Egyptian State Security Forces Demolish Church Services Building

The Egyptian State Security forces attacked and demolished on 26/04/09 at 7.30 am the services building belonging to the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Masrah Matrouh, assaulting the Coptic priests and Coptic women and men. More than 1000 Copts have surrounded the remains of the demolished building, ready for martyrdom, said a church member.  more....  

Working on Coptic archives

"The project also is trying to adjust the incorrect restoration implemented during the 'era of the Martyrs' in about 1600, when monks glued the manuscripts to sheets of paper in an attempt to support them. Regretfully, however, this treatment led to the deterioration of some parts of the manuscripts, while some others were lost in the process.  more....

Swine flu crisis: Pope Shenouda says Copts do not eat pork

Pope Shenouda III, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox in Egypt on Thursday was quoted as saying that the vast majority of Copts do not eat pork meat. According to him, most of the swine flesh in Egypt is being consumed by non-Muslims tourists. Pope Shenouda added that, in any case, health experts concluded that the consumption of pork meat is not related to the infection of the swine flu virus.   more....

Belarus Orthodox Church marks 'Radunitsa' (Day of Rejoicing) to commemorate the departed

Radunitsa ("Day of Rejoicing") is a holiday in the Orthodox Church which falls on the Monday or (more commonly) Tuesday of Saint Thomas Week—eight or nine days, respectively, after Pascha (Easter). The day is a general memorial for the departed.   more....

Benedict XVI speaks on Patriarch Germanus of Constantinople

These people discredit themselves by opening their mouths and speaking ill of the Church. They have long accused the Patriarchs of the Coptic Orthodox Church of all sorts of charges. This one condemns them as terrorists," Anba Basanti, Archbishop of Helwan and Maasara, proclaims, protesting vigorously. "The Patriarchs were not fanatics," he told Al-Ahram Weekly.  more....

Eager to Study the Early Church

When theologian George Kalantzis returned to the Wheaton College campus last fall after spending the summer in the Holy Land, he had a very pleasant surprise. While he was out of the country, two donors had approached the college administration about funding a program that would encourage interaction between Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism over their mutual legacy from the early church.   more....

Primate of the Orthodox Church in America prays in Valaam where he took monastic vows

Bishop Pankraty of Troitsk, Abbot of the Transfiguration Monastery, welcomed Metropolitan Jonah and priest travelling with him. With the bells ringing, the delegation proceeded to the lower church of the cathedral where they prayed to the founders of the monastery and venerated their holy relics, the Moscow Patriarchate official web site has reported.   more....