Bishop Demetrius of Mallawi, Ansna and the Ashmonin, decided to extend the closure of churches in the diocese till mid-July to prevent the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. He decided to celebrate the feast of the Apostles with only one priest and two deacons. The decision of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church gave bishops the authority to decide when and how to reopen their churches in order to insure safety of the people.

The Coptic Orthodox Church issued a statement to support Egyptian intervention in Libya to protect its borders and national security. Statement added that Church prays for peace in the region and in the world and invites the people to support the government agasint the recent challenges.

Bishop Seraphim of Ismailia delivered the Sunday sermon, which was broadcast on the Egyptian satellite channels. This comes as the Coptic Churches are closed due to the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

Egyptian private satellite televisions of the United Group broadcast today the Sunday weekly sermon of the Pentecost feast delivered by Pope Tawadros II. This comes as churches are closed and its activities are suspended to prevent the spread of Corona virus.

Ambassador Nabila Makram, Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptians Affairs abroad, extended he thanks to the Coptic Orthodox Church for hosting the Egyptians stranded in Kenya due to the Coronavirus pandemic. She visited Pope Tawadros at the Papal headquarters with a delegation that included Dr. Ashraf Sobhy, Minister of Youth and Sports, and a number of stranded Egyptians in Kenya.

The World Council of Churches announced a new competition for Youth at the age from 18 to 30 years old. The participants are required to write articles describing their vision of the current situation and challenges. The articles can be written in English or Arabic and should be sent to the email address: papaloffice2020@gmail.com before Sunday 10 May.

Muhammad Saafan, Egypt’s Minister of Manpower, said that the ministry has offered emergency aid to 120.000 workers who were affected badly due to government procedures to face Coronavirus. He explained that total of 500 million pounds in aid for irregular employment in each governorate.

Naguib Sawiros, Coptic businessman, said that the world has changed since the beginning of the current Coronavirus crisis. He added that he started praying to God to put an end to the crisis even though he is not used to pray. Sawiros said in his interview with Lamis Al-Hadidi broadcast on Al-Hadath channel that his investments were not affected very much because they are mainly in Gold, but assured that the virus has changed the world.

The media center of the Coptic Orthodox Church broadcast a speech by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II to comment on the Church s decisions to stop meetings and masses due to the spread of Coronavirus. Pope said that such epidemic may present a message to the people that we don t have shelter but God and we should ask him for mercy. He added that we should wake up and repent before it is too late.

His Holiness, Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, said that Sunday Schools will continue on the official Coptic TV for children Koogi TV instead of holding it at the churches. This came after the Coptic Orthodox Church suspended all services over coronavirus works including Sunday schools.

The media center of the Coptic Orthodox Church announced that the Diocese of the Netherlands organized a youth conference in one of the Christian conference centers under the title "Inner Peace". The conference started last week with the participation of youth from Sweden and the Netherlands.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced 5 decisions due to coronavirus concerns including suspending all church education services and public meetings, and all church activities such as nurseries, rehabilitation centers and excursions. The decisions included also procedures to take communion without spreading the virus.

Coptic Orthodox Church issued a statement regarding the celebrations of the feast of Pope Shenouda III at the monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadil Natroun on March 17. It said that the celebrations will be limited to the monks due to coronavirus concerns.

Bishop Elia of Khartoum and South Sudan ordained 3 new priests at the church of the Virgin Mary in the Khartoum. The priests are Fathers John Phelps, Ibrahim Rushdie, and Daniel Fathi. The ordination ceremony was also attended by Bishop Sarabamoun of Atbara, Omdurman, and North Sudan.

Bishop Bfnotious of Samalout ordained a new pretest for the ministry in the diocese. The ordination ceremony was held at the Cathedral of Saviour of the World. The media center of the Coptic Orthodox Church said that the new priest is Father Theodor Malak.

The Church of the Martyrs of Faith in Awr village in Minya opened a memorial service for the 21 Coptic martyrs of Libya. Bihsop Pfnotious of Samalout said that the memorial included statues for the martyrs showing the process of their martyrdom, which was designed by Dr. Girgis al-Gawly, professor of sculpture at Minia University. He explained that the memorial also includes a documentation of the story of the martyrs.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received yesterday the priests of Alexandria at the headquarters of the ‘Logos Center’ in the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Wadil Natroun. During the meeting, Pope answered many questions with the priests and delivered a speech about how can priests discovers talents among their congregation.

A number of bishops of the Eastern Orthodox Churches held a meeting yesterday in the Church of St. Mark in Klot Bai to discuss the melodies and hymns among the various churches. The media center of the church said that the meeting was attended by Bishop Rafael of the central Cairo churches, and Bishop Ashod, representative of the Armenian Church, as well as representatives from all eastern Orthodox Churches. The churches of the Eastern Orthodox family participated in the melodies in the various traditional languages of the churches, namely Coptic, Syriac, Armenian. the Amharic (Ethiopian Church) and Tigrinya (Eritrean Church), Arabic, and the language of Geez shared by the Ethiopian and Eritrean churches.

A minor Coptic girl called Lisa Romani Manasseh, 17 years old from Ezbet El Nakhl, disappeared 3 days ago. Police were reported about her disappearance and the matter is currently under investigation.

The Media Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church mourned the Departure of Father Boktor Munir, Priest of the Church of Saints, St. Anthony and St. Paul in Beni Attia of the Diocese of Beni Suef. The funeral was held today and headed by Bishop Ghobrial and attended by a large number of clergy and the congregation of the church. Pope Tawadros II has offered his sincere condolences to the bishop and family of the late father.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark See, met On Tuesday with the President of the Dialogue of Cultures and Religions Group of European People s Party. This came during his visit to the headquarters of the European Parliament today as part of the pastoral care visit to Europe.