Feast of the Resurrection 2011 His Grace Bishop Suriel Bishop of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions The Resurrection: An Act of Christ's Love and Care

Each year, thousands of pilgrims flood St Peter’s Square before the evening Easter Vigil mass. The service, taking place the night before Easter Sunday, is the most important celebration of the liturgical year. The several-hour-long wait to enter St Peter’s Basilica, a requisite for anyone desiring a decent seat, tries the patience of the most devout Catholics — especially when even the nuns are pushing and shoving.

Beijing (CNN) -- The site of a planned outdoor Easter service at one of China's largest independent "house" churches was eerily silent Sunday as police blocked more than 500 worshippers from leaving their homes and detained more than 36 for attempting to attend religious services in Beijing, church officials said.

In view of the painful incidents that have happened to our people, the Christians in Egypt, the Copts, it was decided to sit in the European Parliament in a month’s time from now, to explain the latest attacks on the Copts especially after the January 25, 2011 revolution. Such attacks are recorded by civil organizations and particularly “the organization of Egyptians against religious discrimination”, that I attached to two letters to Field Marshal Mohammad Hussein Tantawy, Head of the Army Counsel. As examples and by no means conclusive:

The role of the Muslim Brotherhood is to mobilize the nation to establish a way of life based on Islam, said its Deputy Supreme Guide Khairat al-Shater.

Cairo (AINA) -- Ten human rights organization staged a rally on March 30 in front of the building of the Attorney General to bring to public attention the tragedy of some nine thousand Coptic villagers living in terror since end January in the Upper Egyptian villages of Badraman and Nazlet Badraman in Deir Mawas, Minya. Rights activists and Badraman villagers were joined by attorney activist Peter elNaggar, who filed a complaint with the Attorney General against 34-year-old Muslim police informer Ali Hussein, nicknamed "Holaku" after the ruthless Mongol leader.

In the new modern, moderate, secular, democratic Egypt of the Arab Spring, Muslims in Qena are enraged and protesting because a Christian governor has been appointed for them. It was yet another indication that the Egypt that will emerge from this season of revolution and upheaval is much more likely to be an Islamic state than a secular democracy, no matter how much the mainstream media fantasizes about the latter.

According to the Daily News Egypt, the incident began as an altercation over a speed bump but turned into a sectarian conflict in Abo Korkas, Minya Governorate. The two victims were Muslims.

LONDON (AFP) – Christians have long celebrated Jesus Christ's Last Supper on Maundy Thursday but new research released Monday claims to show it took place on the Wednesday before the crucifixion.

(AINA) -- Nearly 100,000 Christian Copts staged a rally today in Egypt. The rally began with a 5 mile march from the Coptic Shubra district to Tahrir Square. Many Muslims joined the march, as well prominent Coptic activists and heads of Coptic human rights organizations.

CAIRO - The Egyptian Embassy in Washington paid for a visit made by Gamal Mubarak, son of the former President Mubarak, to Washington in early 2009.

CAIRO - Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and Foreign Minister Nabil el-Arabi will visit Ethiopia in May, the first official Egyptian visit to the African country since the revolution.

CAIRO: Egypt's prosecutor general announced Wednesday the 15-day detention of the country's former president, pending inquiries into accusations of corruption and abuse of authority in an unprecedented investigation of a former ruler in the Arab world.

The Australian Coptic Movement (ACM) has received disturbing news of another disappearance of a Coptic woman in Egypt. The extended family of the victim named Heba Adel, reside in Sydney and they received a request for assistance from Heba’s husband in Egypt. Heba Adel, 30 years old was reported to have been kidnapped on Wednesday 6 April 2011. Heba is happily married to Fady Eskandar and is the proud mother of Martin 5 years old and Mariam 1.5 years old. Last Wednesday at approximately 8:30 AM Heba walked her son Martin to his school named “Wady Degla” in the suburb of El Maady, Cairo. The School is in the vicinity of the “Military Secondary School” opposite to “El Fath” Mosque. Heba’s Mum who happened to be staying with Heba and her family for a while called her at 9:00 AM. Heba answered she was coming back home. Heba never made it home. Her family called her again and her mobile was switched off. The Incident was reported to the Police immediately. 1. Report Number 2213 - Dar El Salam Police Station – “absent” 2. Report Number 3193 El Maady Police Station - Kidnapped Heba’s husband (Mr Eskander) strongly believes that his wife has been kidnapped and that the school played a role in the kidnapping. Mr Eskandar appealed to the Attorney General of Egypt and to the Minister of Interior Affairs requesting their action to pressure the Police to search for his missing wife. The Police have been reluctant to take action and the family is devastated. There are hundreds of cases of Coptic Christian women being coerced into Islam and in some cases actually forcibly being taken away. The State Security apparatus usually collaborate with local extremists groups and rarely do they undertake their investigations appropriately. In some cases the Egyptian police have even arrested the families of the victims instead of searching for those who actively carry out these crimes. We appeal to the Egyptian authorities to investigate the matter as a matter of urgency, return Heba safely to her family and prosecute the abductors and the police for their failure to investigate the issue. We also extend our appeal to World Leaders and Human Rights organisations worldwide that they monitor and investigate these cases which have increased dramatically in recent years in Egypt. The Egyptian Revolution of the 25th January was welcomed by all facets of Egyptian society and it was grassroots movement calling for justice and freedom for all. Unfortunately it seems that this justice and freedom is not being extended to Egypt’s 12 Million indigenous Coptic Christian Community as they been subject to massive attacks by Muslims mobs and even by the Egyptian military. Scores of Copts have been brutally killed, Churches and Monasteries have been attacked and the ongoing disappearance of Coptic women continues as the people’s revolution is hijacked by extremists groups such as the Salifists, Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat Islamiya and all these groups seem to have one thing in common and that is the eradication of Egypt’s indigenous Coptic population by subjugation.

CAIRO: Eight army officers joined tens of thousands of protestors in Tahrir Square on the Friday of "Purification and Trial," calling for the resignation of Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi and the prosecution of ousted president Hosni Mubarak.

(AINA) -- In the last two weeks three attacks on churches were undertaken by Salafis or Islamic Fundamentalists in Egypt. The Salafis demanded churches move to locations outside communities and be forbidden from making repairs, "even if they are so dilapidated that the roofs will collapse over the heads of the congregation," says Father Estephanos Shehata of Samalut Coptic Diocese.

The horrifying incident in which Salafis or Islamic fundamentalists, have implemented for the first time in Egypt the Islamic penalty or Hudoud on a Christian Copt by cutting-off his ear for allegedly renting his flat to a Muslim prostitute, has sent shock waves throughout Egypt. The Salafis in the southern town of Qena, 490 KM from Cairo, took all the authorities of the State in their own hands; they arrested the victim, judged him and applied what they saw as the appropriate punishment on him. After that they called the police to take away the victim saying "We have applied the law of Allah, now come and apply your law."

Cairo (AINA) -- Ten human rights organization staged a rally on March 30 in front of the building of the Attorney General to bring to public attention the tragedy of some nine thousand Coptic villagers living in terror since end January in the Upper Egyptian villages of Badraman and Nazlet Badraman in Deir Mawas, Minya. Rights activists and Badraman villagers were joined by attorney activist Peter elNaggar, who filed a complaint with the Attorney General against 34-year-old Muslim police informer Ali Hussein, nicknamed "Holaku" after the ruthless Mongol leader.

CAIRO: Business tycoon Naguib Sawiris announced Sunday the establishment of the "Free Egyptians Party" as a new liberal party that promotes the principles of a civil state and where youth play a major role.

CAIRO: Protesters in the tens of thousands filled Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday, with simultaneous protests in Alexandria, demanding the trial of ousted president Mubarak and his family and calling to “Save the Revolution.”

CAIRO - The street is now a little quieter outside the Radio and TV Building in Maspero near the Nile, after more than a month of protests, ending in those by Coptic Christians and later by angry media people.