Bishop Pfnutius of Samalout celebrated the Sunday Mass today at the Cathedral of Savior of the World in Samalout without participation of the congregation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church decided to suspend all church activities as part of preventive measures taken to protect the people from the Corona virus.

Father Daniel Mahir, priest of St. Paul and St. Anthony Church in Beni Suef, decided to serve the patients of COVID-19 and thus dressed as a nurse. The priest is one member of Saint Julius Al-Aqsahi in the city of Edfu service to serve the patients and bury those who couldn t survive COVID-19 infection.

Tanta diocese celebrated today the 31st ordination ceremony of Bishop Paula of the diocese. He was ordained Bishop on June 18, 1989 and was promoted to Archbishop on November 25, 2018.

Bishop Mikhail of Qubba gardens celebrated the feast of St. Philopatir at the Church of the saint in Old Cairo. During the celebration, Abba Mikhail perfumed the remains of St. Philopatir, which were transferred to the church during the reign of Pope Youannis of Alexandria.

Bishop Yoannis of Assiut Diocese held an online meeting with the congregation of Assiut through the official page of the diocese on Facebook. This comes as the churches are closed and all church activities are suspended due to the spread of Corona virus.

Minya governor Osama Al-Qadi announced it began the work of the second phase of the project to revive the path of the Holy Family by improving the roads and the condition of the historic areas. This comes after the inclusion of the monastery of Jabal al-Tayer in the world religious pilgrimage destinations for millions of tourists from around the world. in the Deir, in order to serve the children of Minya and promote the region at the highest level to show the place in its most beautiful form not only at the local level but in front of the whole world as it in Egypt, after the approval of the Vatican Pope, it will be a world tourist destination, so that the Church of the Virgin Mary in Jabal Al-Teer, Samalut, will become a religious tourist destination that is visited by millions from all over the world throughout the year. The governor instructed his deputy, Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud Abu Zaid, to continue the work of the second stage of developing the path of the Holy Family s journey in the Deir Jabal Al-Tayer region, accompanied by Engineer Adel Al-Jundi, Director General of International Relations at the Tourism Development Authority, and coordinator of the project to revive the path of the Holy Family. This came in the presence of Mohamed Sayed, head of the city of Samalout, Dr. Tharwat Al-Azhari, Director of Tourism Administration, Engineer Hisham Tawfiq, Director of the Technical Engineering Unit in the governorate, and Walid Mukhtar, Director of Investment Department in the governorate. The Deputy Governor reviewed the work that will be carried out in Minya Governorate, after unifying all elements in the 25 track points in the 8 governorates, to put the path of the Holy Family on the global tourism map.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, formed a committee to run services at the ,Virgin Church in Nevada, the USA. Pope authorized the committee to run the church services, activities and supervise its administrative and financial matters provided that it presents a monthly report.

Egypts Ministry of health announced that the oldest woman in Egypt aged 96 has recovered from COVID-19. Mrs. Fathia Mohamed has left the Sadieen hospital today in Sharqia governorate after her results from positive to negative.

Bishop Raphael, the general bishop of the churches in downtown Cairo and former secretary of the Holy Synod, commented on the crisis of Rose Al-Youssef magazine that insulted him and accused him of killing people in the name of God for refusing to change the method of taking communion. He said that Jesus Chrsit taught us to turn enemies into friends. He added that God is long-suffering and shows his love for the people, even those who hated him and persecuted his church.

The Church of the Virgin and Pope Kyrillos in Izbat al-Nakhl, Cairo, mourned today its young priest Father Bishoy Ayyad, who died after being infected with COVID-19. It is wroth mentioning that a number of Coptic priests announced they tested positive for COVID-19 after the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church decided to shut down churches.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, sent a message of condolence to Dr. Andre Zaki, Head of the Evangelical Community in Egypt for the departure of his mother in law. The funeral was held on Saturday at the Evangelical Church of Heliopolis, in the presence of limited participants of the family due to the preventive measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Father Daoud Lamai, priest of St. Mark Church in Heliopolis, denounced that attack on Pope Tawadros II by people claiming he has decided to change the way of taking communion and abolish the Mastier (the spoon used in the Coptic rituals of taking communion). He added that Pope Tawadros only said he will discuss the matter with the Holy Synod and that all changes are accepted as long as they are not related to the original faith. He also denounced such attitude to judge the Holy Synod and the church.

The St. Mark Church in Kuwait concluded the online conference entitled ‘I Rely on You’, which was dedicated for the Coptic family. The conference was held under auspices of Archbishop Antonius of Jerusalem and with the participation of Father Daoud Lamai, priest of St. Mark Church in Heliopolis.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, donated one million pounds to provide ventilators for hospitals to face the emerging COVID-19 pandemic. Spokesperson of the Coptic Church announced that Pope has also contributed 1000 pieces of protective clothing for medical personnel to confront the Coronavirus.

Father Polous Halim, spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church, said that the Permanent Committee of the Holy Synod will hold its next meeting on June 27 to discuss the date and measures for the reopening of the churches. He added that special measures will be taken to ensure safety of the worshippers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is noteworthy that Dr. Mustafa Madbouly, Egypt s Prime Minister, decided to reopen houses of worship next July in the governorates that are less infected with the emerging Coronavirus.

Father Poulos Halim, spokesman for the Coptic Church, said that a Church building under construction has been converted into a quarantine for people infected with the emerging Coronavirus. He added that the building is licensed as nursing home, but the church decided to offer it as a quarantine during the current crisis.

Bishop Abakir of Scandinavia announced in a statement that Coptic priests will visit families at home to give them communion on 4 conditions: to take communion at the doors, priests should be reported about infected people, people should fast the Apostles fasting and be ready through repentance and confession, and to tell the priest about the appropriate time of the visit according to time of the holy liturgies. The statement invited the people to join the prayers of the church the God may lift the pandemic and save the world and to reopen churches soon.

The Media Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church announced that the diocese of Fayoum celebrated today the 106th anniversary of the departure of St. Abraam, in his monastery in Azab. The Divine Liturgy was held in the presence of Bishop Abraam of Fayoum and Bishop Salib of Mit Ghamr who perfumed the remains of the Saint.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See said that changing the way of communion my happen due to the spread of coronavirus, and this doesn’t contradict with the Orthodox Christian faith. He explained that priest don’t use spoons to deliver the communion to the sick people. Pope explained that this matter will be discussed in future meetings of the Permanent Committee of the Holy Synod.

Father Youssef Jobran, priest of the Church of Archangel Michael and Saint Damiana in Quwesna commented about claims of many people that the number of people infected with Coronavirus has dropped down after Pope Tawadros blessed the Nile River with bless water during the celebration of the Entry of the Holy Family into Egypt saying: there is no relation between blessing the water of the Nile River and the spread of Coronavirus. He added that during the pandemic, people resort to all kinds of myths and seek miracles, but in fact the church is always praying for the waters of the Nile and planets and the sick people.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced the death of the first monk infected with COVID-19 Father Sawiris of St. Paul monastery. The monk was nominated for the position of Patriarch in 2012.