ROME—Italy s lower house of parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a resolution of Wednesday calling on the government to “officially recognize the Armenian Genocide” and elevate the profile of the issue on an international level. The bill was approved with 382 votes in favor, none against and 43 abstentions mainly from members of the opposition center-right Forza Italia party of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

St. Paul s Cathedral in Melbourne, Australia, witnessed the graduation ceremony of a new batch of the students of the Theological Seminary that included 418 graduates, including 12 Coptic men and women. The graduates received diplomas in theology and postgraduate studies in theology, including Father Angelos Rophael, priest of the Church of the Archangel Michael and St. Antonaus. The Coptic minister Shadi Nasim received a master s degree in theological studies.

Sharqia governorate witnessed the first exhibition of Coptic art organized by Zagazig City Council, in coordination with the Art and Life Foundation at the Nile Center for Media in Zagazig. The exhibition was attended by a number of senior officials and 40 artists including the international Coptic artist Adel Nassif.

The Bibliotheca Alexandria hosted today 75 contestants of the Miss Environment contest who are making tour around Egypt. They visited all its sections and museums and expressed their happiness for the good reception and the great culture and civilization, heritage and hospitality they touched in Egypt. It is noteworthy that the Bibliotheca Alexandria used to receive participants in the competition of the Miss Environment in recent years as part of their tours to promote tourism in Egypt.

In what was described as a bold movement, Father Shenouda Mansour, priest of St. Anthony and St. Paul’s Church at Gilford, Sydney, shaved his hair in solidarity with cancer patients. Mansour performed a haircut on his head in solidarity with leukemia patients suffering from chemotherapy.

The Police in Zagazig governorate announced that reports of bomb threats in the Church of St. Phelopatir in Zagazig were found to be negative. The Bomb squad checked the prices of a metal box, no explosive devices were found.

HG Bishop Hermina of Eastern Alexandria, presided over the holy mass at the church of the Virgin and St. George at Ghobrial neighborhood in Alexandria. The ordination ceremony was attended by a number of the clergy at the church and Bishop Hermina delivered a sermon about the divided houses.

Bishop Daniel of Sydney, and Abba Danial, head of the Monastery of St. Shenouda, celebrated today the Golden Jubilee of the Coptic Church in Australia at the church of St. Mark in Sidney. The celebration was attended by the Australian Prime Minister who stood a minute of silence and offered condolences to the families of the victims on two mosques in New Zealand.

St. Mary Church in Samalout, Minya, organized a training session for 1000 servants on the skills of ecclesiastical education. The course included the biblical characteristics of Effective Education and the personality of the servants.

Bishops Gregory and Paisel of southern USA visited today St. Mark Cathedral in Alexandria where they were received by Bishop Bavly of Montazah. They made a tour at the Cathedral of St. Mark and visited the tomb of the Patriarchs and learned about the history of the ancient church.

The Monastery of St. Mina in Mariot continues to construct the Church of the Saints for the martyrs of the terrorist attack at the Saints Church in Alexandria in 2011. The shrine of the Palm Sunday 8 martyrs who were killed in another terrorist attack at St. Mark Cathedral in Alexandria in 2017.

Bishop Moussa of Youth Bishopric and Raphael of Central Cairo Churches will hold a meeting next Friday with ministers of the activities of Youth Bishopric all over Egypt. The meeting will be held in the Greater Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbasia as part of the annual events organized by the Youth Bishopric.

Archbishop Serapion of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii, opened of the Church of Saint Philopatir Abu Seifin and St. Abram. He said that Pope Tawadros II is going to inaugurate the church in his next visit to the United States of America.

Bishop Daniel of Sydney inaugurated yesterday monument and garden of the first Coptic church in Australia. The church is located at Sydenham , Sidney, and was established by the late Father Mina Nematallah, the first Coptic priest in Australia.

Bishop Boutros of Shebin Al-Qanater ordained on Tuesday a new priest for the ministry in the diocese. The new priest is Father Pachoum Gharieb headed to the monastery of St. Mina in Mariout.

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced on Tuesday an increase in the Foreign currency reserve by around $1.5 billion. CBE said in a statement that net international reserves has increased to 44060.2 million US dollars at the end of February 2019.

Bishop Isaac or Tima ordained today 69 deacons at the Cathedral of St. Fam of Osim in Tima. The new deacons were ordained at the basic rank of Ebsaltus which is translated chanter after they have passed the exams prepared by the church.

Bishop Estifanos of Beba and Al-Fashn headed the Holy Mass at St. Athanasius Church in Donval Park in Melbourne, Australia as part of the pastoral visit to the city from February 25 to March 3rd. Bishop Estifanos is going to celebrate several holy masses and will deliver several sermons in meetings with the congregation.

Dr. Essam El-Kordy, presidet of Alexandria University, and HG Bishop Bavly, Bishop General of the Montazah Churches, inaugurated the headquarters of the Institute of Coptic Studies at the Faculty of Arts, Alexandria University. El-Kordy said that the new institute emphasizes the Egyptian identity and the unity of Egyptians over the ages and will take care of Coptic art, history and language. For his part, Bishop Bavli stressed the importance of this event and thanked the Alexandria University leaders for their great role in opening the institute.

On February 24, a number of Ethiopian Christians attended the Holy Mass at the Coptic Orthodox Church in Japan. The Church of St. Mary and St. Mark in Japan was recently opened by Pope Tawadros II, which is the very first Coptic Church in Japan.

The first book about the 21 Coptic martyrs in Libya was recently published in English by author Martin Mosebach, the German writer on the fourth anniversary of their martyrdom. The writer visited the village of Aour where the majority of the martyrs were born and raised and wrote about their faith, families, and even the miracles that were made by their intercession. It is worth mentioning that he had a another book about the martyrs published in 2018 in German.