Coptic churches and monasteries in Egypt celebrated the holy feast of the Cross called in other churches “The Exaltation of the Holy Cross”. The Cross of Jesus Christ was discovered in 326 by Saint Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, during a pilgrimage she made to Jerusalem. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was then built at the site of the discovery, by order of Helena and Constantine. The church was dedicated nine years later, with a portion of the cross placed inside it. The date of the feast marks the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 335.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, visited the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Ohio for nuns. The monastery is under construction on an area of 10 acres. The visit comes as part of the pastoral care visit of Pope Tawadros to the United States of America.

During his meeting with officials and graduates of Pope Shenouda s Theological Seminary East America, His Holiness Pope Twadros II talked about projects for the future of ecclesiastical education including the planning of the establishment of the largest Coptic library in the world, as well as the establishment of an electronic Theological school and the Coptic Theological Academy in Cairo. The Coptic Orthodox Church is building the largest Coptic library in the world at the papal headquarters in the monastery of St. Bishoy on an area of one acre and will collect the largest number of rare Coptic books and manuscripts and will be opened in November.

During his meeting with the congregation of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Athanasius in New Jersey, His Holiness Pope Tawdros II invited the Egyptians abroad to invest in Egypt. He added that the church is building schools and hospitals and all patriot Egyptians should follow that lead to help their home country.

Pope Tawadros II, opened today the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Mina in St. Cranston, Rhode Island. This is the third church to be inaugurated by the Pope during his current pastoral care visit to the United States of America.

Pope Twadros II, mentioned a prophesy by the late Metropolitan of Assiut Abba Michael in which he told Pope Tawadros that he will take a great responsibility and this was years before he was named Pope. Pope added that he visited Abba Michael after he was enthroned a pope to take his blessings.

Copts of Damshaw Hashim village had to hold another funeral in the streets as their church has been shut down by the police. The funeral was held under extra security measures.

The Catholic Church in Egypt ordained Father Boutros Yousef a priest for at the Church of Our Lady of the Catholic Copts in Wasiti, Assiut. The ordination ceremony was headed by His Grace Bishop Cyril William, Metropolitan of the Catholic Church in Assist.

The World Federation of Christian Students in the Middle East holds a meeting at the House of Services Bishopric at the Church of the Virgin Mary in Nasr City, Cairo. A number of clergy and youth from Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Sudan and Palestine participate in the meeting. It is worth mentioning that the Union was founded in Paris and aims to serve academic students in universities and design programs to build a society based on dialogue, ecumenism, social justice and peace.

The Coptic Orthodox Church concluded its first Coptic World Youth Forum and Pope Tawadros II said at the closing ceremony that he will miss the youth and also invited them to spread the world about what they saw in Egypt. 200 Coptic youth from all over the world have participated at the very first forum and they are visiting Egypt for the first time.

Abba Pachomius, former acting Patriarch, perfumed the remains of St. Augustine in Damanhour at the feast of the Egyptian saint. The head of the saint was restored from Algeria in 1978.

Eastern Bishops of all Christian denominations held a meeting in Sydney on Tuesday. Patriarch Abraham Isaac, patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt, delegated Father Andraws Faraj, patron of the Coptic Catholic Church in Sydney, to attended the meeting that discussed the importance of activating the ecumenical dialogue and the language of love. The meeting also discussed the issue of immigrants in Australia and how to help them in Australia, especially those from Armenia, Iraq and Syria.

President Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi received today Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, with the delegation of World Coptic youth Forum. Spokesman of the Egyptian Presidency said that the President welcomed the young people participating in the first World Forum of Coptic Orthodox Youth from different continents of the world, which seeks to link Egyptian immigrants and their children from the new generations to their homeland.

Participants of the World Coptic Youth Forum visited the Giza Pyramids today an expressed their admiration to the great ancestors who build that civilization. 200 Coptic youth from all over the world participate at the very first forum and they are visiting Egypt for the first time.

Coptic businessman Naguib Sawiris participated in the World Youth Conference held in the Papal headquarter in Wadil Natroun. Sawiris talked about several successful people who lived in Egypt. For his part, Pope Tawadros honored Sawiris for his participation and offered him a gift.

A new priest of the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Pope Kyrillos in Leidschendam, the Netherlands, was ordained this week.

Father Yoel Al-Maqari explained important information about the recent events at the monastery of Abu Makar in Wadil Natroun. Yoel said that the problem was not ideological or theological as promoted by some people. Instead, he assured that some people couldn t show commitment to the strict rules of the monastery.

In conjunction with the celebrations of Eid al-Adha, the Egyptian Ministry of Environment has taken strict measures to prevent slaughter of livestock in the streets.

Father Jeremiah of Baramous monastery in Wadil Natroun died. His funeral was held today at the monastery of St. Mary (Baramous). It s worth mentioning that Father Jeremiah is a disciple of the famous monk Abd al-Masih al-Habashi.

In his weekly sermon, Pope Tawadros II mourned Bishop Epiphanius, head of St. Makar monastery and described him as faithful and great example. He added that the late bishop was great example of a bishop, monk and teacher.

President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi held a meeting with Dr. Mohammed Mukhtar Gomaa, Minister of Awqaf, to discuss ways to counter extremism and spread the right understanding of Islam. The meeting was attended by Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, the Prime Minster.