Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, departed Sydney to visit the Australian capital Canberra. Father Pauls Halim, a spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church, said the Pope was received in Canberra by the Egyptian ambassador to Australia Ismail Khairat, along with a large group of the church congregation.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, sent a congratulatory message to the Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi to congratulate him and all Muslims on Eid al-Adha. Pope wished him success in leading Egypt and wished Egypt all peace and progress.

Two suspects were arrested in Minya on charges of killing the Coptic policeman Hlim Hanna. They said they committed the crime as they have disagreements with him.

Abba Pfnotious, bishop of Samalut, organized a conference for children for three days that was attended by 120 children from various villages. The conference included the holy masses, entertainment and sports activities.

Abba Lucas, Bishop of Abnoub and Fath, ordained 100 deacons at the rank of Ebsaltus (chanter) at the church of St. John the Baptist. The bishop has also distributed the cups and prizes of St. Mark grand festival for the year 2016.

During his visit to Japan to inaugurate the first Coptic Church there, Pope Tawadros II said that it is a heavenly blessing to have a Coptic church in Japan. Pope has traveled in a pastoral care visit to Japan and Australia, which is his very first visit to them since his enthronement in November 2012.

Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi received Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, to discuss efforts of Al-Azhar to renew the religious discourse and its purge of false ideas. Spokesman of the Egyptian presidency said that Sheikh of Al-Azhar presented the various activities of Al-Azhar in scientific, religious and cultural fields stressing the keenness of Al-Azhar to contribute to enriching the public debate on various social issues. He also stressed the importance of Al-Azhar Values of citizenship, freedom, social and cultural diversity.

Hundreds of thousands of Copts and Muslims have attended the celebration of St. Mary in Assiut. The celebrations were headed by Abba Youannis, bishop of Assiut, and were attended by several officials in the governorate.

Yassir Desouky, governor of Assiut, congratulated Bishop Yoannis, Bishop of Assiut, and the Coptic congregation on the feast of St. Mary and the end of the celebration of St. Mary monastery at Jabal al-Tir. Senior official of the governorate attended the celebrations and congratulated the Copts on the feast.

Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria held the funeral of Father Anstasi Shafik, priest of St. Mary and Archangel Ghobrial. The funeral was headed by Abba Bavly, General Bishop of Montazah, and many of its priests.

Abba Pfnotious, Bishop of Samalut inaugurated a new church at the service building of St. Mark Church in Samalut. The churchs media office said that Bishop Pfnotious inaugurated the church on the occasion of the Feast of the Transfiguration.

Funeral of monk Nofier of St. Bishoy monastery was held today at the monastery with the participation of bishop Sarabamon and bishop Icezaros, head of Baramous monastery. The monk was 72 years old when he died after spending more than 42 years as monk.

Land of a Coptic family in Auda Pasha village in Minya was seized by a Muslim man whose name is Seddik Mohamed. The land was seized one year ago and police were reported but no action was taken to return their land.

Copts in Assiut continue to celebrate the fasting of St. Mary at Doronka mount in Assiut. The Coptic Orthodox Church Information Office said in a statement that the celebrations are held with the participation of Abba Youannis, Bishop of Assiut and its affiliations.

In his weekly sermon given at the church of ST. Mary and St. Bishoy in Abbassia, Pope Tawadros II congratulated the Copts on the fast of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He added that the Copts love St. Mary for her many virtues that they teach from them.

Suleiman Shafiq, Egyptian writer, said that monks of "Abu al-Daraj" monastery were threatened by the director of the Directorate of Antiquities, which is called "Mahmoud Rajab. This happened when they headed to the police station to report the police against Rajab. Shafiq explained that the monks were not intimidated by the man knowing they have rights to defend.

Media Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church said that the foundation stone of St. George Church in New Assiut was laid. The church was built in 1947, but obtained permissions for restoration and renovation.

Media center of the Coptic Orthodox Church announced that the second phase of the project to train church leaders in the ecclesiastical education development project will start in few weeks. The project aims to train 1000 priests and ministers on new skills in ecclesiastical education using the Bible, the liturgy, the teachings of the Fathers, the history of the Church and the Coptic identity.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, held a met with a group of young ladies from several dioceses at the papal headquarters of the Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbassia. The grills arrived from Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Beni Suef, Port Said and Los Angeles. This is the third meeting of its kind. It was entitled: we need to understand and included discussions about the church and the ministry.

A number of Coptic Public figures issued a statement to show solidarity with the Muslims of Jerusalem. Statement assured that Coptic Christians support peaceful resistance against repression of the Israeli forces that prevented the prayers at Al-Aqsa Mosque.

For three days, Canadian and American Coptic Youth Bishopric (CACYB) held the first festival to introduce the Coptic Church to the Americans entitled: From Egypt I called my son. The trip of the holy family and the history of the Coptic Church were among the shows and stories told in the festival. Free Egyptian food and gifts were presented to the visitors.