Coptic Orthodox Church - AOI Observer

OCA Holy Synod of Bishops Expresses Solidarity with Coptic Church in Egypt

December 23, 2011 8:14 PM

Source: Orthodox Church in America The witness and mission of the Coptic Church in Egypt have their origin in apostolic times. Today, the Coptic Church of Egypt is the largest Christian Church in the Middle East. Under the leadership of His Holiness, Pope Shenouda, the Coptic Church is a dynamic and active Church, with significant and effective work in education, youth work, and social work. While the Coptic Church has experienced limitations to its work in the context of the Muslim majority of Egypt, the present time presents special challenges. In the midst of the changes in Egyptian political life during the last months, some of which are positive, there are aspects of current developments which make the Coptic Church vulnerable to discrimination and even violence. For this reason, the Lesser Synod of the Orthodox Church in America, under the chairmanship of His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah, has issued a Statement of Support for the Coptic Church of Egypt. This … [Read more...]

Metropolitan Hilarion Accuses West of Leaving Egypt Christians in the Lurch

November 8, 2011 6:15 PM

The Episcopal Assembly could be in the forefront of this. Moscow, November 1, Interfax - Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Synodal Department for External Church Relations has accused the West of failing to stand up for Egyptian Christians during recent violence against them and has slammed Western governments for putting economic interests before human life. "Despite the unprecedented escalation of violence against Christians in Egypt early in October, not a single Western country has put any pressure on the provisional military authorities of that country or threatened economic sanctions," a statement from the Synodal Department for External Church Relations quoted Metropolitan Hilarion as saying during a ceremony at the university of Lugano, Switzerland, in which he had the degree of doctor honoris causa conferred on him. Footage showing armored personnel carriers "crushing a peaceful Coptic demonstration and shooting at unarmed people remain outside … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Coptic Orthodox Church, Media, Met. Hilarion of Volokolamsk, Politics, religious freedom

Egypt: Why Are the Churches Burning?

May 19, 2011 6:41 AM

Source: New York Review of Books p>On a recent afternoon this month, in a busy downtown Cairo street, armed men exchanged gunfire, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails, and freely wielded knives in broad daylight. The two-hour fight, which began as an attempt by some shop-owners to extort the customers of others, left eighty-nine wounded and many stores destroyed. In the new Egypt, incidents like this are becoming commonplace. On many nights I go to bed to the sound of gunfire, and each morning I leaf through newspapers anticipating more stories of crime. Stopped at gun-point; car stolen; head severed; kidnapped from school, held at ransom; armed men storm police station opening fire and killing four; prison cells unlocked—91 criminals on the loose. Many people I know have already bought guns; on street corners metal bludgeons are being sold for $3; and every week I receive an email, or SMS or Facebook message about a self-defense course, or purse-size electrocution tool, or new … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Coptic Orthodox Church, egypt, Mubarak, Politics

A Plea from a Christian Copt

January 12, 2010 3:40 PM

HT: Onet Blog By: A Coptic Christian The recent killings in Nag Hammadi have cast a dark shadow over a time that for Copts (Christian of Egypt) all over the world should be very joyous. We find ourselves unable to enjoy the glory of the Lord’s birth while our brethren in Egypt are mourning the loss of their young sons. While many of you may see this as just an unfortunate event, I see it as much more. During the past 1,358 years, the Christian of Egypt have been attacked, persecuted, scorned, enslaved, and all but annihilated by the Arab Muslim majority. The attacks in modern times have been the worst during the last ten years, starting with the attack on a church in the Egyptian village of El-Kosheh (recently renamed “City of Peace”) which killed 23 young men and women who were attending a meeting and wounding countless others. The suspects in this shooting were all indicted, but the Copts were the ones sentenced for “stirring up violence”. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Coptic Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church, religious freedom, Religious persecution

Antiochian Orthodox in Australia and New Zealand support Copts

January 12, 2010 6:45 AM

Met. Paul encourages faithful to participate in an ecumenical protest against the persecution of the Coptic Church in Egypt. To all of our Revd. Clergy in Victoria, Greetings in the Spirit of the Nativity of our Lord & his Baptism, We would like to encourage you and your faithful to express vocally your dismay and condemnation about what has been going on in Egypt against the Orthodox Copts. On Thursday January 14th 2010: Time: 9am Place: St Paul’s Anglican Cathedral (Corner of Flinders St and Swanston St). We encourage you to do your utmost to have as many of you and your faithful to participate in the demonstration. Asking the Holy Spirit to be with all of you. In the appearing God. +Paul Letter from Victorian Council of Churches below. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Observer Tagged With: Abp Paul of Australia, Coptic Orthodox Church, Ecumenical, muslim persecution, Orthodox Church, religious freedom