Egypt s Coptic Pope Tawadros II led Tuesday funeral prayers for Bishop Sarabamon, the late head of the Saint Bishoy the Great monastery in Wadil Natroun. The bishop died on Sunday at the age of 83, of which he spent more than 60 years in monasticism. His body was buried next to the body of the late Pope Shenouda III, according to his will.

His Eminence Bishop Hadra of Aswan has ordained two new priests for the ministry in the diocese. The ordination of Father Antonius Magdy and Shenouda Narouz was completed at the church of St. George in Kom Ombo.

The media center of the Coptic Orthodox Church mourned the departure of Father John Badi Soliman, priest of the Church of Our Lady in Fayoum who spent 21years in priesthood. Pope Tawadros II had offered his sincere condones to Bishop Abraam of Fayoum and to the Coptic congregation. The funeral was attended by several bishops, monks, priests and the congregation of the diocese.

Bishop Gabriel of Beni Suef ordained a new priest in the Cathedral of the Virgin Mary in the diocese. Father Hidra Toma was ordained a priest in the church of Koum Abu Rady village and moved to Muharraq monastery to depend 40 days of spiritual retreat following the ordination.

Bishop Salib of Mit Ghamr ordained 3 new priests at the Church of St. Geroge in the diocese. The new priests are Fathers Youssef Samir, Abdul Masieh Samy and Flimon Reda.

The Monastery of Archangel Michael in Naqada started the training activities for the first group of the project (1000 Christian Religion Teachers) sponsored by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. The project aims at developing ecclesiastical education for Aswan, Luxor, Qena and the Red Sea governorates. The training sessions are offered by the training team of the Media Center of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and comes within the framework of the protocol signed between the Ministry of Education and the Coptic Church to train teachers of the Christian religion to enhance their performance in teaching the subject of Christian religious education.

Bishop Isaac of Tima ordained 7 new priests at the Cathedral of St. Fam in Tima in the presence of Bishops Pachom of Suhag, and Ologious of St. Shenouda monastery in Suhag, and Methaous of the Virgin Monastery in Akhmim mount. The new priests are Fathers Ezra Nasif, Maximus Aziz, Athanasious Nabil, Mina Milad, Fam Lamie, Dawood Makram, and Ruise Khairy.

The Council of Christian Churches in the Netherlands held its periodic meeting in the Coptic Cultural Center Yesterday in Amsterdam for the first time.The meeting was entitled ‘Christ is the Light of the World". The meeting was attended by representatives of several churches in Amsterdam and several keynote speeches were delivered before His Eminence Bishop Arsany distributed gifts to the attendees.

Bishops Daniel of Maadi and Mikhail of Qubba sector, have ordained 7 new deacons in perpetration for their ordination as priests next Monday. It is worth mentioning that the Coptic church is starting the Great Lent fasting on Monday.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II received at the Pontifical headquarters in Cairo, Mr. Fassil Ghebreslassie Tekle, Eritrea s ambassador to Cairo. The visit of the Eritrean Ambassador to His Holiness came for the sake of acquaintance.

The Diocese of the New Valley celebrated the second anniversary of the departure of its former Bishop Abba Boktor, which consided with the feast of Cleansing the Temple by Christ. The memorial service was held at Kharga Oasis in the presence of Bishop Martiros of Eastern Railway Station and Bihsop Arsanious of New Valley.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, received today priests of Behira diocese at the Logos Papal headquarters at St. Bishoy monastery in Wadil Natroun. The meeting was attended by Archbishop Bachomious of Behira and Bishop Isac, head of St. Macarious Monterey in Qalali mount.

The Egyptian archaeological mission affiliated to the Supreme Council of Archeology revealed 83 graves during archaeological excavations in the area of Umm al-Khaljan, Dakahlia Governorate. Dr. Mustafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said that 80 tombs dates back to the first half of the fourth millennium BC known as the civilization of Bhutto or Lower Egypt.

The Diocese of Maadi celebrated today the ordination of a new priest at the Church of Saint Mark in Maadi, which coincided with celebrating the 50th anniversary of its establishment. This came during the Divine Liturgy, which was served by His Eminence Bishop Daniel of the Diocese and Secretary of the Holy Synod. The new priest is father Nathan Samir who was assigned to minister in the church.

The Abu Fam university family organized its annual meeting at the Cathedral of St. Fam in Tima from February 6-8th. The Conference discussed the concept of change and was attended by more than a thousand members.

His Eminence Bishop Stephenos of Baba and Al-Fashn ordained 3 new priests at the church of St. Paul and St. Anthony in Ezbet Gaafarin Fashn. The new priests, Fathers Timothy Helal, Flimon Younana and Yassa Maiz, headed to the monastery to spend a 40 days of spiritual retreat according to the Coptic rituals.

The Executive Committee of the Council of Middle East Churches held its periodic meeting in Larnaca, Cyprus, last Monday and Tuesday, in the presence of His Beatitude Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of Justiniana and the rest of Cyprus for the Orthodox Church in Cyprus, and with the participation of representatives from all member churches. The meetings were chaired by John the Tenth, Patriarch of Antioch and the rest of the East for the Greek Orthodox, Chairman of the Council on the Family of the Orthodox Churches.

A group of Islamic organizations in the British city of Birmingham has announced a new initiative entitled: ‘Our mosques for the homeless’, which aims to house them inside the mosques and protect them from the cold winter. For his part, Al-Azhar Observatory for Countering Extremism valued the initiative, pointing out that it indicates a practical application of the teachings of the true Islamic religion, and highlights the true meaning of tolerance of Muslims in dealing with others of different religions, races, and colors.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, received today at the Pontifical headquarters in Alexandria a large delegation of senior officials and security and military leaders. The delegation offered their best wishes to the Pope and the Coptic congregation and for all Egyptians. For his part, Pope assured that the feast is marked with three signs, namely love, joy and peace.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II arrived at the headquarters of Balina diocese in the framework of his current pastoral tour in the Diocese of Sohag Governorate, where he was received by thousands of Coptic people. Pope concluded his visit to Girga diocese yesterday where he inaugurated the church of the Virgin and met with its congregation. It is worth mentioning that Pope’s pastoral care visit includes visiting 6 dioceses in Suhag governorate, namely: Sohag, Gerga, Balina, Akhmim, Tama, and Tahta.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II opened today the Cathedral of the great Saint Abu Fam after its restoration. Pope visited Tima diocese for the first time and was accompanied by 16 bishops in addition to Bishop Isaac of Tima.