The Department of Theology and Ecumenical Affairs in the Council of Middle East Churches discussed ‘The Christian Presence in the Middle East Towards a Global Church Charter’, in a consultative session that gathered about 25 experts in theology and geopolitics from Iraq, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Cyprus and Jordan over a period of three days from December 6- 8. The participants called to help the poor and marginalized people and to short, medium and long-term goals in affirming the message of love and peace in a suffering world.

St. Peter Church in Abbasia celebrates next Wednesday the third anniversary of its martyrs who were killed in the terrorist attack back in December 2016, in which 29 people were killed and 38 were injured. The church was visited by several presidents and Popes including Pope of the Vatican.

The Monastery of St. Samuel in Minya opens its doors to visitors for a week to celebrate the feast of its intercessor on December 18th. This comes under extra security measures taken by police to secure the road to the monastery in which two terrorist attacks have targeted visitors of the monastery.

Copts of El Gawly Village in Manfalout Center in Assiut celebrate their annual feast of St. Phlopatir at his monastery. The feast is celebrated by more than 10,000 visitors of the monastery located at Jawli village 22 kilometers north of Assiut and about 7 kilometers south of Manfalut.

Bishop Eremi, head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center, received Mrs. Anita Herczig, First Lady of Hungary, at the headquarters of the Center. She learned about the activities of the Center and visited the Patriarchate Museum, the Coptic Panorama, the Martyrs Shrine and the memorial plaque of Margit Tut, which reflects the relationship between the Hungarian and Egyptian peoples.

Egypt s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received yesterday Abba Ibrahim Ishaq Sedrak, Patriarch of Alexandria for Coptic Catholics and Chairman of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops in Egypt, and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Charge d Affaires of the Vatican Embassy in Cairo. Ambassador Bassam Radi, Spokesman of the Presidency of the Republic, said that the President stressed the keenness of the State to coordinate with all ancient religious institutions to raise public awareness of the challenges facing the countries of the region that threaten its security and stability, stressing the importance of the role played by religious leaders in educating citizens, especially young people. The President affirmed the State s appreciation of the good relations with all Egyptian and international religious leaders of all sects, especially under the current approach of the State in establishing the values of coexistence and freedom of worship.

Major General Khaled Fouda, governor of Southern Sinai, visited the remains of St. Teresa during her visit to the Coptic Catholic Church in Sharm el-Sheikh for blessings. He was received by Anba Makarios Tawfiq, Honorary Archbishop of Ismaili Diocese and the Canal Cities, and Italian Consul. It is worth mentioning that the sacred remains are currently visiting Ismaili Diocese for one week before it returns to Cairo.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received a French Catholic delegation from the Franciscan Church family at the Papal headquarters in Cairo. During the visit, Pope said that Egypt was mentioned in the Bible more than 700 times and is considered the heart of the world. He added that St. Mark founded the Coptic church in the first century.

Jenny Aziz, the Coptic hearing-impaired girl who disappeared in Alexandria, returned home safe, without revealing further information. The 21 year old girl had disappeared while heading to work, but she returned couple of days later.

Family of Jenny Aziz, the Coptic deaf and dumb girl who disappeared in Alexandria appealed to Egypt’s Interior Minister Major General Mahmoud Tawfiq to intervene to determine the fate of their daughter. The 21 year old girl headed to her work, but never arrived. Police were reported and the matter is currently under investigation.

Coptic activist Rami Kamel, member of Coalition of Maspero Youth, was arrested yesterday by Egyptian police and his mobile phone and a laptop were confiscated. Coptic activists demanded his release and to grant freedom of expression for individuals.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark See, congratulated the American Copts on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee for the founding of St. Mark Church in Chicago and the beginning of the Coptic ministry in the USA. Pope wished the best for the Coptic ministers and the congregation in America and all over the world.

Bishop Besenty of Helwan, met today with Deputy Governor of Cairo governorate Ahmed Fouad in order to discuss the latest developments of the burned church of East Helwan. The church demanded the issuance of reconstruction permits to the church that was destroyed in a fire on October 13th.

Anba Bakhoum, the Catholic Patriarchal Vicar, received a delegation from the Catholic British Church at the House of Our Lady of Peace in the Sheraton residences of the Patriarchal Diocese. This came as part of their visit to Egyptian tourist and religious attractions. During their visit, they discussed the importance of social work in the Catholic Church in Egypt, especially towards the marginalized and the needy.

The Metropolitan Sergius, Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Cape Town, laid the foundation stone for a new church named St. Georgios in the East London area of South Africa. HG has presided over the Divine Liturgy at the Church of the Archangels In George, the southern city of Cape before he headed to the location of the new church in Cape Town.

Thousands of people participated for the second day in the celebrations of the Monastery of St. George the Rizeigat in Luxor. HG Bishop Markos of Shubra al-Khaimah presided over the ceremonies that will continue from 11 to 17 November this year, which commemorates the establishment of the first church on the name of St. George in Palestine.

HG Abba Antonios, Archbishop of Jerusalem and the Near East, visited the Coptic Church of Our Lady and St. Mark in Lebanon in a pastoral care visit. He was accompanied by Coptic monks from Jerusalem and talked about the Sultan Monastery and the Coptic church in Jerusalem.

Media Center of Coptic Orthodox Church organizes next Thursday a graduation ceremony of church development project at the Cathedral of St. Mark in Abassia. The project was founded in 2013 by HH Pope Tawadros II aiming to train 1000 church leaders.

Archbishop Thomas Adly of Giza and Fayoum receives the remains of St. Theresa at St. George s Catholic Church in Giza. The holy remains were received in the diocese last Monday at the nuns monastery in Fayoum and the congregation were blessed by them. In his sermon, Archbishop Thomas explained why the church honors the saints and demand their intersessions.

The Engineering Department of the Armed Forces started the final process of paving the road to the monastery of St. Samuel. The company started today to put the last asphalt layer of the pistil at a distance of 14 km after the completion of the paving process to be completed on December 17th.

Abba Markos, Bishop of Shubra El-Kheima and the papal supervisor on the monastery of St. George in Rizeigat in Luxor, visited today the monastery to check on the preparation for the annual celebrations at the monastery. Thousands of visitors visit the monastery each year at the celebration to be blessed by the Saint include Muslims and Christians.