Pope Tawadros will lead today the meeting of Prayer week for unity which will be held at the weekly meeting of the Pope. The meeting will be held at the Great Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbasia in the presence of representatives from various churches in Egypt.

Dr. Reverend Andre Zaki, head of the Evangelical Community in Egypt and head of the Coptic Evangelist commission for Social Services, concluded his visit to Sweden and Germany, after meeting a number of prominent leaders in civil society and leaders of Arab Evangelical Churches. During his visit to Sweden, Zaki met Archbishop Antje Jackleen, Archbishop of Sweden, and discussed with him the most important conditions of the Arab region and the effective role played by Egypt in light of the challenges facing Arab Christians. He also met with the Ambassador of Interfaith Dialogue at the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs MS Ulrika Sundberg. They discussed several issues including the challenges of the region and the positive role of Egypt as a model for coexistence. In Germany, Zaki met with the Director of the Middle East file at the Ministry of International Cooperation Dr. Claudia Warning, and Dr. Bernhard Felmberg, President of Civil Society and the Church Organizations.

Archbishop Markos of Shubra al-Khaimah opened the closed Church of Mit Nama that was closed by police last year. 87 deacons were ordained in the celebration and Father Habib Girgis was promoted to the rank of Hegumin. Extremists have refused to allow the church to build a service building though it optioned all due permits since 2001.

Cairo Misdemeanor Court is holding trial of Muhammad Awad, 32 years old, on January 27 after he tried to slain a Coptic man in Marj, Cairo. The extremist assured he hates the Christians and tried to kill the Coptic man using a knife. This came couple of days after another slain attempt of a Coptic woman in Warraq, Cairo.

The church of St. George in Al-Sa’idah, in 10th of Ramadan City, celebrated its inauguration ceremony by Bishop Makar of Sharkia. The main alter was inaugurated on the name of St. George, and the other alters on the name of the Virgin Mary, St. Mouses, St. Philopatir and St. Fam.

Major General Mahmoud Shaarawi, Minister of Local Development, reviewed the plan to develop the path of the Holy Family with the president of the Association for the Development and Revival of the Coptic Heritage. The plan will be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Council of Ministers, the Tourism and Aviation Committee of the House of Representatives, the Coptic Church, and some relevant authorities from civil society and the business sector.

A French church delegation arrived in Egypt to visit the path of the Holy Family and some tourist areas in Egypt. The delegation was invited by Ahmed Youssef, Chairman of the Tourism Promotion Authority to promote religious tourism in Egypt.

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.