The recent terrorist attack at the monastery of St. Samuel in Minya was indeed a tragedy, but we still have to face it since the Copts have not learned the lesson. I am not talking about security negligence and the role of the state, but rather about the Copts who walk in the way of death ignoring such great danger and get killed at the end.
Let s remember here what the holy family did when Herod persecuted the child Jesus and intended to kill the children of Bethlehem. Joseph took the boy and his mother and went to Egypt. However, he had a chance to stay and say God will protect him from being killed instead of staying in Egypt for 3 years till Herod died.
Therefore, Copts should learn from such incident and stop visiting such dangerous places till it s secure. I here think that the Copts share responsibility for being attacked. The church in the beginning had such wisdom and St. Paul abstained from visiting certain places or changed his way for similar dangers. Even Jesus Christ changed his way since He knew that some people intended to kill him before time.
When the late Pope Shenouda III issued a decision to prevent visiting Jerusalem, he said that the alter is the same and Jesus is the same here and in Jerusalem. This way we can assure that it is the same blessings to take communion or baptize your children at any secure church.
Furthermore, Why don t we leave the monks alone since they have already abandoned our world and its problems. Instead, we changed this wilderness to markets to buy food and souvenirs!
Who is in charge of all this chaos? I also wonder: why should a couple visit a monastery to find a monk to bless them and even talk about their projects and problems? Those monks have left the world and we should not remind them of such matters anymore.
I was provoked by the saying that such monitories are the only areas used by Copts for recreation! In fact, they destroy monasticism and its history and goal. Instead, I invite the Copts to visit public areas and clubs to leave monasticism alone for prayers.
