanks. He accepted pain and didn t escape from death. Moreover, he declared he was Christ, but didn t perform any miracle during the judgment process till he died.

Makram Ebid Pasha once prayed saying: May God make us Muslims and Christians share love of this country. His statement simplifies the concept of citizenship and belonging to the homeland. We may argue and disagree in opinion, but the ultimate goal remains building humans who share love and respect one another. Humans have lost such good deeds and feelings as wars spread all over the world. Such poor migrating people can’t find others to help them and give them what they need. People are looking forward to finding new homeland that they can live in peace and find their basic needs without facing discrimination.

Do not touch me ... but go. The Lord Jesus told Mary Magdalene when she met Him after the resurrection and called on her. She was the first preacher of the resurrection of Lord Jesus. Bishop Pakhomius, Bishop of the Beheira, Matrouh and North Africa, in his article Do not touch me explained to us the meaning of the words of the Lord Jesus to Mary Magdalene, who was the first to receive the good news of the resurrection. He reminded her of His words that he will rise from the dead and wanted to show her his Divine nature. At that time, the Virgin Mary didn t go to the tomb believing her Son is mightier than death.

Public funeral ceremony is a popular funeral and a way to express the public s gratitude and love and appreciation of the deceased. Furthermore, it is the opportunity to respond to him for his work or positions Or sacrifices. For example, the funeral of Saad Zaghloul was a public funeral where the masses raised the coffin on her shoulders from the Opera Square to the cemetery of the Imam, which is clearly a big distance. So was the funeral of Major General Abdel Moneim Riad, who was martyred in the first rows in the war of 1973. When Jamal Abdel Nasser died, his funeral was officially and unique in the history of Egypt. It is enough that the streets of Cairo were filled with eight million mourners. The same happened with Umm Kulthum, Abdul Halim Hafez and Taha Hussein.

Christ has risen, and His resurrection is the secret of true joy. Without resurrection there would be no church or Gospel. His resurrection changed life of man to a meaningful and valuable life. This was stated in article of Pope Tawadrous II entitled Resurrection is our joy . He explained that resurrection gave humanity true joy and satisfaction. Jesus said “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. The disciples were extremely joyful after resurrection Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Despite the rapid development, humanity has not grown in joy as Mother Teresa said: The houses have grown up and families reduced, diseases increased with the development of medicine, people increased in riches and reduced their charity works, security increased, but not enough peace to be found. Now, resurrection gave us new powers like St. Paul says: that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death. Therefore, Coptic Church celebrates the resurrection every day in the prayers and each week and each month and each year for 50 days after the Resurrection day. I wish everybody feels God s love that was manifested in his cross and resurrection.

The Egyptian Church is part of the Egyptian civilization. Its founder, St. Mark, was one of the Apostle assigned by Jesus Christ. He founded the ancient, strong, national and spiritual church. The late Pope Shenouda was wise and intellectual that he was called teacher of the generations. He was great man that represented the great Coptic Church.

The kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ is different from all other earthly kingdoms. It is full of advantages, and blessings. We earned its membership card through faith and baptism. Father John Nassif, priest of the Virgin Church in Chicago said in his article, the features of Christ’s Kingdom, about its unique features and how it affects our lives on earth. First, it is not from this world. it is spiritual kingdom rather than earthly or materialistic. It aims to lift people up to God and let them enjoy better life. Second, it is a kingdom of modest people since its king is truly modest. It is also a kingdom of saints. Third, it has true peace that comes from the heart and fills the mind and leads the actions. Fourth, It is victorious and glorious kingdom that the cross is its sign and secret of glory. Fifth: it lasts forever in the hearts of the faithful people. Sixth: it is open for everyone who accepts Christ through baptism and the Holy Sacraments. Man should always remember that the world will come to an end. Thus, money, power and lusts will not benefit. Man should rather seek the fruits of the Holy Spirit and follow the commandments of our Lord in order to win the everlasting life.

After Egypt won the war of 1973, many people were talking about the angels who have fought with us in the war. A script writer once asked me then to talk about that topic in a TV interview on a religious television. The story goes back to Sheikh Abdul Halim Mahmoud, Imam of Al-Azhar at the time of the war who was very powerful and well educated. The man said about the war that started on the tenth day of the Holy Month of Ramadan (47 years ago) that angels have been fighting with our soldiers since they were fasting during the Holy Month of Ramadan. He assured that such victory was only achieved thanks to God who sent the angels. In fact, we have never seen such angels, but we saw the strong faithful men who fought with us. Indeed, the soldiers were true angels who offered their souls seeking victory or martyrdom. On that occasion, I salute our champions who lived or died for their country. We shall never forget those angels.

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly. Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their. trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. This is how Lord Jesus taught us about forgiveness linking it to our love and forgiveness. Bishop Benjamin of Menoufia said in his article (the forgiving love) that love is the base of forgiving others. This is the proof of the Christian perfection that St. Isaac talked about saying that when the soul is full of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, it is strengthened and can not be defeated by the enemy s war, but opens the heart with love and the forgiveness for all human beings. Such forgiveness leads man to abandon his own dignity and is never affected by insults, to offer true love and to give excesses to others, as the Lord Jesus did with those who crucified him, Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing. This takes man away from hatred since one knows he has a great dept. Here I remember the saying of the late Pope Shenouda III: We should lend forgiveness to take it back on Dooms Day. Give up your arrogance and be humiliated and forgive the others. Finally, if you seek forgiveness, then go reconcile with your brother and offer repentance since nobody is above sin. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly. Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their. trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. This is how Lord Jesus taught us about forgiveness linking it to our love and forgiveness. Bishop Benjamin of Menoufia said in his article (the forgiving love) that love is the base of forgiving others. This is the proof of the Christian perfection that St. Isaac talked about saying that when the soul is full of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, it is strengthened and can not be defeated by the enemy s war, but opens the heart with love and the forgiveness for all human beings. Such forgiveness leads man to abandon his own dignity and is never affected by insults, to offer true love and to give excesses to others, as the Lord Jesus did with those who crucified him, Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing. This takes man away from hatred since one knows he has a great dept. Here I remember the saying of the late Pope Shenouda III: We should lend forgiveness to take it back on Dooms Day. Give up your arrogance and be humiliated and forgive the others. Finally, if you seek forgiveness, then go reconcile with your brother and offer repentance since nobody is above sin. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.

I finished reading a book about the Coptic cuisine of the writer Charles Aql, featuring the Coptic cuisine in a fun and light style. The author begins with the famous and most popular Egyptian meal, beans or foul, and reveals to us that there are 120 different ways of preparing beans. He also talks about two types of pancakes, the first type, "pie of angel", which is vegetarian pie prepared in the Virgin monthly feast. He also talks about Fayesh, which is a more complicated pie that may take several days to prepare. The writer also talks about the sea food, which is very important in the Coptic culture since it refers to the Immaculate Conception. Here we should mention the increasing prices of fish in Egypt despite the fish farms announced by the government. The president said that the Egyptians have to boycott the goods that are rising in prices, but does he know about the World Bank s report that 60% of the Egyptian people are below the poverty line! Welcome to the holy month of Ramadan and many happy returns.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the secret of true joy. All the writings of the Gospel and the New Testament are based on the Resurrection that gave meaning and value to our lives. Thus, Pope Tawadros II told us in his article Resurrection is our joy said that Resurrection gave humanity true joy and satisfaction. Jesus said: I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Therefore, they were happy to see him after the resurrection: After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

The Almighty God wanted to approach man and declare His love, so He incarnated from the virgin Mary. Yet, He was in heaven and earth God wanted to give power to man through his resurrection and tolerated pain to save man. He was born poor, but made several miracles to prove He is the powerful God.

Thine is the power, the glory, the blessings and the Majesty , Emmanuel our God and our King This is how the Coptic Church addresses Jesus Christ in the Holy Week to declare it follows him in his pain step by step. Pope Shenouda III in his article The Week of Pain told us about the sanctity of the Holy Week, pointing out that the church hymns are sad and its flags are black during this week since Jesus Christ has suffered. The readings from the old and new testaments reflects such pain. Furthermore, the prayers are held in the second choir since Jesus Christ was crucified outside the city.