What we witness lately is that democracy around the world is deteriorating and that is not because there is no election around the world or because people cant elect their leader, but because the pillars of democracy are gradually vanishing. When I see for example President Trump doesnt care or trust US institutions and never listens to their advice, that means Democracy is eating itself.

I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10: 10) The Lord Jesus came for the salvation of mankind and education was his way to show us the way. Therefore, the people called him the good teacher, and his teachings have become a treasure for mankind till today. Father Poulos Halim in his article "The Teacher of the World" explained to us that the divine teachings have changed all of humanity and is still making great change. These are the teachings that the Apostles received from the mouth of the Lord Jesus and transferred to the entire world. Saint Mark the Apostle established the Theological School of Alexandria in order to spread the teachings of the Lord Jesus. The patriarchs and heroes of the Ecumenical Councils, such as Saints Athanasius, Cyril, Dioscorus, and many famous bishops such as Saint Gregory. It s students were leaders of the world such as Saints Basil the Great, Gregory the Great, and John Chrysostom. Thus, the Patriarchs of Alexandria were called as the Magistrates of the World. St. Athanasius the Apostle said to Arius: As for my teaching, it is from the teaching of my fathers. This is how the church received its teachings and established the Coptic monasticism Asceticism, a strong spiritual life, a system of worship, and even martyrdom. This is how we should go on.

Most of us believe that clerics are opposed to religious reform, but we do not take into account another possibility that they are mentally incapable of doing it. Reforming and developing any thought, ideology or religion requires a more sophisticated, open, deep and aware mentality of the religious text and of the reality at the same time. So that it can come up with new interpretations of the text that are compatible with today s life. However, we have mentalities that depend on memorization and retrieval and not thinking. Thus, it is very hard for the clerics to overcome the old ideas and stop being so lazy to think. This is a hypothesis that we must take into account, which is the mental inability of the clergy to develop what was presented by their predecessors. Therefore, we shouldn t wait for those clerics to reform the religious discourse since they are not able to and they prefer to live Medieval and Dark Ages.

Unfortunately, backwardness and religious extremism are among the most marketable goods in the Middle East. Extremism is found in social traditions and impoverished economic policies that crush the citizen without mercy. Religion should have remained between man and God to lead only to more tolerance and love among people, but extremism was produced by terrorists and extremists as if they belong to a semi-union allowing them to seek selective material, social and political benefits through religion. This is a good reason for them to easily move to bear arms and kill unarmed peaceful people and even wage wars in the name of God. Extremists seek such authority in all religion that you may find a Christian minister fighting to take control of a spatula meeting or service. Ignorant people may thing that God permits his servants to take selective material benefits from his service. In fact, such control may lead honorable people to abandon ministry and let the extremists rule. Attempting to benefit from religion is an ancient guaranteed practice by people belonging to what I call syndicate of religion dealers whom easily find many customers cheated by religious slogans

The most disease hit people right now is not Covi10 but the stress and depression that people face right now from losing Jobs or being locked for a long time with no hope on the site to finish. Many companies around the world started already to increase their budget to support their employees to face stress, depression and isolation. While all over the world doing this, we have not heard anything about what private companies did for their employees to face such challenges.

I was shocked to receive news about the decision of Father Paula Foad, priest of St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Al-Mataria to run for the elections of the House of Representatives. I see this as a catastrophe that threatens all our efforts to establish a modern secular democratic state, and also threatens the image of the national church and prove its involvement in politics. This clumsy act of this priest represents a stab at the Egyptian secular trend, which demands the exit of official and unofficial Muslim clerics from the Egyptian political scene. Now, we have to struggle on two fronts instead of one. He also gave the sheikhs a weapon to fight the secular current by saying that a priest ran for elections, which is a direct and explicit political act, so do not blame the sheikhs. This clumsy act will not only be borne by his subordinates, but the church will also bear his responsibility, because this is a citizen who follows the Orthodox priesthood, and therefore he cannot do this act without the permission of the church, and even if he does this reckless act without the permission of the church, what is the Church s response? I am surprised how there is no ecclesiastical law that prevents men of the priesthood from engaging in politics as the Catholic Church does, as its law prohibits the practice of politics, and whoever wishes to do so must resign and take off his priestly uniform, so how is there no such law in the Orthodox Church? Such act will not only have negative effects on the secular current, but also on the church, because this priest will inevitably lose, because he will not get the votes of Muslims or the voices of true secular Christians, unless he is supported by other influencers in the elections. The Coptic Church now will be exposed to all kinds of criticism like Al-Azhar, since you have fallen into the mud of politics and proved you belong to the Authority. It is not too late yet, and you can announce the church’s rejection of this candidacy and make this priest choose between the priesthood and Parliament openly and explicitly.

His leadership of a military battalion did not prevent him from declaring his faith courageously before the emperor of the West. He was not intimidate by Machines of torture and killing, but encouraged his soldiers to stand steady and adhere to their faith in God till they obtained the crown of martyrdom HG Anba Serbion, Archbishop of Los Angeles, in his article Saint Maurice , told us about the great saint who was born in Luxor to a Christian family that was walking in the fear of God, and so did the saint. He joined the Roman army and became the commander of a battalion that numbered 6,660 soldiers, all from Thebes, so it was known as the Theban Legion and all of them were Christians. He was sent to conduct a mission in the West, but the Emperor ordered him and the legion to pray to their idols and offer incense before them. He refused and so did the soldiers. They were tortured and killed through Northern Italy in the south, passing through Switzerland, until southern Germany in the north, and their martyrdom accompanied many miracles, which led to the faith of many, while saint Maurice and the rest of his soldiers were martyred near the Swiss city of Lausanne. In the place of the martyrdom of the saint, a church was built in his name in the fourth century, next to which a large monastery was established and a large celebration is held for him annually.

The historical circumstance in which we live now holds the Egyptian media the most difficult and dangerous responsibility in our modern history in facing groups of interests that cooperated with former regimes for 50 years. Those groups are like cancer cells spreading in the Egyptian body with all its economic, scientific, educational, social and cultural institutions. Yet, they only agree on trading on religious slogans to deceive the simple. I agree with President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi when saying that Egypt is waging a war of existence against such dark forces. Indeed, in our previous wars, we had to face the enemy in the field, but today our enemy is hiding and targeting the Egyptian identity. In the end, our identity remains a sign of stability in our historical, human, cultural presence on this great land. In his article published more than 85 years ago in "Kawkab Al Sharq" newspaper, Dr. Taha Hussein, the Dean of Arabic Literature, referred to the dialogue that took place between him and a French employee working in the department responsible for the residence of foreigners in France on the issue of identity. Our late writer was an envoy from the Ahlia University to complete his studies In the Sorbonne, France in 1914, this employee asked him about his nationality when Taha Hussein answered: I am Egyptian! However, the French employee returns to him the question again: I ask you about your nationality, not about the country in which you were born, as Egypt has no nationality, because it is not an independent state, but rather a state affiliated with the Ottoman Sultanate. Taha Hussein insisted: I am an Egyptian. Now, Egypt, our dear homeland, is free and independent country, but the Muslim Brotherhood thinker and leader Sayyid Qutb stated in the book "Milestones on the Way" described the homeland as nothing but a handful of rotten dirt . The former general guide of the MB said that during an interview with the journalist “Saeed Shuaib” that he doesn t care about Egypt at all. The leader who defected from the Brotherhood, Tariq Abu Al-Saad, said that the Brotherhood does not believe in any of the principles of patriotism, land, sovereignty and national independence. Therefore, I invite our religious institutions to do their best to renew the religious discourse, and all media, cultural and enlightenment institutions have to unite to support the state in its war of existence.

Mayar Sherif is the first Egyptian tennis player to qualify for the main role in one of the four major tournaments in the world. Mayar played against the Czech Karolina Pliskova, ranked fourth in the world, while Mayar ranked 172nd in the world. However she was defeated by two groups for one, Mayar did her best and presented a very honorable performance that amazed the world. Mayar made outstanding records as she became the first Egyptian player in the main role of the Grand Slam tournament, and became the first Egyptian player to be listed among the 200 best tennis players in the world.

There is no doubt that Egyptians are angry which was clear after the last demonstrations that erupted in many governorates. Egyptian dont see Sisi as a president who can listen or try to do anything to relieve their suffering. Everyyear Egyptians are hoping to have something that can make them happy or help them to adapt to the challenges they face everyday, however, Egyptians find that president Sisi keeps making decisions only adds to their suffering.

God s love for every human being has no limits, so He is very patient with the sinners until they return and repent. It is written: All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations (Isaiah 65:2). Father Antonious Fahmy, priest of St. George and St. Anthony in Alexandria said in his article servant and acceptance that God is willing to accept the sinners and praise them and forgive them at the time other people may not accept them like what happened with the sinful woman and Simon the Pharisee. Many Prophets and holy fathers have committed mistakes and sinned before God, but He have always forgiven them. For instance, Our father Abraham when he lied, our father Jacob when he deceived, Jonah when he fled, we find him also prolonging his distress to the people of Israel when they worshiped the calf, and they complained about the manna and refused to submit to and obey the commandments. We find Jesus Christ touching the leper who was rejected by everyone before He cured his illness. He accepted Zacchaeus, a publican who was rejected by society and asked him to enter his house. He also saved the sinful woman saying: Who among you is without sin, let him throw the first stone at her. There are many examples of God s acceptance of sinners, the weak and the rejected, so that we could learn from them, and he still accepts the whole world and every weak and sinner. Indeed, God s acceptance is marvelous to man despite all his weaknesses and sins, and this is a great blessing for us to learn from it not to reject anyone or to despise anyone.

As Egypt is getting ready to launch the ECO Egypt campaign to promote ecotourism, Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, and Osama Heikal, Minister of State for Information, visited the Migratory Bird Watching Center in Sharm El Sheikh in the presence of tourism and environmental experts and representatives of international news agencies. It is worth mentioning that Ecotourism has a broad concept that includes a variety of activities and not only marine activities like viewing of marine organisms, coral reefs and fish, but also many other activities in Egypt, including viewing fossils in Fayoum reserves and learning about the cultures and activities of local communities through safari trips. In fact, Egypt is one of the most important ecotourism activities in the world for activates on which the economies of some countries are based, like bird watching tourism. Therefore, it is important to shed light on natural reserves and ecotourism attractions, including the migratory bird monitoring site in Sharm El-Sheikh. Egypt is the second most important pathway in the world for bird migration, which makes it a pathway for 700 species of migratory birds. It passes through Egypt twice a year during the migration and return journeys from Europe to Africa in the spring and autumn seasons. Greetings to those in charge of this center and to supporters of this type of ecotourism in general and bird watching in particular.

I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the title of this article does not call for the liberation of Egyptian women, but rather to the re-liberation of them since our history respects women starting from the Pharaonic era till today. It is true that the status and position of the Egyptian woman in society was exposed to setbacks in periods when the Egyptian civilization itself was suffering. Women are a main pillar in society, a partner for men in all aspects of life, and they are the backbone of the family. In Upper Egypt we see women working next to men in the land and raises the children and manages the household affairs. She is very respectful and this never contradicts with men s honor. So, if modern times have added to this great legacy, it improved the girl s education and allowed her to join the public and political work and to obtain the right to vote. We must carefully monitor any forms of discrimination against women and hasten to confront them. Women re-liberating is the responsibility of both women and men and any rights she gets adds to those of men not take away from his rights. This is not a favor on the part of the man, but a duty to develop our society. In this regard, I recall the saying of the friend, Dr. Saad Eddin Ibrahim, professor of political sociology and founder and president of the Ibn Khaldun Center to development studies, when he said: Even if all men gathered together and unanimously agreed to give women all their rights, then this is considered very insulting to women, because the man does not grant or deny the rights of women, but all her rights are original, inviolable, and acquired because she is half of society and a man s partner in everything. Today, Watani newspaper presents (Because I am a man) a campaign to educate young men and men about women s issues and protect them from violence. This campaign was launched in 2017 by The National Council for Women aiming to involve young people in spreading awareness of women s issues. Time is changing and women are getting their rights back, and men should support this approach in order to get a win-win situation and to unite the society based on greater aim.

Some people seek fame by all means even by declaring their ignorance through controversial statements about our history like the recent announcement of one elite that the Coptic language was developed from the old Egyptian one and assuring it is not Coptic (as if Coptic only means Christian!). Most people understand that Coptic means Egyptian and not Christian. Egypt was Coptic until Islam entered it and its name changed accordingly. Coptic language, according to Encyclopædia Britannica, is an Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in Egypt from about the 2nd century ce and that represents the final stage of the ancient Egyptian language. In contrast to earlier stages of Egyptian, which used hieroglyphic writing, hieratic script, or demotic script, Coptic was written in the Greek alphabet, supplemented by seven letters borrowed from demotic writing. Coptic also replaced the religious terms and expressions of earlier Egyptian with words borrowed from Greek. Coptic is usually divided by scholars into six dialects, four of which were spoken in Upper Egypt and two in Lower Egypt; these differ from one another chiefly in their sound systems. The Fayyūmic dialect of Upper Egypt, spoken along the Nile River valley chiefly on the west bank, survived until the 8th century. Asyūṭic, or Sub-Akhmīmic, spoken around Asyūṭ, flourished in the 4th century. In it are preserved a text of the Gospel According to John and of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as a number of Gnostic documents. Akhmīmic was spoken in and around the Upper Egyptian city of Akhmīm. Sahidic (from Arabic, aṣ-Ṣaʿīd [Upper Egypt]) was originally the dialect spoken around Thebes; after the 5th century it was the standard Coptic of all of Upper Egypt. It is one of the best-documented and well-known dialects.The dialects of Lower Egypt were Bashmūric, about which little is known (only a few glosses in the dialect are extant), and Bohairic (from Arabic, al-Buḥayrah), originally spoken in the western part of Lower Egypt including the cities of Alexandria and Memphis. Bohairic has been used for religious purposes since the 11th century by all Coptic Christians. The latest Coptic texts date from the 14th century. This means that Coptic is a scientific term for the last stage of the old Egyptian language. Yet, the problem of our society is the elite that only care about getting attention and benefits instead of teaching people.

From the last statistic we see for Covid 19, it doesnt seem that we are close to celebrating the end of this pandemic. Cases recently increased everywhere in the world including Europe and the United states. One thing we need to notice while the disease spread everywhere is that China has had no deaths due to this disease for a long time. We see cases still in China but we never see people died from this disease.

People see God from different views. For instance, the Orthodox see God through a handful of rituals that became over time devoid of the true spirit of worship, and see other perishing for not following the same rituals. Evangelists see God in a handful of praises that exhaust the body and mind to reach a stage of ecstasy or unconsciousness during which they see God as magic want to work miracles. Terrorists see God as bloody and voracious person who takes pleasure in human blood to give them tickets to the paradise full of carnal pleasure. While atheists see God as an evil comic person who enjoys what is happening on the earth and enjoy seeking people suffering. I believe all of this is not true about God as we reflect our own emotions and ideas on His image and assure to the others that such fake image is true about God.

By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. (Hebrews 11: 31). By repentance Rahab was transformed from a sinful woman to a servant woman whose bless is offered to all humanity! HG Bishop Pachomius, the former acting Patriarch, in his article ‘the harlot Rahab’ describes how Rahab’s life was changed and used to change many other people and to save many lives including hers. God acceptance of Rahab refers to His acceptance to everybody, even the sinners. She decided to help men of God and was promised to be saved and her sign was the scarlet rope, which refers to the blood of Jesus Christ shed for humanity. Her work and belief saved her to proof that salvation comes with belief and work as well. Rahab left her old life and stayed among the people of God and her wisdom was better than many other wise people to prove the power of God to save our souls.

The Church is currently exposed to a state of violent attacks on the foundations of its faith that built over centuries through clear concepts and the teaching of the pure Word of God. We believe it was saved from all deception until the emergence of liberal Christian theology. Liberal Christian theology focuses on the logic of man and his being the ultimate authority in liberal Christian teaching, which is not Christian at all. Liberal theologians seek to reconcile Christianity with secular science and modern thinking. As such, they consider science to be knowledge, and that the Bible is full of myths and errors. They dare to say that the first chapters of Genesis are just poetry or fiction that carries a message, but they should not be taken literally. They do not consider humanity to be completely corrupt, so they hold an optimistic view of the future of the human race through being nice to other people. As a result of this thinking, they started to consider the following: 1- The Bible is not (God-inspired) and has errors. 2- The virgin birth of Christ is a mythical false teaching. But this directly contradicts (Isaiah 7: 14 and Luke 2-3) 4- Christ was a good moral teacher, but his disciples and then their disciples distorted the story of his life as recorded by the Holy Word (they deny supernatural miracles), as the Gospels were written years later and attributed For the early students to add weight to their teachings. 5- Hell is not a reality and a person does not perish because of sin. 6 - Most of the people who wrote the Bible are not what we traditionally think. For example, Moses did not write the first five books of the Bible, and the book of Daniel was written by two people, because it is impossible that the "detailed prophecies" in the last chapters were known in advance! 7 - The most important thing a person does is to “love” his neighbor. Love is not doing what the Bible says is good, but what liberal theologians have determined is good. They dare to deny the valuable blood of Jesus Christ and its effect to renew our nature. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Bicycles should be for everyone and not only for males. This was the slogan announced by Margaret Najeh, a student in the second year of the Faculty of Arts in Minya. The campaign started by a questionnaire on the social networking sites, in which she asked girls if they want to ride bicycles, which totally contradicts with rules of Upper Egypt. Soon, the idea spread and girls started to go on a weekly ride. Greetings to Margaret and to all girls who had courage to support the idea and their families who stood next to their daughters in practicing a respectable and useful sport, and perhaps it will become a safe means of transportation for them and for the people of Egypt, especially as the state is supporting the ride of bicycles as an initiative for everyone supported by the President and the Ministry of Sports.