A delegation of Middle Eastern churches, headed by Dr. Soraya Beshaalani Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches, visited His Holiness Pope Francis. The delegation discussed the history of the council and its ecumenical mission in a meeting lasted for 40 minutes, and thanked the Pope for the extraordinary initiatives he launched in order to strengthen ecumenical work.

Coptic Orthodox Church decided to lift penalties for monk Yoel of St. Makarious monastery as he was prevented from holding holy masses after his voice recording accusing the late Pope Shenouda of ruining the monastic life. The monk received the punishment after a complaint by Bishop Serapion of Los Angeles to the monk committee of the Holy Synod.

Bishops Abram of Fayoum and Salib of Mit Ghamr presided over the celebration of Martyrs of Fayoum. During the celebration, the remains of the martyrs were perfumed and their bravery was praised. The relics of the martyrs were found 1991 with marks of torture and blood on their clothes and ever since the monastery celebrates them on September 1st.

Coptic Bishop of Northern France Abba Marcos visited Monsieur Michel Bonsoir, Bishop of Essonne, in his headquarters. They both expressed their happiness to meet one another. This came after the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated the feast of our Lady.

Bishop Timothaous Zagazig perfumed the remains of St. Tekle Haimanot the Ethiopian in his church in Zagaizg. The celebration was attended by hundreds of the Ethiopian community in Egypt who hail the saint.

Boko Haram terrorist group killed eight Nigerian farmers in the northeast of Nigeria, eyewitnesses said. The terrorists attacked the village of Palomari, 15 km from Maiduguri, the provincial capital of Borno state, slaughtering four men and capturing two others. On Saturday, "terrorists seized and beheaded four farmers working on their farms" in Jidan and Aya, on the outskirts of Maiduguri, according to local militia leader Babakura Kolo. For his part, Al-Azhar Observatory condemned these recurring incidents assuring they don’t belong to teaching of Islam.

Bishop Hermina of the Churches of East Alexandria will participate in the monthly meeting of the Orthodox Center for Patriarchal Studies, which will be held on Monday evening at the headquarters of the Center. The bishop will deliver a lecture about the Eucharist in the thought of St. Cyril of Alexandria.

Coptic Churches celebrated the martyrdom anniversary of St. Agapeus the Soldier and his sister Tekle. They both lived under the reign of Emperor Julian and were killed for their Christian faith.

Father Poulos Halim, Spokesman of the Coptic Church, said there are two types of monasticism: devotional and servant. The devotional is related to worship and staying away from social relationships, but the service requires meeting with the served people. He added in his interview with Bawaba News that the essence of monasticism is virginity, obedience, and poverty.

Abba Moussa, Bishop of Youth, met with Monk Ental Antonios at St. Paul s Coptic Monastery in Budapest. This came during the Bishop s pastoral care visit to Hungary.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church celebrated the monthly commemoration of Our Lady today. The Coptic Chruch celebrates a special day for the Virgin Mary on 21 of the Coptic month, in which the Virgin in praised and honored.

The joy team of the Virgin Mary Church in Warraq organized entertainment shows for the children receiving treatment at the church. The shows were attended by families of the children as well who expressed their happiness to see their suffering children happy.

The Church of St. Anthony in Minsafis village, Minya, has organized a medical convoy for Muslims and Christinas of the village. The doctors checked on 200 patients in different specialties and gave them the medicine for free.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church announced that Bishop Moussa of Youth arrived in Budapest, Hungary, in a pastoral care visit. His Grace was received by Bishop Giovanni of Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic, and Father Youssef Khalil, priest of St. Mark s Church in Hungary.

Maadi counseling institute of the Coptic Orthodox Church announced it will launch a new course for engaged couples next September. The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church had decided that such courses are mandatory for those who want to get married in the church.

Major General Qassim Hussein, Governor of Minya, said that the 44 villages of the governorate have been targeted by a variety of art activities to promote love and tolerance among citizens. The activities this time targeted Karm village and included cleaning and paining and medical treatment in addition to sports and art activities.

Bishop Moussa of Youth celebrated the Holy Mass at St. George s Church in Stuttgart, Germany. A large number of congregation and deacons has attended the holy Mass.

Stakeo Nsing Easono Ambassador of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to Cairo visited His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, at the Papal headquarters in Cairo. The visit came at the end of tenure of Easono as ambassador to Cairo.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, congratulated the congregation of the Church On the occasion of the feast of Our Lady. Pope said that we hail and love the Virgin Mary as she said From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me holy is his name.

Bishop Karas of Pennsylvania led the final celebration of keraza festival at the church of St. Mary in Maryland. 1400 participants from 14 churches and their ministers participated in the celebration and trophies were distributed to the winners and souvenirs to all participants.

Minya diocese announced that it has 50 villages that lack churches and her congregation has to travel or walk for several kilometers, which causes accidents like what happened to the child Kirilos Youssef. Minya Diocese mourned the 4 year old child who was killed while traveling to attend church at the nearest village.