HG Bishop Bakhoum of Sohag participated with Islamic scholars yesterday at the ceremony organized by the University of Sohag to present the prize of tolerance and religious dialogue, which was granted to the researcher Dr. Mahmoud Farraj, who presented a research entitled ‘Religious Tolerance, the Icon of Communication between the Past and Present, Sohag as a Model. The award bears the name of the former Sheikh of Al-Azhar, the Honorable Late Imam Dr. Syed Tantawi, and the prize is funded by Coptic businessman Najib Sawiris.

Father Ruice Markos, the priest of the Church of the Virgin and St. George in the Gabriel District in Alexandria, said that God saved the church from fire after a Molotov Cocktail was thrown at the church. The extremists man was arrested and the Molotov Cocktil was broken one meter away from the church building, which is considered a miracle that saved the Church.

H.E Bishop Anba Tadros (caretaker of the Diocese) sent a message to the diocese that reads: "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). Beloved sons and daughters, the congregation of the Diocese of Sydney. Grace and peace from Christ our Lord and Saviour. Wishing you a blessed Feast of the Ascension of Christ into heaven 40 days after His Glorious Resurrection. We wish to share with you some matters concerning the Diocese of Sydney. 1. We thank our Lord Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing granting a unique grace to the Diocese of Sydney that during the peak wave of the coronavirus all the Liturgies were still prayed by way of closed services. I wish to thank all the fathers, deacons, servants, youth and the entire congregation who adapted to the changed with love and humility. 2. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II has directed the total restructuring and reforming of the administrative and financial departments of the Diocese. 3. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II has directed that the constitution of the Diocese of Sydney be amended. 4. His Holiness Pope Tawadros II has requested that the Coptic Orthodox Church (NSW) Property Trust Act be amended from sole trustee to a Board of Trustees. This is being conducted through the office of the Attorney General of NSW. 5. The interim Finance Committee has appointed Mr Amgad Lotfi to replace Mr Simon Michael. We thank Mr Michael for his dedication and commitment over the last 14 years. 6. We are in the process of releasing all caveats on church properties across the Diocese. 7. His Holiness has requested the restructuring of a new Coptic education board for all three Coptic schools and the creation of sub committee to assist the Board in engaging with the school community. 8. The Commonwealth Bank has placed a three months freeze on all church loans. 9. The Diocese will establish a new Public Relations Committee and a new Media Committee. 10. The financial affairs of the Diocese will be communicated to the congregation when all figures are received and analysed. The financial contributions from the churches to the Diocese, which Is approximately $23,000 per month, has been stopped to assist the cashflow of the parishes. Further reductions to church monthly contributions are being assessed 11. The local clerical council will continue to function under the guidance of HG Bishop Domadious of the Diocese of Six October. 12. We are proud the Very Rev Fr Shenouda Mansour, parish priest of St Anthony and St Paul, who has been re nominated to serve a third term as General Secretary of the NSW Ecumenical Council. 13. We wish to see a greater emphasis and focus on the spiritual and pastoral services of the Dioceses above all else that we may present every man perfect in Christ (Colossians 1:28). 14. We pray that the Holy Spirit work abundantly to foster greater love, unity and harmony among all, "Above all put on love which is the bond of perfection." (Colossians 3:15). If any person wishes to submit any recommendations or discuss any issues you are all very welcome. My heart is open to you all. Be blessed in The Lord +Anba Tadros Metropolitan of Port Said Papal delegate to the Diocese of Sydney.

The official spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church said on his Facebook page that a man threw a Molotov cocktail at the church of St. Mary Church in Ghobrial, Alexandria on Saturday May 16th. The attack caused no harm for people or the building and it was recorded by surveillance cameras of the church. Police have arrested the man and he is currently under investigation.

For the first time St. Dimiana Monastery held its annual celebrations on the occasion of St. Demiana feast without congregation. The celebration was headed by HG Bishop Marcos of Damietta, Kafr El-Sheikh and the head of the monastery on the eve of the feast, with the participation of some of the priests of the diocese and nuns of the monastery. Thousands of Copts used to attend the celebrations, but they were unable to attend the feast this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Father Ruice Markos, preist of St. Mary Church in Ghobrial, Alexandria, said that surveillance cameras of the church filmed a terrorist who threw a Molotov Cocktail at the church. The attack caused no harm for people or the building. Police have arrested the man and he is currently under investigation.

Pope Tawadros II presided over the funeral of Abba Ruice, the general Bishop who died today at the age of 81 after spending 57 years as monk and 43 years as bishop. The funeral was attended by many bishops, members of the Holy Synod. He was born on October 15, 1939, and was ordained a monk in the Syriac monastery in Wadi Al-Natroun on October 30, 1963. He was ordained a general bishop on May 29, 1977.

On the occasion of the celebration of the International Nursing Day, Pope Tawadros II congratulated all nursing staff fighting the battle of Coroa virus in Egypt and all over the world. He added that their sacrifice is well appreciated by everyone and wished them success in their great role.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, received yesterday Ramez Atallah, director of the Bible House in Egypt, at the papal headquarters in Cairo. The spokesperson of the Coptic Orthodox Church said that the director of the Bible House congratulated the Pope on the Resurrection feasts and presented to his Holiness the activities currently being carried out in Egypt by the House.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received today at the papal headquarters in Cairo Chancellor Saeed Mari Amr, President of the Supreme Constitutional Court. Amr was accompanied by his deputies, Counselor Paul Fahmy Iskandar, Counselor Dr. Hamdan Fahmy Abu Shaheen, Counselor Dr. Muhammad Imad Al-Naja, Counselor Dr. Abdel Aziz Salman, Counselor Dr. Tariq Abdul Jawad Shebl, Counselor Tariq Abdel Alim Abu Al Ati, and Counselor Tamer Raymond. According to the spokesperson for the Coptic Orthodox Church, the visit came to congratulate the Church on the feasts.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, received today, Dr. Nevin Kabbaj, Minister of Social Solidarity, at the papal headquarters in Cairo to discuss measures to help poor girls get married. During the meeting, a cooperation protocol was signed between the Coptic Orthodox Church and Nasser Social Bank to open bank accounts and raise fund to support poor girls, and called the project ‘The Daughter of the King’ . To donate to project, Commercial International Bank .C.I.B. Account number: Egyptian 100035771907 USD 100035771926

The Coptic Orthodox Church decided to enable St. Mark s Festival and Church 1000 Ministers training Project online after the churches have been closed and all activities were suspended due to the spread of Corona virus. St. Mark s Festival (Mahragan El-Keraza) is an opportunity for Coptic Orthodox churches to unite with one another practice spiritual activities.

The Egyptian Coptic Church mourned the martyrs of the Egyptian armed forces who were martyred yesterday after an explosive device exploded in an armored vehicle, south of the city of Bir al-Abd, in Sinai. The Church said their sacrifices are well appreciated after they were killed to defend the homeland, and prayed for reposing their souls and offered sincere condolences to their families. Statement issued by the church added we pray that the Lord preserves our dear homeland from all evil and that he may be blessed with peace and safety.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, said the decision to close churches was not an easy one, but it had to be taken in order to save the people. He added during his interview with TEN satellite channel that it was even more difficult to take that decision during the Great Lent and the Holy Week, which is the holiest day of the year for Coptic Christians.

St. Mark Church in Frankfort, Germany, mourned the departure of its priest Father Bigoul Basili who departed yesterday. Father Bigoul is brother of Bihsop Dermiterious of Mallawy, Ansna and Ashmounin, and his death comes 5 month after his sister Tasoni Angil, wife of the late father Bishoy Kamel, has departed.

The Church of St. Athanasius the Apostle in Siouf, Alexandria, received a sterilization booth presented by the Industrial Service Complex at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology, to be recorded as the first church to use such technology for its congregation. The church leaders have offered their thanks to Dr. Ismail Faraj, President of the Arab Academy for this gift.

After a Coptic priest was tested positive for the Corona virus, Coptic activist Isaac Ibrahim, researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, praised the decision to shut down places of worship. He said that such infection may spread the virus among the congregation if the church is open, which may infect thousands of worshippers.

Father Poulos Halim, spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church, denied rumors about reopening churches to perform the evening prayer, stressing that the Holy Synod has not issued such decision. It is worth noting that the Coptic Orthodox Church had previously agreed on a set of precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the emerging corona virus, including the closure of churches and monasteries and suspended all church actives

father Dawood Lamey offers the spiritual conference entitled (Oneness), which was prepared for Sydney and Melbourne s dioceses. The conference will be held for 10 days. The sermons will be valid on the official page of Father Dawood

His Eminence Bishop Arsani of the Netherlands headed the Resurrection feast celebrations of the Coptic Church in the Netherlands with the minimal number of participants due to the outbreak of the Corona virus. In his speech, Bishop Arsani congratulated the Coptic people and the Egyptian officials on the feast, and assured that the Day of Resurrection is the greatest Christian feast, which completed the redemption process.

Bishop Pfinutius of Samalout celebrated Maundy Thursday alone at the Cathedral of the Savior of the World in order to limit the spread of the emerging Corona virus . This comes as the Holy Synod has decided to shut down all churches and all activities were cancelled until further notice.