Copts celebrated Palm Sunday without buying palm or attending churches and without holding any celebrations except watching the prayers on TV. This comes as the Coptic Orthodox church decided to close all churches and monasteries before the visitors and worshipers and suspend all churches activities to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, will hold an important meeting of the Secretariat Committee of the Holy Synod next Thursday. Bishop Ghobrial of Beni Suef told Copts United that the meetings comes to discuss the current situation and procedures taken by the church to face the spread of Coronavirus.

Sources in the Coptic Orthodox Church denied rumored about holding a meeting today for the Standing Committee of the Holy Synod headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II to assess the position of the closure of churches and the form of prayers for the Holy Week. The news were published on several websites and social media, before they are denied by the Church.

For the first time in hundreds of years, Coptic churches suspends Holy Masses on Sunday. Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church announced it is shutting down all churches nationwide and suspended all its services due to Coronavirus in order to prevent the spread of the pandemic.

Bishop Ghobrial of Beni Suef ordained a new priest at the Cathedral of the Virgin in Beni Suef. The new priest Father Rimon Toma headed to the monastery to spend 40 days of spiritual retreat according to the Coptic rituals.

The Women s Committee of the Holy Synod and the National Council for Women hosted a conference entitled No to violence against women at the Monastery of the Virgin in Bayyad Al-Arab, Beni Suef Governorate. The conference discussed articles of the Constitution and law that address violence against women and how to protect women from different kinds of violence in the society.

The monastery of the great saint Anba Paula in Bush, Beni Suef, celebrated the feast of the great saint, Anba Paula, in the presence of head of the monks and hundreds of believers of the saint. St. Paul is the First Hermit who have lived alone in the desert from the age of sixteen to one hundred thirteen years of his age.

HE Bishop Gabriel of Beni Suef opened yesterday carnival games for boys and girls, which came as fund day for the elementary school students. The carnival was held at the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Bayad, Beni Suef, and offered its attendees a number of games, studies and stories.

Coptic Churches announced they will celebrate Late Masses during the Nativity fasting, including the churches of Beni Suef. The Masses are held between 11:00 to 13:00 or 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm.

Hani Abdel Jaber, Governor of Beni Suef, hosted a conference to discuss ways of facing rumors wtih the participation of 500 young people and the Church and Al-Azhar. Participants agreed that all state including Al-Azhar, the Church, ministries of Youth, Sports, Education and Culture, the media, the National Council for Women, and civil society institutions should take a proper role in facing rumors and talk about achievements in Egypt.

Bishop Ghobrial of Beni Suef and Bishop Estifanos of Beba and Fashn denied rumors about a fire at a church in Bnei Suef. Social media activists shared news about a fire erupted at a church in Beni Suef after two churches were burned last week in other cities. They explained that the published photos date back to another fire erupted several months ago.

200 ministers received training at St. Geroge monastery in Sadmant village in Beni Suef. The training is part of the initiative of HH Pope Tawadros II to train 1000 ministers and develop their skills in the service.

The committee concerned with legalizing unlicensed churches, headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, decided to legalize a number of churches in Beni Suef. The new churches included the Pentecostal Church in El Fashn, the Church of St. Abu Sefeen in Samasta and service buildings of the Church of Abu Sefin in Samasta, and Archangel Michael Church in Dashashna village.

University of Beni Suef appointed a Coptic Dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences. Dr. Boutros Riad Bakhit was appointed by Dr. Mansour Hassan, President of Beni Suef University. Dr. Boutros obtained a Bachelor of Science in Geology Division in 1989, Cairo University, and a Master in Geology Sciences, Minerals and Rocks, Cairo University, and a PHD of Philosophy in Geology Sciences, Minerals and Rocks.

Bishop Gabriel of Beni Suef ordained a large number of new deacons. They were ordained at the church of St. Mary in Beni Suef during celebrating the Sunday holy mass.

Bishop Rafael attends 13th conference of university students and graduates in Beni Suef. The conference is held at the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Bayad from September 2nd to 4th under the title Discover Yourself .

Police in Egypt are taking extra security measures to secure the celebrations of the feast of the Virgin Mary. One of the grand celebrations is held at the monastery of the virgin Mary in Bayad, Beni Suef.

The body of an elderly Coptic was found in the village of Suleiman in Beni Suef near the fields. Police is currenly investigating the corpse to find out the cause of the death.

Security forces have taken extra security measures to secure the celebration of the Virgin Mary in Bayad. Tens of thousands attend the celebration each day to take blessings from the Virgin Mary and the monastery and to spend some time on the Nile River.

His Eminence Bishop Gabrielle of Beni Suef celebrated the Holy Mass at the ancient monastery of Our lady of Muharraq in Assiut, with the participation of a number of monks and the five new priests who were recently ordained. The new priests are spending 40 days as spiritual retreat according to the Coptic rituals. They are Fathers Makarios, Maximus, Domadious, Sharopbim and Lucas.

St. George Church in Beni Suef celebrates the feast of St. Joseph the Carpenter next Thursday. St. Joseph of the House of David was the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus the Christ. St. Joseph was the foster-father of Jesus and along with the Virgin Mary spent the most earthly hours with Jesus during his childhood.