The Patriarchate of Alexandria and Coptic officials have labelled same-sex blessings as heresy.

The Holy Synod of the ancient Coptic Orthodox Church, based in Egypt, announced the suspension on March 7.

"After consulting with the sister churches of the Eastern Orthodox family" they wrote, "it was decided to suspend the theological dialogue with the Catholic Church, reevaluate the results achieved by the dialogue from its beginning 20 years ago, and establish new standards and mechanisms for the dialogue to proceed in the future."

The Vatican's publication of "Fiducia supplicans" was the catalyst for this decision. The document addressed blessings for couples in "irregular situations" including same-sex relationships.

"We cannot recognise that two people of the same sex form a couple" an aide to Pope Tawadros II (pictured with Pope Francis) told La Croix.

"The text is unacceptable, as is the explanation later provided by the Vatican. Pope Francis wanted to please Europeans but, for us, it is a huge heresy" the aide pointed out.

"The Bible in both Testaments condemns, warns against, and prohibits sexual practices between two people of the same sex" asserted the Orthodox Coptic bishops.

Severe setback

The suspension of dialogue is considered a severe setback in relations between Rome and Alexandria. It follows a historic public audience between Pope Tawadros II and Pope Francis less than a year ago.

"Pope Tawadros II greatly appreciates Pope Francis" said Rafic Greiche, a former spokesman for the Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt. "So far, he has managed to appease bishops opposed to any reconciliation with Catholics. It will now be much more difficult in the face of a Synod that will oppose any further progress" the priest said.

While ecumenical prayer initiatives remain unaffected, the halt in dialogue could have broader implications. Many within the Coptic hierarchy have long opposed unity with the Catholic Church. Fiducia supplicans has reignited the deep-seated conflicts.

The Coptic Orthodox Church has made strides towards unity with Rome. However, these recent developments mark a significant setback in the relationship between the two churches.

Sources

Le Croix International

Catholic News Agency

CathNews New Zealand

Bishop Epiphanius, 64, the Coptic abbot of an Egyptian monastery about 100 kilometres from Cairo, was found dead at the end of last month.

Police say Epiphanius had been struck with a sharp instrument which had left him with fractures in the back of his skull.

A former monk, Wael Saad, who was known as Isaiah, confessed to using an iron bar to bludgeon the bishop.

Saad was being investigated by the bishop for violating rules of monasticism.

A second monk is also in custody and being investigated. The Egyptian state-run MENA news agency identified the 33-year-old monk by his monastic name, Valtos, and said he is under police guard after an attempted suicide.

Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria's Coptic Orthodox Church met Saad's brother on Tuesday and has also spoken on the phone to Saad's mother.

Tawadros said the crime would not impact on Saad's brother, who is also a monk in Upper Egypt. He explained Wael Saad's wrongdoing should not reflect on the family who had nothing to do with the crime.

According to Vatican News, Epiphanius was a key figure in the modern history of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He lived "intense spiritual relationships" with his friends and members of the monastic communities of the Catholic Church.

Besides having a degree in medicine, Epiphanius was a researcher and scholar. He took part in the 10th international Conference on Coptic studies in Rome in 2012 and, in 2013, was elected Abbot by the 100 monks of the Monastery of Saint Macarius.

Source

• Vatican News
• Aleteia
• Egypt Independent
• Image:Egypt Today
  

Bishop Angaelos says he grieves for those who have died and for those who mourn them.

He also grieves for the young men who see it as "not only justifiable, but glorious, to take the lives of others".

God loves them - but he placed them on earth for greater things than terrorism, he says.

Recent terrorist attacks have killed dozens of people in England, Egypt and the Philippines.

In a statement that directly addresses terrorists, Angaelos says:

"You are loved. The violent and deadly crimes you perpetrate are abhorrent and detestable, but YOU are loved.

You are loved by God, your Creator, for He created you in His Image and according to His Likeness, and placed you on this earth for much greater things, according to His plan for all humankind.

You are loved by me and millions like me, not because of what you do, but what you are capable of as that wonderful creation of God, Who has created us with a shared humanity.

You are loved by me and millions like me because I, and we, believe in transformation."

Angaelos went on to explain how "transformation" can change anyone's life, pointing out that even the lives of some of those who persecuted Jesus were changed by his death and resurrection.

Source

• Catholic Herald
• Fox News
• Image: Urban Christian News

At each corner of the A$90 million development, four steel boxes containing gospels have been lowered into the ground.

In the centre, a time capsule was buried.

It contained the Bible, a wooden cross, money, the newspaper of the day and a declaration of the building's purpose and names of the clergy present.

"This is a tradition going back to the Scriptures," the head of the diocese of Melbourne, Bishop Suriel, said.

"We wanted to put those foundations there so that if a long time from now this building is ever knocked down people will know its significance, they will know it was a Coptic site."

The 44-storey Eporo Tower is a collaboration between the Coptic Orthodox Church and Singaporean investment company Ho Bee.

It is due to be completed at the end of next year.

The lower levels of the tower will include a place of worship for the church's 20,000 Victorian followers, a hall, classrooms and campus for its theological college.

The building's 307 one and two-bedroom apartments have been sold.

Fr Mark Attalla, who scoured the city for a suitable site, said the development was aimed at building a community around the parish.

"We wanted to have a church within a community; the bottom floor being commercial, the next three and a half floors spiritual and the rest residential," he said.

Bishop Suriel said he believed other churches would be watching the mixed-use development model with interest.

The blade-like high-rise will have classic finishes including six five-metre high stained-glass windows facing the street and a Coptic cross motif adorning the cladding of the tower.

The city block where the development is being built was once home to a gay sauna for more than three decades.

Sources

• Sydney Morning Herald
• Image: Twitter

Bishop Tawadrous of Beheira was chosen on November 4 — his 60th birthday — to be the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa. The ceremony took place during a liturgical service in St Mark's Cathedral, Cairo.

None of the three candidates in the ballot was present, each spending the evening in a different monastery.

Bishop Tawadrous will be enthroned on November 18 as Pope Theodoros II.

"He is a very spiritual man and is known to not like the limelight, but we couldn't be happier," the president of the United States Association of Copts, Michael Meunier, told Vatican Radio. "Everybody wanted a leader who could unite Egypt's Christians in these very difficult times, a man of dialogue, and I believe he can do this."

Emad Gad, a political analyst at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and a member of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, said: "We think that he will be a wise man, he will be moderate, and he will try to work towards an Egyptian agenda. He will try to renew the role of the church and concentrate on the spiritual, not political aspects."

Gad said the timing of the papal selection was critical in the context of anxiety among Christians over their place in Egypt.

He predicted the new pope would face problems in areas like the Constituent Assembly (on which the Coptic Orthodox have been arguing for better representation of minorities); the kidnapping of Christian girls by radical Muslims; the issue of religious conversions; and the difficulty of obtaining permission to build a church.

"It depends on how [President Mohamed] Morsy will treat him," he said. "If [Morsy] tries to approach it from an Islamic point of view, you can expect…clashes between the state and the church."

Sources:

Independent Catholic News

The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre UK

Daily News, Egypt

Image: Daily News, Egypt