Tag: Coptic Orthodox Holy Synod

The Departure of H.H. Pope Shenouda III

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

Our beloved Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, has departed to the Paradise of Joy. His Holiness reigned over the See of St. Mark from November 14, 1971 to March 17, 2012. We pray for the soul of our blessed and honored father Pope Shenouda III that the Lord God may repose it in the bosom of our holy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Paradise of Joy. We also ask and pray that God may comfort us all and strengthen His Coptic Church. We beseech our Lord to accept the prayer’s of His Holiness on our behalf.

The Burial of H.H. Pope Shenouda III in his resting place in St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi El Natroun

Tens of Thousands trying to take the Blessing of the Holy Body while the Funeral Caravan Arrives at St. Bishoy Monastery

Awaiting the arrival of the holy body of H.H. Pope Shenouda III for his Burial

The Funeral Caravan Departs from the Cathedral Grounds En Route to St. Bishoy Monastery

A Message left from His Holiness Pope Shenouda III for his Congregation following his Departure.

This is an exposition read during the funeral service of the father patriarch.  It is written in the first person of the reposed patriarch.  The words are words from His Holiness Pope Shenouda talking to his children. These are words of comfort and condolences to you all.

I am your father and teacher, all of you my children,listen to my commandments, for I ask you my beloved children, preserve and look after the faith of the Holy Trinity.

I ask my beloved children, love one another with a true love.

I ask you my beloved, do good with all humanity.

I ask my beloved children, do not let the world deceive you.

I ask you my beloved children, do not fall short or “be not eager” in the service of the Lord.

I ask you my beloved children, to pray without ceasing and tirelessly.

I ask you o my beloved children, preserve your tongues from causing any division.

I ask of you my beloved children, to preserve the Holy Baptism that was granted to you.

I ask of you my beloved children, preserve your body pure for the Lord.

I ask of you my beloved children, do not ever lamp weaken without light.

I ask of you my beloved children, preserve the commandments that God gave to you.

I ask of you my beloved children, that the fear of God be within you.

God is witness, my beloved children, that I did not keep any of God’s words from away you…that I never ever slept my children, and be blamed by any one of you…that if you preserve and keep what I have told you, you will crush the head of the serpent and dragon. So hence, if you preserve and keep what I have said to you, you will eat of the goodness of the earth. So hence, if you preserve and keep what I have said to you, the shinning Cherubim will guard you. So hence, if you preserve and keep what I have said to you, you will never lack of the Heavenly gifts.

I ask of you my beloved children, to ask of Christ for my soul, that it may have comfort in front of Him, and do not count my short falls, unknowingly and unwillingly. (Then he directs his talks to the Bishops, clergy and priests)

I ask for your love and I plead to your reverence, to absolve me from everyone. And now, I am far from you and left you, and I cannot see your faces. And now I ask of you all, that you exhaust yourselves in prayers for me, remembrance in the Holy Liturgies, that my Master may accept me to Him, and forgive me.

And I ask Christ, the Great Shepherds of Shepherds, that he may elect for you a righteous shepherd according to His Will and heart, that he may shepherd you and your matters and watch for the salvation of your souls.

The Funeral Service for H.H. Pope Shenouda III prayed in St. Mark Cathedral in El Abassiya, Cairo Egypt

The Funeral Liturgy for the repose of H.H. Pope Shenouda III celebrated by H.E. Metropolitan Pachomious

The Liturgy of the Feast of the Cross with the reposed H.H. Pope Shenouda III enthroned celebrated by H.E. Metropolitan Wissa

Holy Synod Session June 2009

by David Bebawy, posted in Church News, Coptic, Coptic News, News

The first picture of the Holy Synod with His Holiness Pope Tawadros

Only 3 months late, I have just now received word of the resolutions and decrees of the past Holy Synod Session which convened on June 6, 2009.  Below is a news post from the Lacopts.org website with a brief summary of the resolutions.

2009 Resolutions of the Holy Synod

On June 6, 2009, the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church convened on the Glorious Feast of Pentecost to discuss several important issues in the life of the church and its faithful.

The attached file, compiled by Fr. Youhanna Mouris, contains an explanation of all of the Holy Synod’s decrees in Arabic and English.

Decrees of the Holy Synod 2009_E&A (PDF)

English Text of the Summary

The Holy Synod headed by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III in its session on June 6, 2009. agreed on the recommendations of the following Commissions:

Commission on Faith and Education

  1. Banning all closed and private meetings at any Coptic Orthodox Church as these meetings could be used to disseminate false teachings against the Orthodox faith.
  2. Banning spiritual or educational meetings about faith or Bible study or the like at home, except with a written permission that is clear and of specific objective from HG the Bishop of the diocese.
  3. His Holiness the Pope asked that, their Grace the Bishops are warned against ordaining priests without ascertaining their sound Orthodox faith and ensuring that they are not affected by the Protestant and Pentecostal infiltration attempts.
  4. Activating and expanding of the membership all the disciplines of the Religious Books’ Audit Committee that were previously approved and formed by the Holy Synod, and the announcement of that in various ways in order to limit the spread of books that are not sound in terms of the education of the Christian Orthodox faith.
  5. The film “Christ and the other” by Fayez Ghali has been reviewed and found that it does not agree with the texts of Bible and our Orthodox faith and it includes fictional and inappropriate scenes that are not consistent with the teachings of Christ and the texts of the Bible. These matters have been reported to the Oversight Committee on the Artistic Works. The Commission on Faith, Education and Legislation stresses the importance of the follow-up on this matter, in order to stop any material that offends the person of Jesus Christ and the Holy Family, as well as the sacred texts of the Bible and Christian teachings.

Commission on the Dioceses’ Affairs

  1. Regarding the medical examination before marriage: Do not bring up the examination of semen for young people or the external genital examination of the girls or anything that could cause embarrassment to both parties.

Commission on the Monasteries’ Affairs

  1. Recognition of Anba Shenouda Monastery of Sydney – Australia
  2. Recognition of Anba Antonios Monastery of Melbourne, Victoria – Australia Commission on Satellite Channels 1. Their Grace the Bishops and Their Reverent the Priests to decline the participation in non- Orthodox Christian channels and those that are not subject to the supervision of the church.

Commission on Rituals’ Affairs

  1. Anyone of priesthood ranks is forbidden to pray special prayers aloud during the holy liturgy, except as indicated in the audible and inaudible liturgy prayers.
  2. Regarding the Synaxarium on The Assumption of the Body of the Holy Virgin St. Mary:

Delete the following lines from the currently used Synaxarium:

[They saw her sitting on the right hand of her Son and her Lord, surrounded by the angelic Host, as David prophesied and said, “At your right hand stands the queen.” (Psalm 45:9)].

Also, delete the following text:

[She spent twelve years of them in the temple, thirty years in the house of the righteous St. Joseph, and fourteen years in the care of St. John the Evangelist, as the Lord commanded her saying, “Woman behold your Son,” and to St. John, “Behold your Mother.”]

And replace it with the sentence: “St. Mary’s life on earth was sixty years”.

Add the underlined words in the following text:

“St. Thomas was absent at the time of St. Mary’s departure, but he came after the burial. On his way back from India to Jerusalem, St. Thomas saw in a vision angels carrying St. Mary’s pure body and ascending with it to heaven.”

  1. Delete the insults against Pope Theophilos (23), and St. Epiphanius the Archbishop of Cyprus and against Queen Odoxia from the book of “Defnar”.
  2. Correct as stated in the issuance in the “A Guide to (Dallal) the Holy Week” (the issuance of Anba Takla Church, the St. Mina Monastery, and St. George Church in Sporting, and others) regarding Isaiah 53: 10, in the prophecies of the Eleventh Hour of the Great Thursday and Sixth Hour of the Great Friday, as follows: “the Lord wanted to heal Him of the wounds and if you offer yourself a sacrifice for sin you will see a harvest of many blessings” Following is the recommended text to be published in the Dallal: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand” (Isaiah 53: 10).
  3. If the feast of the Entry of Jesus Christ into the land of Egypt comes during the Holy Fifty Days, the readings of the Holy Fifty Days are read as usual, the responses of both Resurrection and Entry of Christ into the land of Egypt are chanted, and that this blessed feast is referred to in the sermon.
  4. Regarding the Prostration Prayers, the first Prostration Prayer is prayed in joyful tune; the second prayer starts in joyful tune then turns to annual tune starting with the gospel response; the third prayers is prayed in annual tune.