For the first time on the feast of the Virgin Mary, the celebrations were canceled at the Monastery of the Virgin Mary in Jabal al-Tir, which were attended by 1.5 million visitors each year. Father Dawood Nshid, deputy of Samalout diocese, said that celebrations were canceled due to the spread of Corona virus and to follow the decision of the Holy Synod to close churches and monasteries to prevent the spread of the pandemic. The Holy Family have hidden in a cave inside the monastery for three days, and is considered an important place to visit by pilgrims.

The Catholic Church in Egypt issued a statement concerning the reopen of Churches, in which it announced to continue closure of Churches for another notice. The Synod of the Catholic Church in Egypt will hold another meeting in two weeks to decided when to reopen the churches. The statement explained that Holy Liturgy will not be held during this period, while funerals, baptism and marriage ceremonies will be held with minimum attendance, while other activates will be suspended.

The security forces of Menoufia have arrested 15 Copts in the village of Mena in Menoufia for holding a silent protest in front of the homes of the family of Rania Abdel-Masih, the Coptic woman who disappeared last month. Father Kozman, priest of the Church of the village, said that the youth who demonstrated didn’t break the law and were wearing masks, but they were arrested and are currently being investigated.

Bishop Moussa, the General Bishop of Youth, mounted today Mina Boutros, the young man who was killed by the Coronavirus. The young man was one of the servants of the May 15 city in Helwan, and was known for being a good servant like an angel who has returned to his original heavenly residence, according to Bishop Moussa.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that And based on the guidance of the Center for Disease Control and Epidemics, he will decide to open places of worship for the weekends explaining that we need them opened as soon as possible. United States has shut down all houses of worship to prevent the spread of Corona virus, but now Trump thinks it is the right time to reopen them as we need prayers the most.

Raymond Abdel-Masih, brother of the disappeared Coptic woman Rania Abdel-Masih, denied rumors about her return, assuring that such fake news cause harm to the family at such hard times. He explained that the family is now retreating to pray for her return and safety. For their part, police announced that the matter is currently under investigation.

Ghali Iskandar, Lawyer of the Coptic Church in Behira, said that Father Yassa Sobhy of the church of St. Karas in Koum Faraj, Abul Matamir, Bhira was injured while City Council demolished unsilenced Church and a mosque. The church was built 15 years ago but it was not yet legalized and some clashes happened with the Muslims of the village before they built a mosque in front of the church. The City Council ordered to demolish of the unlicensed buildings though the church filed a law suit to stop the decision and legalize the church. The City Council applied the decision and police have attacked the priest who tried to prevent the demolishing of the buildings.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi continues his approach to support equal citizenship and confronting the ideology of hate by opening a church in all new cities. Today, the Egyptian president opened the Cathedral of the Virgin and St. Philopatir and St. Karas in Bashayer Al-Khair project in Alexandria. The president was accompanied by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, and a number of members of the Holy Synod.

Attacker of Ghobrial church in Alexandria was detained for 4 days pending investigations. Father Ruice Markos, priest of St. Mary Church in Ghobrial, Alexandria, said that surveillance cameras of the church filmed the man who threw a Molotov Cocktail at the church. The attack caused no harm for people or the building. Police have arrested the man and he is currently under investigation.

The Egyptian govenment finished the final process of paving the road to the monastery of St. Samuel with a total distance of 27 Kilometers. The road coasted 42 million LE and reduces the time of the jounry from 60 minutes to 10 minutes. It also aims at providing security for visitors and prevent further attacks by the terorists. The construction of the road to St. Anba Samuel monastery was decided after two terrorist attacks tergeted the visitors of the monastery and killed 35 Copts.

Court in Cairo ordered that Mamdouh Ramadan, who attacked and tried to slain two Coptic women, to be kept in psychiatric hospital after the medical report suggested he is suffering from mental disorder. Lawyer of the Coptic woman Catharine Ramzy said the ruling was surprising since it contradicts with the records of police investigations.

Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated the second annviersary of the arrival of the bodies of 21 Coptic Martyrs of Libya who were slain by ISIS in 2015. Egypt s prosecution announced on March 2018 in press conference that the DNA tests were carried out and that the Libyan authorities would hand the body s over to the Egyptian government soon.

Father Poulos Halim, spokesman for the Coptic Church denied rumors about about the opening of the Coptic churches on May 18. He explained that the decision was taken by the Catholic Church in Romeand it doesn’t apply to the Coptic Orthodox Churches in Egypt. It is wroth mentioning that the Coptic Orthodox Church, headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, decided to suspend all activities, and shut down the churches in order to prevent the spread of Corona virus.

Police in Sohag is working hard to investigated the murder of a Coptic woman and her daughter who were drowned rubbed with ropes. The woman is 35 years old and her daughter is 15 years old, but their identity were not recognized yet.

Bishop Dimitrios of Mallawi, Ansna and Al-Ashmounin, issued a decision to prevent clergy from visiting the congregation following the rules of social distancing due to the spread of Corona virus. He added that only the parents are allowed to attend the baptism of their children, and only 6 people are allowed to attend wedding ceremonies, and only 7 people to attend funerals, which are limited to family members.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, celebrated today the eve of St. Mark feast. In his speech, Pope Tawadros said that St. Mark decided to make good usage of his time and mentioned it 42 times in his bible. Pope also praised the ministry of St. Mark in Alexandria leading the Egyptians to the Christian faith.

Libyan army announced it arrested the dangerous terrorist Mohamed Sanbagty who planned for several churches bombings in Egypt. Spokesman for the Libyan National Army, Major General Ahmed al-Mismari said that he was arrested in the North Ghout region of Tripoli and was deported to Benghazi.

Father Poulos Halim, Spokesman of the Coptic Church, praised the heroic action of the men of the Interior Ministry Police, and the raid on Cairo terrorist hideout. Halim mourned the death of Houfi and wished the policemen injured in the raid a speedy recovery. The Coptic Egyptian Orthodox Church, headed by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, had issued a statmetn to mourn the martyr Lieutenant Colonel Muhammad Fawzi Al-Hofy, who was martyred while doing his duty towards his homeland along with anti-terrorist forces breaking into a terrorist den in the Amiriya district in Cairo.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, celebrates the Mass of Maundy Thursday at the Monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadi Al-Natrun with a limited number of monks and bishops. The mass prayers of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday will be broadcast directly on the church channels and the official website of the church.

Coptic Churches mourned policemen killed in exchanging fire with terrorist fighters near the al-Amireya neighborhood in Cairo who were creating bombs in their hideout location. 3 policemen were killed in the attack. The terrorist elements were planning to carry out bomb attacks against churches on Easter. Church leaders offered their sincere condolences to families of the martyrs and for the Egyptian people.

The Evangelical Community in Egypt holds its official celebration on the occasion of the glorious Resurrection feast next Saturday, April 18, without the participation of the congregation. Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki, head of the community, said that they decided to limit the celebration to a very few number of the participants and to prevent the congregation from attending in order to prevent the spread of the Corona virus and protect the people.