Bayadia village in Minya celebrated the Feast of the Virgin Mary on the streets. The Copts used to celebrate this feast by a festival in the streets.

Sources in the Church committee to draft the Personal Status Law said that the draft is almost ready. The draft will be handed over to the parliament on October and the final discussions between the churches will be resumed after the feast of St. Mary on August 21.

Bloomberg said that Egyptian economy has recorded promising numbers as Egypt’s tourism revenues rose to $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2017, up from $510 million in the same period a year ago. Full-year receipts rose 16 percent to $4.4 billion. Remittances grew 9 percent to $4.8 billion in the fourth quarter, and rose two percent to $17.4 billion for the year, Bloomberg said.

The Contraction of two Coptic Churches in Paris filed a lawsuit against Abba Mark, Coptic Bishop of France, to prevent him from building a new cathedral by the money of the donation. The general contraction council had decided to expand another church giving the increasing numbers of its congregation, but the bishop ignored their decision.

Abba Hedra, Bishop of Aswan, ordained two monks of the monastery of St. Pachomious in Hager Edvo as priests. The monks are Father Aghathon and Father Youssab of St. Pachomious monastery.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, said that the new law of building churches is a positive thing that needs to be completed on the ground. He explained that a committee of the church is working to legalize the current Coptic Churches and more than 2000 requests were applied for the legalization of Coptic

In his interview with DMC private television, Pope Tawadros II said that the issue of personal status and divorce issues is a very sensitive topic, but the fact is that Pope can’t change the text of the bible that prevents divorce except for limited reasons including committing adultery. He added that new law that is being prepared will grant divorce after 5 years of separation with children or 3 years without children.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received Ambassador Hazem Khairat, Ambassador of Egypt to Israel to discuss the issue of the Monastery of the Sultan. Coptic Orthodox Church had announced previously that it is negotiating the restoration of the Monastery of the Sultan in Jerusalem from the Ethiopian church after a delegation of Coptic bishops had traveled to Jerusalem to discuss the matter.

In his interview with DMC channel, Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, said that Egypt has 50 Coptic monasteries including 10 for nuns and 40 for monks. He explained that many Egyptians prefer to visit these monasteries, which made the decision to prevent religious trips even harder.

A young terrorist called Eid Hussein said he was part of a terrorist cell that was trained to make bombs and received support from Qatar and Turkey to carry out terrorist attack. He added that the cell has carried out all explosions and terrorist attack against churches recently.

Council of Churches of Egypt decided to celebrate its anniversary on September 20 at the Cathedral of all Saints in Zamalek. The celebration will be held with the participation of representatives of the Churches of Egypt: Pope Tawadros II, Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki, Abb Ibrahim Isaac and Bishop Monir Hanna and Metropolitan Nicola.

Dr. Naguib Gebrael, human rights activist, filed a complaint to the ministry of Awqaf about a mosque that prevents non-veiled and trousers wearing girls from taking school lessons at the center attached to the mosque. The girls complained that they are taking a secondary school private lessons and not religious lessons and the Imam has no right to prevent us from entering the center for this reason.

News reports published in Egyptian media said that Copts celebrate the Feast of St. Mary by eating special meals for the occasion, namely: unleavened bread and Shalawlaw that are distributed for free in many places. The Shalawlaw is made from dried Molokhia that is mixed with garlic, lemons and special spices, and is eaten with bread.

After violence erupted again in Nigeria with a terrorist attack against a Catholic church, Pope Francis called Christens to pray for their brothers and sisters in Nigeria. Pope prayed for peace in Africa and around the world that these shameful crimes against houses of worship will stop.

Two monastery applicants were accepted at St. Pachomious monastery al-Shayeb in Luxor. Abba Selwanes, Bishop of the monastery, accepted the new applicants and gave them the blue uniform that observers wear till they are ordained monks.

Egypt minster of investment announced a new project to build a tourism city in the style of Disneyland at a cost of $ 2.5 billion. The new project will be in the golden square in west Cairo and will provide many new job opportunities.

Sheikh Ahemd Koraima, Professor of Islamic Sharia at Al-Azhar University, said that statues display in exhibitions is forbidden by Islamic law. He added that Islamic scholars agreed and ordered that the hand of tomb thieves and archaeologists should be cut because they violate the sanctity of the dead.

News report published at Bawaba Coptic said that the Coptic Orthodox Church aims to build churches in 100 countries that have no Coptic Churches yet by the year 2040. Report added that the Coptic Orthodox Church already has churches in about 60 countries around the world.

Coptic Church in the Sudan announced it will discuss the new decisions of the government in the Sudan concerning changing the days of vacation from Sunday to Saturday. The new decision of President Omar al-Bashir will force the school of the church to work on Sundays.

The first Archbishop and Primate of the newly created Province of the Episcopal Church of Sudan has taken office on Sunday. Ezekiel Kumir Kondo is a Sudanese Episcopalian bishop. He has been the first Archbishop of the Internal Province of Sudan in the Province of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan, since his enthronement on 28 July 2014.

Coptic Orthodox Church announced that the annual festival of St. Mary at Jabal Dronka, Assiut, will be held from August 7 to 21 under tight security measures. Street vendors and private cars are not allowed to enter the monastery that will provide buses to transfer the old people to the monastery.