Merry Christmas to everyone!
Coptic Churches all over the world celebrated Christmas under tight security. In Egypt, 70,000 policemen, armored trucks, metal barricades, metal detectors were used to protect Coptic churches across the country. In Europe, Australia, Canada, and the United States law enforcement officials were on high alert and issued special security measures for Coptic churches. In Jersey City, we had increased police patrols, police officers posted outside our church, no cars allowed to park in front of the church, bomb sniffing dogs, etc…
I thank God that no attacks were committed on Copts or Coptic Churches. I thank, we must all thank, the honorable members of all our respective law enforcement branches. They made us feel safe, and they kept us safe. We owe them all a debt of gratitude. The world was watching the Coptic situation over these last few days. Many news articles have been posted and many interviews conducted, this has shown us, the Coptic people, that the world cares and is watching. I also thank the news reporters, editors, journalists, etc… for taking an intrest in the plight of the Coptic people and continued coverage of the events.
Here are some of the news reports and video interviews that took place in our local churches:
NYTimes @ St. George Coptic Church in Brooklyn, NY – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/08/nyregion/08coptic.html?src=twrhp
NY1 @ Archangel Michael & St. Mina Coptic Church in Staten Island, NY – http://statenisland.ny1.com/content/top_stories/131857/coptic-observers-attend-guarded-service-on-staten-island
NorthJersey.com @ St. Mary & St. Mercurius Coptic Church in Belleville, New Jersey – http://www.northjersey.com/news/113089744_Extra_security_for_Orthodox_Christmas_celebrants.html
VOANews @ St. Mark Coptic Church in Fairfax, Virginia – http://www.voanews.com/english/news/religion/Virginia-Coptic-Church-Marks-Christmas-Eve-Amid-Tight-Security-113093789.html
VOANews @ St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Church in Jersey City, NJ