The Monastery of the Virgin Mary known as al-Muharraq received a number of bishops who arrived to celebrate the Holy Week among the monks of the monastery. This comes as the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox church decided to close all churches and monasteries before the visitors and worshipers to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

Pope Francis called for the international sanctions that weigh on some countries to be lifted and also called for debt forgiveness. During his prayer at the Easter mass offered in the Basilica of St. Peter without congregation, the pontiff declared that the cancellation of debt would allow poor countries to better attend to the crisis caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and patriarch of st. Mark see, celebrated today the holy mass of the Palm Sunday at the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Wadil Natrun. The Holy Mass was held without the attendance of the congregation, and pope delivered a short sermon about Jesus who visits our homes.

The cathedral of St. George in Tanta celebrated today the Holy Mass of the third anniversary of the martyrs of Palm Sunday. The holy mass was headed by Bishop Paula of Tanta without attendance of the congregation.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced that the monastery of St. Anthony in the Red Sea will continue to close its doors to visitors due to the emerging Corona virus crisis. The monastery has issued a statement assuring that such closure is following the decision of the Holy Synod.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church in Alexandria decided to stop all wedding ceremonies after the celebration of wedding ceremonies as a precautionary measure to limit the spread of the emerging Corona virus. The church canceled all booked ceremonies following the decision of the holy synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Bishop Paula of Tanta headed the celebration of the third anniversary of Palm Sunday martyrs who were killed in a terrorist attack during the celebration of Palm Sunday mass. The celebration this year excluded the congregation following the procedures taken to prevent the spread of the Corona virus.

The Diocese of Beni Suef offered online Bible Study for Children after all churches actives were suspended due to the spread of Corona virus. The new service is offered under the patronage of Anba Gabriel, Bishop of the Diocese.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced that His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, will deliver his weekly sermon at the Pontifical Headquarters at the St. Mark s Cathedral in Abbasia, without the presence of the congregation. It is worth mentioning that the Coptic church will celebrate the Holy Week starting next Sunday amidst closure of the churches during to the Corona virus.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced that the monastery of the Archangel Michael in Naqada, will continue to close its doors to visitors due to the emerging Corona virus crisis. Bishop Bemen of Naqdas and Qus said in an official statement that the church prays to stop the pandemic and looking forward to reopen the doors of the churches and monasteries back.

For the first time in its history, the Coptic churches and monasteries are closed in the Holy Week. The Monastery of Abu Fana, like other Coptic monasteries, announced it will not receive visitors during the Holy Week, including laity and clergy. The Coptic Orthodox Church announced that no public prayers will be held this year and no priests will visit the people.

The Coptic Church in Samalout announced to broadcast prayers of the Holy Week on its official page on Facebook following the new instructions to shut down the churches due to Corona virus. Bishop Pfnotoius of Samalout said that the church hopes that the procedures will not last for long, and they come to save lives of the congregation. Two priests and 4 deacons will have to stay in the diocese without leaving in order to participate in the prayers.

The Coptic Orthodox Church in Fayoum has announced permitting the prayers of baptism and chrism for children amid strict procedures due to Corona virus. The church said that monk Timothaous of Naqaloun monastery will make an appointment and only 3 members of the family of the baptized children will be allowed to attend the prayers without celebrating the holy mass.

A number of the monks of the monastery of St. Paula in the Red Sea, headed by Bishop Daniel, held a joint prayers for Egypt and the world that God may stop the epidemic of Corona virus. It is mentioned that all monasteries are subject to complete quarantine and no trips or people are received, and no monks are allowed to leave it.

Father Poulos Haleem, spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church, commented on the funeral of a Coptic priest in Mallawy, which sparked a controversy after it was attended by many people, which was considered a violation of the curfew and social distancing rules to face Coronavirus. He added in an interview on MBC private satellite channel that the village where the priest served consists of 50.000 Coptic people and the funeral was attended only by 300 people. He added that Upper Egypt has a tribal area, and the presence of families in funerals is considered a must. Church spokesman stressed that the church is committed to the resolutions of social distancing and decided to stop the prayers of the Holy Week for the first time in history to follow the decisions taken by the state to face Coronavirus.

The Secretariat Committee of the Holy Synod met today under the chairmanship of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II to discuss the latest developments on the issue of the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) and decided to extend its decision to shut down churches and stop all meetings and activities to prevent the spread of the virus. The statement issued by the Committee assured that the decision includes the prayers of the Holy Week and announced to postponed making the Holy Chrism scheduled next week. The church also announced to donate 3 million EGP in order to contribute to the purchase of ventilators.

Bishop Theophilus of Manfalut, delivered a sermon via live broadcast technology on the official page of the diocese on Facebook. This comes at the time the Coptic church extended its decision to shut down churches and monasteries and stopped all services due to the Coronavirus.

Abba Raphael, the general bishop of the churches of central Cairo, said that families should use the curfew to pray and read the Holy Bible. He added that the church is experiencing an extraordinary time that we pray to end soon in order to return to the church activities and meetings.

Coptic Church commemorates the monthly memorial of the Virgin Mary on 21st of each Coptic month, which commemorates the departure of the Virgin Mary. Some historical sources mentioned that the life of the Virgin Mary was almost sixty years, including twelve years in the Temple, and thirty-four years in the house of Joseph the Carpenter, and then fourteen years after the ascension of her son Jesus Christ spent her in the house of John the Beloved.

The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities has finished placing 42 heavy artifacts on the Great Staircase of the Grand Egyptian Museum, after equipping and fixing the bases of all the heavy statues including statues of King Ramses II, Ptah, Sekhmet, King Amenhotep III, Queen Hatshepsut, Ptah, Hathor, Senusert III in addition to a distinguished group of other heavy monuments. Atef Moftah, supervisor of the GEM, said that the special lighting effects were tested and found very effective.

His Eminence Bishop Makarios of Minya and Abu Qurqas held the monthly meeting for priests, through video conference in which they discussed alternative service methods under the current circumstances. The church has stopped all activates due to Coronavirus, including meetings and church education services.