The Executive Committee and the General Secretariat of the Council of Churches of Egypt met at the Evangelical Church in Egypt with representatives of the churches participating in the Council. The meeting was chaired by Father Paul Gras, Secretary General of the Council of Churches of Egypt, and discussed how to solve problems of extremism in Upper Egypt.

In a customary reconciliation session held in Ashnin al-Nassarah village, Minya, the Christian and Muslim parties apologized for what happened recently in the village denouncing any insult for religion and claiming the application of the law. The session was attended by family members of the accused Coptic man and leaders of the biggest Muslim families in the village. For his part, father of the accused Coptic man assured that account of his own son was stolen and the post was not published by his own son.

Bishop Sameul of Timwa perfumed the remains of St. Philopatir in his historic monastery. The celebration was attended by many people who came to celebrate the feast of the saint in the monastery that was founded in the fifth century.

Detained brother and uncles of the Coptic young man accused of defamation of Islam were released while the young man is currently being investigated. Police have taken extra security measures to secure the village on Ashnin al-Nassarah and arrested a number of extremists who incited against the Copts in the village.

Dr. Rev. Andrea Zaki, head of the Evangilical community in Egypt, ordained 5 new pastors for the ministry in several villages in Assiut and Minya. The new pastors are Sameh Dawood, Peter Samy, Rimon Rakha, Ezat Maher and Milad Abdul Tawab. The celebrations were attended by a number of senior officials in Minya and Assiut governorates.

Magaghah diocese in Minya said that the police arrested Fadi Youssef who is accused of publishing a post insulting Islam, which triggered the events of yesterday against the Copts in the village of Ashnin al-Nasara. Sources in the Police said that brother and three uncles of Fadi were arrested along with him. It is worth mentioning that Fadi had published a apology for what was posted on his stolen account, but this didn t prevent the attacks on Copts of the village.

A number of militants attacked some Coptic families in the village of Ashnin al-Nasara after one of its sons was accused of publishing an insulting post for Islam on social media. Family of the accused man said his Facebook account was stolen and used to publish the post. Soon, their home was attacked and demolished by the angry mobs.

Calm has returned to the village of Ali Pasha in Samalut, Minya, after a meeting was held yesterday during which Coptic and Muslim families agreed to exclude the girl who has converted into Islam. The two parties pledged in the customary reconciliation session not to incite any attacks between Muslims and Christians and leave the girl live in peace with her new husband. It is worth mentioning that police is still taking extra security measures to secure the village to ensure safety and stability.

Construction of the outer wall of the Monastery of Prince Tadros in Manfalut was completed after it was demolished in the floods last November along with sheep farms, workshops and carpentry equipment. Father Matta Rizk, deputy of Manfalout diocese, said that the reconstruction of the other demolished area is still going giving the great cost needed to finish the work.

A chaotic state of chaos was in the village of Shusha in Minya as fanatics in the village were celebrating the conversion of a Coptic Christian woman into Islam and her arrival into her new Muslim husband s wife. Houses of the Copts were stoned and the Copts and are being cursed and provoked by the people. Police have taken extra security measures to prevent clashes between Muslims and Christians, but they have not prevented the fanatics from celebrating their victory and cursing and stoning the Copts which could lead to bloody clashes later.

The Coptic Orthodox Coptic Church , led by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, condemned the terrorist attack on a security site in northern Sinai killing 8 soldiers. Statement of the church offered sincere condolences to families of the martyrs and for the injured, and wished Egypt peace and stability.

The monastery of St. Samuel in Minya celebrates the second anniversary of his martyrs who were killed in a terrorist attack on May 26, 2017. 28 Copts were shot to death in the first attack in 2017, which was followed by another attack in 2018. The monastery will be opened for the visitors, while police and army forces will be taking extra security measures to secure the way to the monastery.

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See assured he is going to divide the Minya diocese to two or three dioceses. He added that the diocese is very big and needs to be splitter in order to present better service for its people.

The Coptic Church in France participated in the breakfast ceremony of the Egyptian Embassy in Paris. Ambassador Ehab Badawi, Ambassador of Egypt to France welcomed the attendees and assured they are part of the united Egyptian family. Badawi invited the Egyptians abroad to support their home country and reflect the truth about what happens in Egypt.

The Board of Directors of the Egyptian Family House in London held a breakfast party for all Egyptian and non-Egyptian citizens, Muslims and non-Muslims, in an open space in front of the building. The authorities permitted holding the banquet in the street and the use of speakers to listen to the Holy Quraan and the prayers. The banquet was attended by a number of senior officials and clergy in London.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, said during his visit to Germany that the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church is discussing how to unify date of Resurrection Sunday between Western and Eastern Churches. He added that a research was presented by the late Metropolitan Bishoy that presented the second or the third Sunday of April as potential date for celebrating the Resurrection Sunday without having disagreements between the churches, which was accepted by Pope Francis in 2015.

Bishop Markos of Shubra al-Khaimah cut his visit to America and returned back to Egypt after a priest was murdered by a church keeper. The murderer said he and the priest had disagreements as the priest broke his promise to help his daughter getting married.

The Institute of Care and Education at its headquarters at the Cathedral of St. Markia in Abbasiyah organizes a training course for the new priests at the Institute of Care and Education at the Cathedral 140 priests participate in the course.

Bishop Arsani of the Netherlands inaugurates the mural of the Holy Family in Amsterdam, which is a unique mosaic wall in the Church of the Virgin of Amsterdam. The mural represents the Coptic art and the nature of the Egyptian environment during the entry of the Holy Family to Egypt. It shows the Nile, which is filled with fish, a symbol of the faithful people. An angel receives them as a symbol of divine protection. The Egyptian environment of the Nile and the palm tree reflects the Egyptian civilization. The mural was made by the Coptic artist Adel Nassif.

The Evangelical Church, headed by Dr. Pastor Andri Zaki, sent a cable of congratulations to President Abdel Fattah Sisi, in which he congratulated him and the Egyptian people on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, wishing him and Egypt progress and prosperity. Other Coptic Churches have also sent similar messages to the President and other senior officials in Egypt.

In response to the Easter bombings, Sri Lanka decided to expel 600 foreigners, including 200 Islamic callers. A local Islamic preacher has planned the terrorist attacks on Easter that killed at least 257 peoples and injured 500.