His Holiness, Pope Tawadros II, celebrated today the first Holy Mass of the Great Lent, which started today. During the Liturgy, Pope ordained 25 priests for the ministry inside Egypt and abroad. The ordination ceremony was held at the Monastery of St. Bishoy in Wadil Natrun. It is worth mentioning that the Coptic Orthodox Church started today the Great Lent fast, which lasts for 55 days.

Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, opened the 7th conference for expatriates in the house of St. Simeon El-Kharraz in Wadi Al-Natrun. Hundreds of Coptic youth participated this year in addition to a number of bishops who will give speeches including: Bishop Moussa of Youth, Bishop Raphael of the Churches of the Downtown Cairo sector, Bishop Dawood of Mansoura, and Bishop Theophilus of Manfalut.

His Eminence, Bishop Bakhomius of Behira and former Acting Patriarch ordained 6 new priests for the ministry in the dioceses at the church of St. Mark in Karmet Damanour. The new priests are Father Bishara George, Father Apolo Fathy, Father Ghobrial Sobhy, Samaan Faraj, Wannas Poulos and Abahour Alfy. The new priests headed to the monastery of St. Makarious of Alexandria to spend 40 days of spiritual retreat according to the Coptic rituals.

The Diocese of Los Angeles, Southern California and Hawaii announced that it will receive Father Dawood Lamei, priest of the Church of St. Mark in Heliopolis, Cairo, from 3 July to 5 July 2020. This comes as a pastoral care visit to the diocese during which he will hold several meetings and will visit several churches.

Bishop Demetrius of Mallawy and Ashmounin ordained 5 new deacons at the Great Cathedral of ST. Mark in Cairo during the celebration of Cleansing of the Temple’s feast. The bishop had announced this week a list of nominees to priesthood in the diocese in order to allow the congregation to accept or reject the nominations.

His Eminence Bishop Gawargios of Matai inaugurated the Church of St. George after its renovations and expedition. 8 new alters were inaugurated in the church in its first and second floors.

Egypt’s Prime Minister, Mustafa Madbouly, approved the legalizing of 82 new churches and associated buildings, which raises the total number of legalized churches to 1494 according to the new law. It is worth mentioning that these churches and buildings have met the requirements of civil protection before they can be legalized.

Father Paulos Halim, Spokesman for the Church, announced that the Egyptian Orthodox Church in Sydney and Melbourne held a conference for the youth of the diocese from 7 to 9 February. The conference was held with the participation of 350 youth and 20 priests and was headed by Bshop Daniel, Head of the Monastery of St. Shenouda in Sydney, and Bishop Pavly, General Bishop of the Montazah Sector Churches in Alexandria.

Coptic Orthodox Church in New Jersey rejected to include topics about homosexuality in schools. It is worth mentioning that there is now a state of outrage among Coptic Egyptians residing in the United States. American, particularly those who have children inside schools, as soon as they learned of the approval of a law in the state of New Jersey that allows the teaching of homosexuality and its history in schools.

Coptic Orthodox Church started on Monday Jonah’s fasting for three days during which late holy masses are celebrated daily. It’s worth mentioning that this fasting comes two weeks before the Great Lent.

A tourist delegation From Ukraine and Taiwan arrived at the monastery of the Virgin Mary in Jabal al-tit, Minya, to visit it as part of the journey of the Holy Family in Egypt. Dr. Tharwat Al-Azhari, Director of Tourism Department, said that Minya governorate include many Archeological Pharaonic and Coptic Monuments and the stability and security should encourage more and more tourists to visit them.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark See, delivered today his weekly sermon at the Great Cathedral of St. Mark in Cairo. The fasting will be held from 10 to 12 February following the repentance of the people of Nineveh. It is a three-day fast starting the third Monday before Clean Monday from Sunday Midnight to Wednesday noon during which participants abstain from all kinds of dairy foods and meat products.

The media center of the Egyptian Orthodox Church announced that His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received today at the Pontifical Headquarters in Cairo the nun Juliana and the nun Veronia before they travel to the monastery of the Virgin Mary and Angel Michael in Queensland, Australia. It is worth mentioning that the church will start the holy fast of Jonah, which lasts 3 days in which it commemorates the repentance of the people of Nineveh.

Bishop Angelos of Northern Shubra Churches ordained 39 new deacons in the church of the Virgin in Havzia, Shubra. It is worth mentioning that the church will start the holy fast of Jonah, which lasts 3 days in which it commemorates the repentance of the people of Nineveh.

The Chaldean Catholics in Egypt announced to dedicate Jonah fasting for peace and recovery from diseases and epidemics. The fasting will be held from 10 to 12 February following the repentance of the people of Nineveh. It is a three-day fast starting the third Monday before Clean Monday from Sunday Midnight to Wednesday noon during which participants abstain from all kinds of dairy foods and meat products.

The Archdiocese of Samalut and its dependencies announced that Bishop Epiphanius of Samalout will open the Coptic Book Fair on February 27 till March 1st. More than 34 church and publishers are scheduled to participate in the fair including the most prominent Coptic publishing houses like Abu Makar Monastery and the Youth Bishopric, the Monasteries of Al-Baramous, Al-Syrian and Anba Bishoy.

The president of Ain Shams University in Cairo, Mahmoud al-Matini, issued a decision banning the wear of Niqab inside the university, whether for female faculty members working at the university, or support bodies, doctors and nurses. This comes after Cairo University issued similar decision banning the wear of niqab, which hides the face and the identity.

The Coptic Orthodox Church announced the beginning of the Great Lent fasting on February 24. Coptic churches will be celebrating daily late masses at the Great Lent from 1 to 3 p.m. The Great Lent is celebrated in Coptic churches for 55 days by fasting and special rituals.

The Church of Saint George in Izbat Hanna Ayoub, Minya, concluded its conference entitled I am Hero. The conference lasted for 3 days and included many shows to teach the children about having a strong character.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, offered his sincere condolences to Head and monks of the Monastery of St. Mina in Mariout in the departure of father Zosima Ava Mina. The monk died after a monastic journey that lasted for nearly 42 years, as he was born on January 12, 1939 and was ordained monk on June 24, 1978.

Coptic Orthodox Churches celebrated the feast of St. Antony, the founder of monasticism and father of the monks. In a press release, the Church said that St. Anthony was born in 251 in Egypt and decided to distributing his money on the needy after the death of his parents. Then, he left to the desert in order to live a hermit life.