The Archdiocese of Samalut and its dependencies announced that Bishop Epiphanius of Samalout will open the Coptic Book Fair on February 27 till March 1st. More than 34 church and publishers are scheduled to participate in the fair including the most prominent Coptic publishing houses like Abu Makar Monastery and the Youth Bishopric, the Monasteries of Al-Baramous, Al-Syrian and Anba Bishoy.

The president of Ain Shams University in Cairo, Mahmoud al-Matini, issued a decision banning the wear of Niqab inside the university, whether for female faculty members working at the university, or support bodies, doctors and nurses. This comes after Cairo University issued similar decision banning the wear of niqab, which hides the face and the identity.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced the beginning of the Great Lent fasting on February 24. Coptic churches will be celebrating daily late masses at the Great Lent from 1 to 3 p.m. The Great Lent is celebrated in Coptic churches for 55 days by fasting and special rituals.

The Church of Saint George in Izbat Hanna Ayoub, Minya, concluded its conference entitled I am Hero. The conference lasted for 3 days and included many shows to teach the children about having a strong character.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, offered his sincere condolences to Head and monks of the Monastery of St. Mina in Mariout in the departure of father Zosima Ava Mina. The monk died after a monastic journey that lasted for nearly 42 years, as he was born on January 12, 1939 and was ordained monk on June 24, 1978.

Coptic Orthodox Churches celebrated the feast of St. Antony, the founder of monasticism and father of the monks. In a press release, the Church said that St. Anthony was born in 251 in Egypt and decided to distributing his money on the needy after the death of his parents. Then, he left to the desert in order to live a hermit life.

Samalout Diocese started the celebration of 21 martyrs of Libya on Saturday, which is to be concluded on February 16th. ISIS terrorist organization had published a video showing the slain process of the 21 martyrs in Libya and their bodies were moved back to their home town in Samalout where a big church was built on their names.

The Monastery of the Virgin Mary and Angel Michael in France was visited by Bishop Mark of Northern France who celebrated the Holy Mass and met with the congregation of the diocese. The Orthodox Church will begin this month the holy fast of Jonah, which will lasts for 3 days.

Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Khaled Al-Anani, announced a tour to visit some archaeological areas in Minya Governorate including the church of Our Lady in Jabal al-tit, which he described as the most important spot in Egypt visited by the Holy Family. He added that he will visit the Archaeological area of Al-Bahnasa, which contains many papyris that It dates back to the Greco-Roman era. He added that he is going to announce a new archaeological excavation in Minya governorate.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received the new American ambassador Jonathan Cohen at the Papal headquarters of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbasia. Cohen s visit to the cathedral came with the intention of getting acquainted with the Pope of the Orthodox Church. For his part, Pope welcomed the new ambassador and wished him wisdom and success.

Jesus Light of the World Episcopal Church announced it will host the week of prayer for unity on next Friday. Various Christian communities and representatives of the three major Christian churches will participate in the prayers, in addition to the participation of the Council of Churches of Egypt.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church announced that the Bishop Isaiah of Tahta has arrived in Australia to start a pastoral visit to the Parish of Melbourne from January 29 to February 17. He will start his visit by celebrating the holy mass at the church of Archangel Michael in Melbourne.

Prince Tadros Coptic Monastery in the Netherlands hosted a meeting of Orthodox and Russian priests as part of the theological consultations. The delegation of the Orthodox Church was headed by Bishops Serapion of Los Angeles and Chairman of the Committee for Relations between the Coptic and Russian Churches, and Bishop Arsani of the Netherlands, and Bihsop Kyrillos of Los Angeles.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, receives the new German ambassador in Egypt Dr. Cyril Jan Nunn at the papal headquarters in Cairo. The visit came on the occasion of the ambassador taking his new position as German ambassador to Egypt, and expressed his great joy to work in Egypt and meet with the Coptic Pope.

Coptic Orthodox Church announced it is preparing to host the second Coptic World Youth Forum next August at the Logos Center of the Papal headquarters in St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadil Natrioun. Father Poulos Halim, spokesman for the Coptic church, said that all dioceses started submitting the youth nominations from five contents. It is worth noting that His Holiness Pope Tawadros II opened in August 2018 the first global meeting of the Coptic Orthodox Church youth for one week.

The Coptic Center for Youth Service in Abu Qurqas organized last Saturday a meeting for female servants at the Abu Qurqas Center in the Church of Our Lady in Fekria, entitled He sent them to Evangelize . The meeting started with the Divine Liturgy after which the attendees received two lectures on servant and belief , and how do we serve the youth of this generation?

The media center of the Coptic Orthodoxy Church announced that His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, has received the delegation of St. Ignatius Theological Academy and Stockholm College of Theology at the papal headquarters of the St. Mark s Cathedral in Cairo. They discussed aspects of cooperation between the Academy and the Coptic Church.

The media spokesman for the Egyptian Orthodox Church announced that the Monastery of St. Tadros Al-Mashriqi in the Diocese of the Netherlands hosted over the course of three days the activities of theological consultations emanating from the Committee on Relations between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church. Coptic church’s delegation was led by His Eminence Anba Serapion, Bishop of Los Angeles, and Chairman of the Committee for Relations between the Coptic and Russian Churches. The delegation also included Bishop Arsany of the Netherlands, Bishop Cyril of Los Angeles, Father Kyrillos Ibrahim from Los Angeles, and Father David Antony, priest of the Coptic Church in Moscow.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church announced that Bishop Ghobrial of Beni Suef has ordained two new deacons in the full rank for the churches of Archangel Michael in Azhari and St. Mina in New Beni Suef. The congregation of the two churches celebrated the new ordination that was held at the Cathedral of St. Mina in New Beni Suef.

Bishop Tadros of Port Said chaired the meeting of Coptic priests in Sydney and discussed with them a number of pastoral and organizational matters related to service. This came during his pastoral care visit to the diocese delegated by Pope Tawadros II. Bishop Tadros will also ordain a new priest for the Virgin Saint Church and the Apostle Marlouka in Gosford. It is worth mentioning that Father Matthew Atia Kokia was appointed as deputy, and Father Hanna Gad as general secretary of the diocese.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church announced that Bishop Paula of Tanta traveled to Australia in a pastoral care visit there for three weeks. It is expected that His eminence will lead the annual conference of families scheduled to be held in the coastal city of Wollongong, south of Sydney, from January 24 to January 27.