Tag: Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod

Coptic Holy Synod Session – May 28, 2015

by David Bebawy, posted in Church News, Coptic, Coptic News, News
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On Thursday, May 28, 2015, the Coptic Holy Synod convened with the presence of 115 members of the distinguished metropolitans and bishops, and was presided over by H.H. Pope Tawadros II and H.G. Bishop Rafeal, the Secretary of the Holy Synod.

Holy Synod Decrees – May 28, 2015

  1. Recognizing The Monastery of the Virgin Mary & Archangel Michael for nuns in Dairut.
  2. An official letter to His Holiness requesting the approval for each novice to take the monastic vow must be submitted by the Abbot of the monastery.
  3. A “Monastery Center” is an administrative and lodging center for monks and nuns, with certain health or social conditions. The center should not get involved in any ecclesiastic services or pastoral care except the divine liturgy.
  4. Establishing a center for a monastery requires approval and written permission from His Holiness the Pope and/or the Bishop of the Diocese as to where the center will be established. Abbotts are to rectify situations that contradict this decision.
  5. Churches are obligated to follow the usual rituals of the Resurrection Re-enacting without the use of any special effects of sound, light, 3D, special theatrical effects or fog, etc.
  6. Lately there has been spreading of writings attributed directly or indirectly to His Holiness Pope Cyril VI, who was canonized by our church during the Holy Synod’s assembly in June 2013. In these books, the writer uses phrases like:  “I partook of the Holy Sacrament before the creation of the world;” and “not by repentance or by good deeds we reach the Kingdom” also “Keeping the commandments does not lead to salvation;” and “Call on Lord Jesus and do not call St. Mary;” as well as “We will not be rewarded for good deeds and will not be punished for evil deeds.” These statements and what they represent can never be said, explained or endorsed by the departed Saint and Pope.  It is for this we caution against such writings and enforce banning its distribution in the libraries of our churches and monasteries.

Recommendations of the Holy Synod Committees, May 2015

Committee of Public Relations:

  1. Establishing branches for “Bayt Al A’ela Al Misriya” (Home of the Egyptian Family) in each diocese.
  2. Encouraging the establishment of a financial support fund for Crisis management.
  3. Establishing a Committee for Public Relations in each diocese.

Committee of Family Affairs:

  1. Encourage couples considering marriage to attend a course in family counseling before marriage.

Committee of Pastoral Care and Service:

  1. Review the regulations of chanters and celibate consecration for a vote next November.

Committee of Media and Information:

  1. His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy is selected as the secretary of the Satellite Channels Committee.
  2. Establishing a subcommittee for printed and electronic Media. His Grace Bishop Thomas is selected as its secretary.

Committee of Faith, Education and Legislation:

  1. To collaborate with the committee of the Churches Abroad to produce specialized and extensively researched publications to address and answer current questions among our youth in Egypt and abroad.

Committee of the Churches Abroad:

  1. To highlight the identity of the Coptic Orthodox Church in all publications, documents, releases and television programs and focus on the attribute “Coptic”, emphasizing its title of “Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria”

Other Recommendations:

  1. To elect the Holy Synod Secretariat Committee during the Holy Synod session convening in May 2016. It has been decided that the Holy Synod of the Coptic Church convenes once every year before the Feast of Pentecost and the seminar for the bishops takes place once a year before the Nativity fast.

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The Divine Liturgy of the Glorious Feast of the Nativity 2015

by David Bebawy, posted in Church News, Coptic, Coptic News, News, Personal News, Religion, Video

The Divine Liturgy for The Glorious Feast of the Nativity as celebrated by H.H. Pope Tawadros II that will take place in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Al Abbasiya, Cairo, Egypt on January 6, 2015 .

CTV Coverage of The Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Glorious Nativity 2015

2015 Papal Message on the Glorious Feast of the Nativity

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

I congratulate you, my beloved, for the Glorious Nativity feast and beginning the New Year of 2015. I hope you to have a new year full of blessings, goodness, love, joy and peace. In fact, I am so happy to communicate with you through this message—to all the beloved at every Coptic Orthodox Church all over the world, every family, all youth, all servants, the board of the church, all children, and all brethren.

When God created humanity, He intended them to be in continuous communication. He wanted them to be the crown of creation. After creating all things first, He created the King of all creation on earth. Man, having the breath of God, was the great creation of God. But sin came and humiliated him and cast him away from what God planned for him. Since the sin of Adam and Eve, our first parents, humanity came into struggle with all aspects of sin in their lives. There are three main weaknesses that dwelled in humanity as a result of original sin.

The first is Dominance by the Ego. The ego of the human being became his own god or idol. Man began to worship his ego along with power, desires, and all that resulted therefrom. When we look to the world, we find that the dominance by the ego takes various forms. Man’s ego became his god.

The second weakness that human beings fell into is the Abuse of Nature and Each Other. Thereafter, wars, disputes, and violence entered the world through this sin. We are reminded of early humanity—the story of Abel the righteous, who was killed by his brother Cain, despite the minimal number of humans alive at this time.

The third debility is the Absence of the Spirit of Joy, which was replaced by fear. Thus, man became a fearful being. Humans worry about everything, even themselves. Sometimes humans fear each other, animals, insects, even microorganisms. They dread nature, such as earthquakes and volcanos. They are apprehensive under certain circumstances and various events. They even are anxious about different stages of their lives—their childhood, adolescence, and youth. When humans reach adulthood and form families and have children, they still remain frightful.

Sin existed in these three forms of weakness—dominance by the ego, widespread violence, and consuming fear.

But God willed to heal and renew humanity through His birth and incarnation. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ was the remedy for these three weaknesses. The angels sang the following song on the day of His glorious birth, which presented three therapies for three infirmities. The angels sang this song which was pleasing to the whole earth, saying: “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, and goodwill toward men” (Luke 2:14).

The three remedies are:

  1. The glory of God in the highest, which is the ideal cure for egoism.
  2. Peace on earth, which is the antidote for the violence that prevailed in the world.
  3. The third solution is goodwill (joy) toward men.

The spirit of joy overcomes any fear in the lives of human beings.

Human beings’ self-focus made them forget about God and praising Him. Humans also forgot that communication with God is what fulfills them, and instead worshiped their own egos. Man began to worship technology. Through the development various devices and social networks, the world has become so small and humans rely on themselves instead of God. Now comes the glorious Nativity of Christ to remind us that God’s glory is “in the highest.” We cannot treat our infirmities unless we communicate with God who created us. This communication should be through a sound spiritual life with all its various aspects.

The second weakness—widespread violence—should be treated by making peace, as mentioned in the Beatitudes. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9). Making peace is the most difficult task on the face of the earth. Blessed is the man who makes peace in his life, community, country, and with others.

The third malady—fear—which became ingrained in humanity cannot be overcome except by great joy. This joy results from the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ for the sake of humanity. When the angel appeared, he said: “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people” (Luke 2:10). This great joy enables the removal of fear from the life of humanity. There is a thin line in the New Testament during the time of our Lord Jesus Christ’s incarnation. This thin line is the line of joy that overcomes every fear in the life of humanity. This great joy became the measure of a healthy spiritual life for human beings. Humans are unable to rejoice and conquer fear unless they become closer to God. As long as humans are in a state of estrangement, they are unable to feel true joy continuously.

The song of the angels on the day of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ is the ideal remedy for these three weaknesses in the life of humanity. The weakness of egoism is overcome and treated by praising the Lord. When you praise the Lord in your spiritual life and fill your heart with His fear, you will be able to control your ego and not be overcome by it. When you make peace in your family, your service, your work, your church, and in your community, you can eliminate violence. When you are filled with the spirit of true internal joy, this joy will overcome all these weaknesses. And through repentance, every sin will be cast out.

May the blessing of the glorious Nativity be with you all, with the Church and Her blessed congregation, all Her servants, children, and youth, and with all who continuously labor in serving the vineyard of the Lord. I convey to you the greetings of the Mother Church in Egypt represented by: Her Fathers the Metropolitans and Bishops, the fathers the priests, the fathers the monks, the mothers the nuns, the deacons and the entire congregation from the blessed and ever-protected land of Egypt. I congratulate all my beloved everywhere. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone.

Glory be to God now and forever. Amen.

— Tawadros II

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The Divine Liturgy of the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection 2014

by David Bebawy, posted in Church News, Coptic, Coptic News, News, Personal News, Religion, Video

The Divine Liturgy for The Glorious Feast of the Resurrection as celebrated by H.H. Pope Tawadros II that will take place in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Al Abbasiya, Cairo, Egypt on April 9, 2014 .

CTV Coverage of The Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection 2014

2014 Papal Message on the Glorious Feast of the Resurrection

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen.

Ekhristos Anisti, Alithos Anisti. Christ is Risen, Indeed He is Risen

I congratulate you my beloved with the Glorious Resurrection Feast that is the crown of our feasts and joy. Christ’s Resurrection is the main foundation in our Christianity, our Church, our evangelism and our daily life. Christ’s Resurrection is considered everything to us. The Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is considered our new life that we can live in.
In Christ’s Resurrection, we have three main aspects.

(1) Before Crucifixion and Resurrection, Our Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher and a shepherd
(2) During Crucifixion until Resurrection, He was a reconciliator and a liberator
(3) After Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ was present and became a companion to every man. How?

Before Crucifixion and Resurrection, our Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher. He taught the multitude and individuals. He used all available means at that time. He gave sermons, interviews, and meetings. He performed miracles and gave many various and different parables. In His service, He met all people from all levels; He met people from upper classes in society and others from lower classes in the community. He met great multitudes and individuals, in different dialogues. He met Zacchaeus at the tree and the Samaritan woman at the well. At night, He met with Nicodemos. Teaching was the starting point as well as to influence change. before Crucifixion, our Lord Jesus Christ was a teacher and a shepherd.

From the time of Crucifixion until the Resurrection, Christ was a reconciliator and a liberator for mankind. Man looks for freedom at all times. Freedom became desirable for mankind. Man looks for it in any form, as it takes many forms, colors and kinds. There is social freedom, civil freedom, family freedom, religious freedom, etc. But the true freedom is the freedom that comes from inside a man, the freedom from the sin. Sin is the only disaster of this world as said St. John Chrysostom. Freedom from the sin is gained only through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ ascended to the cross specifically to give us this freedom. Through the cross, He gave us the freedom from sins that He carried. We were granted forgiveness of sins and became free when we were forgiven. The cross became the key for wiping out the sin of man. “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36)

The true freedom is the freedom of man from the sin. That is why the cross became the reconciliator and the liberator of man. Man was reconciled with God and with the Resurrection, man started the new covenant with God.

After Crucifixion and Resurrection, Christ became a companion to everyone. After His Resurrection, Christ appeared to individuals like Mary Magdalene, then to the two disciples of Emmaus. Then to the disciples without Thomas, then to them with Thomas with them, then to others, etc. The appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ during the forty days after His Resurrection meant that Christ was present there. He also appeared during catching the 153 fishes for both St. Peter and St. John. The appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ meant His presence.

And after His Ascension to the heavens, after the 40 days of His Resurrection, He remained a companion to mankind. If you read the last verse of the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the Lord says: “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20). Christ is present and a companion to man. He is now present and walks with everyone all times. He knows the life of everyone and guides it. That is why we pray in the third hour of the Agpeya and say: “Blessed is the Lord day by day. He prepares our way, for He is God of our salvation.” Christ walks with man day after day; He “prepares” means that He makes it in best condition. As He is our God of our salvation, He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:4)

This is the new glorious Resurrection, and these are the fruits we get from the Cross and Resurrection. He says: “In the world you will have tribulation…” This tribulation could be our cross that we should carry. “…but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33). This “Overcoming” is the new Resurrection He grants to every man.

I congratulate you for the Glorious Resurrection Feast. I hope for all our churches, families, youths, children everywhere to rejoice with the Glorious Resurrection.

It is so blessed to have the Glorious Resurrection feast to be at the same day for all Christians at the whole world. This is a good starting point for all Christians, in hope of unifying our feasts, starting with the Feast of the Glorious Resurrection to be in one date in the whole world. We pray for this, and we work for this. May the Lord fulfill His work. May the resurrected Christ bless you. And bless your lives, works, services, and all that is in your hands. May the Lord keep you in His holy Name. To Whom is all glory and blessing, from now and forever. Amen.

— Tawadros II

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