St. Shenouda Monastery in Australia celebrates the International Youth Day online this year with the precautionary measures taken due to Coronavirus. The celebration will be held on Zoom application and will be headed by Bishop Angelos of London and Dr. Malcolm Shawat, Professor of Ancient History and Coptic Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney. The online conference will discuss the importance of the Bible and its teachings in the life of the great Saint Anthony.

Tanta Coptic diocese announced that Bishop Paula of Tanta will host an online family TV show that will be broadcast online. The show will be called ‘Together we build the house’ and will be presented twice a week.

Bishop Youssef of the South of the United States of America, sent a message of congratulations to the Copts on the occasion of the Holy resurrection and the feast of the entry of Jesus into the land of Egypt, which will come on June 1st, which will also witness the celebration of the Coptic International Day. In his message, Bishop Youssef announced a new competition open for participants from all over the world. The contestants make a video that does not exceed two minutes about their ideal personality of the Coptic history. The videos should be received no later than 12th of July 2020.

Samir Saber Abu Al-Khair, father of the disappeared Coptic minor girl Marina appeared in a recorded video demanding the return of his daughter. He called all security officials and human rights organization to intervene in order to return his doughtier.

Bishop Paula of Tanta delivered his weekly sermon yesterday on the official page of the diocese on Facebook. This came after Pope Tawadros II decided to shut down all churches and monasteries and to suspend all services in order to prevent the spread of Corona virus.

The Salafi leader and Islamic scholar Ismail Abu Hadid and his family were tested positive for Coronavirus after holding mass prayers of Eid al-Fetr. The same Islamic scholar had claimed that only infidels can be infected by Coronavirus and that believers are immune to infection.

Pope Tawadros II sent a congratulatory messages to Islamic leaders and officials in Egypt on the occasion Eid Al-Fitr. In his message, Pope prayed for peace, unity and prosperity in Egypt, and that God will end the epidemic soon.

Bishop Angelos of the northern Shubra churches led the evening prayer of St. Demiana s feast in her church in Baba Duplo in Shubra, with the participation of the church priests, and 3 deacons, while the congregation were prevented from participating due to Coronavirus. The prayers were broadcast on the official page of the church on Facebook.

Father Poulos Halim, spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church said that the Conference of the Diaspora Youth was postponed because of the Coronavirus. The conference was scheduled next August under the chairmanship of Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of the See of Mark. A new date will be defined after the end of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Sources in the Coptic Orthodox Church told Copts United that Pope Tawadros II is gong to carry out a number of pastoral care visits inside and outside Egypt after the crisis of Coronavirus comes to an end. The visit will ensure the application of all percautionary measures. It is worth mentioning that Pope has decided to shut down churches and suspend all chruch activities due to the Coronavirus.

Coptic engineer Naji Labib fro Zagazig, Sharqia governorate, started an initiative to distribute meals for fasting people in Zagazig. Labib formed a team called love team for humanity that includes Christians and Muslims who share making the meals and distributing them on the needy.

Matruh diocese holds its first wedding ceremony under Coronavirus at the Church of Our Lady in Matruh. Only 6 people were allowed to attend the celebration at the church following the precautionary measures.

Bishop Marcus of Kafr El-Sheikh perfumed the tomb of St. Demiana in Belqas at the evening of her feast. A number of priests were only allowed to attend the celebration without the attendance of congregation due to the Coronavirus.

Bishop Paula of Tanta delivered on Friday his weekly sermon from the Church of St. Mark, Tanta, Gharbia Governorate, without the attendance of any congregation. 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

A number of Coptic churches in the Diaspora announced to reopen for holding Liturgy, but with strict conditions imposed to curb the spread of the emerging Coronavirus. Bishop Peter of Carolina and Kentucky and the Pontifical Vicar of Virginia Churches announced the return of the liturgy in the parish churches starting from next Saturday, but with precautionary measures, except for the Kentucky State churches that will open on May 20. For his part, Bishop Pavlos of Greece, revealed the conditions for the churches to be reopened next Sunday, explaining that the security forces are inspecting the churches to ensure that the precautionary measures are applied, and a fine of 10.500 Euro will be applied for those who violate the rules. He added that only 50people are allowed to attend the mass.

The Northern Churches of Shubra announced that it will broadcast the activities of the Festival of St. Mark for the year 2020 will be held and broadcast online. This comes 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 under the patronage and leadership of Anba Moussa, Bishop of Youth.

Bishop Isaiah of Tahta and Juhina perfumed the remains of martyrs Kyriakos and Yolita at their church in Tahta. The celebration was attended by Bishop Ologious, head of St. Shenouda monastery in Suhag.

Abba Barnabas, Coptic Bishop of Turin and Rome, announced that an agreement was reached between the Italian government and the Catholic Church to partially reopen the churches. The agreement stressed the importance of social distancing and preventing closeness and contact in a definite way and included new rules of taking communion without using the same spoon, which is very similar to the Catholic church.

Coptic Orthodox Church and the monastery of St. Samuel in Minya mourned the departure of monk Archelides of St. Samuel monastery who died after suffering severe illness with cancer for about 10 years. The man served his monastery and was known for being so humble and quite serving his brothers.

Bishop Makarious of Minya visited the family of the Coptic martyr Amjad Malak, at the village of Nazlet Al-Nakhl, whose son was killed in a terrorist attack in Sinai. The bishop offered his sincere condolences and said he died defending his country and brought pride for his family.

The young calligrapher Kyrillos Albert excelled at the art of Arabic calligraphy, and started to make Muslim and Christian art that expresses unity among the Egyptians. Kyrillos said that he wishes his artwork present a message of love, unity and hope for everybody.