The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) criticized the failure of the law of building churches with its slow process and its failure to protect the right of the Copts and put an end to violations on the right to practice religious rituals for Christians, and to address the sectarian tensions associated with them. It assured that the current rate will demand 9 years to legalize all 5540 churches that applied for the process. This came after the prevention of the Copts from praying in a building in the village of Faw Bahri in the Dishna Center in Qena Governorate. It added that the government declared to legalize 1412 churches, but these license are not final and demand a long process.

Bishop Bfnotious of Samalout inaugurated the church of St. George in Tayeba village. An alter was inaugurated on the name of the children of Bethlehem, and St. Moses, and a new service building was opened.

Coptic Orthodox Church honored the martyr officer Mustafa Obaid who was killed while defending the church of St. Mary in Ezbet Haggana, Nasr City. The church was targeted by a terrorist attack before the brave officer tries to dismantle a bomb, but it exploded and killed him. Bishop Eklimindos of Nasr City received his family and offered them his sincere condolences in the first anniversary of his martyrdom.

The Minya Criminal Court sentenced 3 people for 10 years in prison for assaulting a Coptic old woman, stripping her nude and dragging her in the streets back in 2016. The woman was attacked after a rumors spread about a romantic relationship between her son and a Muslim woman in the village of Karm, Minya governorate.

Major General Osama Al Qadi, Governor of Minya, opened yesterday the Church of St. Moussa in Minya after its rebuilding. A number of senior officials in the governroate and Bishop Makarious of Minya attended the opening ceremony. The church was destroyed and set on fire by supporters of the muslim Brotherhood terrorist group after the dispersal of Rabaa Adawia and Nahda sit-ins in 2013, and was reconstructed by the Egyptian armed forces.

Dr. Nadia Henary, a Coptic member of the Egyptian House of Representatives, requested a briefing about preventing Copts from praying on Christmas eve in Faw Bahry village in Qena Governorate. She said that the nearest church in 10 kilometers away and Copts have been praying in a building for 70 years, and it provided services to the people of the village before it has collapsed. The church leaders applied for replacement and renewal and obtained permits, but during the demolition process extremists attacked the workers and stopped them. The church applied for legalization according to the law, but the request was refused claiming it hurts the feelings of the Muslims in the village. Later, many people attacked a house of a Coptic man and set it on fire and priests were prevented from entering the village.

The Egyptian Center filed a lawsuit before the Administrative Court against the Egyptian Prime Minister and the Minister of Tourism to demand the repeal of the decision to transfer of 4 rams statues from the Celebration Hall at Karnak in order to use them to decorate Tahrir Square in Cairo. The lawyers assured that the decision violates the nature of the archaeological landmark from which these statues will be carved out and suggested they can make copies of them instead of moving the original pieces.

A number of extremists set a Coptic house on fire in the village of Faw in Qena, in escalation in the situation after they refused to allow the Copts to pray on Christmas eve. 5 Copts and 6 Muslims were arrested and the prayers were prevented in the village. Dishna diocese has requested the legalization of a church in the village one year ago, but the demands were ignored though 4000 Copts live in the village are prevented from praying in the church.

For 7 years, Egyptian government ignored families of Martyrs Wajdi Malak and Ashraf Samy who have been killed in a terrorist attack on the Coptic church in MIsurata, Libya on December 30, 2012. It is worth mentioning that wife and children of Wajdi Malak are suffering to live without pension after the government refused to give them a pension and compensation from the Fund for the Families of the Martyrs and the Injured.

For the first time, Muslim government officials attended Christmas Masses in the churches of Sudan. This came after the government announcement Christmas as an official holiday for the first time in eight years. Muslim government officials including Minister of Religious Affairs Nasruddin Mufreh attended a Christmas celebration at the Khartoum Evangelical Bahri Church, which was persecuted and threatened for years by the former regime

St. Mina Monastery celebrates the ninth anniversary of martyrs of the Saints Church in Alexandria who have been killed in a terrorist attack on New Year’s Eve. A Holy Mass will be celebrated at the church of the Saints in the monastery on Wednesday after a spiritual prayers have been held on that occasion for three days.

Dr. Marian Amir Azer became the first Egyptian parliamentarian to deliver a speech at the International Internet Governance Forum in Germany. The speech that was delivered in the German capital Berlin concentrated on the role of technology in todays peace, dignity, equality and safety.

His Eminence Bishop Bfnotious of Samalout inaugurated today the church of St. George in Ezbet Faltaous in Samalout during celebrating the holy mass. The new church was built on and area of 700 square meters and has a service building on an area of 600 square meters that includes Sunday School hall, nursery and a theater.

Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Egypt’s Prime Minister, sent a message of congratulations to Pope Tawadros II on the occasion of the new year and Christmas. He wished the Copts his best regards and for Egypt good, security and peace.

The remains of St. Teresa has returned to her church in Shubra for the third and last time before returning to France by the end of this month. Several people visited the church to receive blessings of the great Saint before the ceremonial farewell will be held tomorrow.

A Coptic family in Khosous, Cairo, appealed to police to find their disappeared daughter Mervat Jamil Shehata, 25, and her child Kyrillos Sami. The family said she went last week with her child to the post office and never returned.

Bishop Markos of Shubra Al-Khaimah returned to Cairo after a pastoral care visit in Saudi Arabia during which he visited the Copts in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. During his stay in Riyadh, Bishop Markos met with Ahmed Farouk, the Egyptian ambassador in Riyadh. It is worth mentioning that Bishop Markos is the first Coptic clergy to visit the Saudi Arabia ever.

Bishop Bfnotious of Samalout inaugurated the church of St. Salome in Jabal al-Tir, Samalout. Another church was inaugurated in the service building attached to the same church, which carried the name of St. Moses the great.

Family of the disappeared Coptic woman Marina Sami appealed to the Interior Ministry to find their daughter who disappeared last October 18th, from the Gesr Al-Suez area in Cairo. The family said that she got married last June and is pregnant, but she went out of her home to visit her family and go to the doctor and she disappeared since this time.

Bishop Raphael of the Churches of Downtown Cairo denied news about commenting on decision of Bishop Serapion of Los Angeles, regarding the celebration of Christmas on December 24 instead of January 7th. It is worth mentioning that Pope Tawadros has supported the decision assuring that it comes to solve a big problem of the Copts in the West.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, received a group university students from the Diocese of Esna and Armant at the Pontifical Headquarters in Cairo. Pope prayed for them and wished them success their spiritual and practical life.