The Monks at St Catherine Monastery in the Sinai are Well

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Χριστός Ανέστη! Christ is risen!

In response to all the friends who’ve written asking after our brothers, the monks in Sinai, glory to God, they’re all well. Draconian security measures are in force throughout the area, but pilgrims are still able to come and go. There are already many checkpoints on the paved roads leading to the monastery. They’ve been there decades, mainly to check ID’s, watch for narcotics, etc. Now, there’s added security, and the local Bedouin, who are fervent supporters of the monks, are assisting. As the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness doesn’t overcome it, may the joy of this week of peace and brightness remain untouched in the hearts of the faithful!

Αληθώς Ανέστη! He is risen, indeed!

21 April 2017

Friends of Mount Sinai Monastery

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Hizbullah Condemned the ISIS Massacre of Egyptian Christians

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Hizbullah urged Muslims to unite in order to protect Christians from violence. Hizbullah, which the USA considers a terrorist organisation, released a statement condemning yesterday’s terrorist atrocities in Egypt that slaughtered scores of Christians on Palm Sunday. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks. The statement read (and here):

The continuous and escalating killing carried out by criminal gangs in the name of religion is one of the greatest catastrophes our Ummah (global Islamic world community) has seen. This crime is part of a large scheme to displace Christians from the Sinai Peninsula and other areas across Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, paving the way for sectarian and ethnic federalisation in favour of the Zionist entity.

Hizbullah forms part of the so-called 4+1 coalition fighting Salafi/Wahhabi terrorism. Other members of the coalition include Russia, Iran, Syria, and Iraq. It remains a source of shock for many that the USA condemns Hizbullah in spite of its role in the fight against ISIS and al-Qaeda as well as their support of Christians throughout the wider Arab and Islamic world.

10 April 2017

Adam Garrie

The Duran

http://theduran.com/hezbollah-condemns-the-isis-massacre-of-egyptian-christians/

ISIS Gunmen Attack Police Checkpoint Near Historic St Catherine Monastery in Egypt

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One of the world’s most important Christian sites came under attack. The Monastery of St Catherine (formally, the Sacred Monastery of the God-Trodden Mt Sinai), built over 1,500 years ago, is one of Christianity’s holiest sites. Gunmen opened fire on an Egyptian police checkpoint near the monastery, killing one policeman and wounding four others. Then, the gunmen retreated; they didn’t reach the heavily-fortified monastery compound guarded by Egyptian police and security forces. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack via its news agency.

The attack on the monastery comes just over a week after suicide bombers attacked two Coptic Orthodox churches in the Nile Delta city of Tanta and the coastal city of Alexandria, killing 45 people on Palm Sunday. According to officials, the gunmen fired from an elevated hilltop overlooking the police checkpoint just outside the monastery, which is located in a remote mountainous desert area in the South Sinai Governate, where, according to scripture, God spoke to the prophet Moses from a burning bush. The Greek Orthodox monastery was a popular destination, primarily for Orthodox Christian pilgrims, but Egypt closed off public access to it for security reasons in 2015, leaving only the monks and clergy inside the compound.

According to Orthodox Christian history, in the early 4th century, St Eleni, mother of St Konstantinos the Great, built the Chapel of the Burning Bush at the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the miracle. The fortified walls were built around the chapel by the Roman Emperor Justinian (who also commissioned the Cathedral of the Holy Wisdom of God (Agia Sofia/St Sophia)) starting in 527. Justinian’s workers completed the Church of the Transfiguration in the 560s, around the time of his death. In 2002, UNESCO declared the area around St Catherine Monastery a World Heritage Site because of Mt Sinai’s importance to three major world religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), the natural environment of the area, and the historic architecture and art at St Catherine Monastery.

18 April 2017

Pappas Post

http://www.pappaspost.com/isis-gunmen-attack-historic-st-catherine-greek-orthodox-monastery-egypt/

Statement on the Martyrdom of Christians on Hosanna Sunday in Egypt

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With palms in their hands, hymns on their lips, and peace in their hearts, New Martyrs were ushered from their churches in Alexandria and Tanta into the Paradise of Joy on Hosanna Sunday, the day and feast of the Lord.

All Christians… know that you are a light in the world, a source of good, and a means for peace. The whole world is under siege by an ideology of hatred… a cancer of the conscience. The same hands that skilfully designed weapons of harm could’ve discovered tools for a cure. This violent act against Christians is because evil can’t coexist with good, darkness can’t overcome light, and hatred can’t befriend peace, but death can’t separate us from God.

He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord has spoken it.

Prophecy of Isaias 25.8

All our churches and noble citizens throughout the world are praying for the peace and safety of all persecuted Christians, Confessors, and Martyrs. Holy Week is a time devoted to the Lord’s Passion. At all times, the Lord loved. Even when afflicted and crucified, He loved. This is a time for prayer for the entire world. We remain in prayer for the safety of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, all the Confessors of the Christian faith, the families of the Martyrs, and all the injured victims. On behalf of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States, I offer our deepest condolences to everyone afflicted by this sad day in Egyptian history.

+Bishop Youssef

Ruling Hierarch

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

10 April 2017

Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

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