NAACCS 2009 & FTFT!

H.H. Pope Shenouda III, Pope & Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church

H.H. Pope Shenouda III presided over the North American Annual Coptic Clergy Seminar (NAACCS) which was held in Holy Virgin Mary’s Spiritual Vineyard of Charlton, MA from Monday, September 14, 2009 through Wednesday, September 16, 2009. There were 14 bishops and over 220 priests from the United States & Canada in attendance. Among the bishops in attendance where: H.G. Bishop Pisenti (Helwan), H.G. Bishop Botros (Patmos), H.G. Bishop Serapion (Los Angles), H.G. Bishop Youssef (Southern), H.G. Bishop Suriel (Melbourne), H.G. Bishop Agathon (Brazil), H.G. Bishop Youssef (Bolivia), H.G. Bishop Reweis (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Makarious (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Youannis (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Youhanna (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop Armia (General Bishop), H.G. Bishop David (General Bishop), and H.G. Bishop Michael (General Bishop).  The Seminar consisted of spiritual words of wisdom delivered by H.H. Pope Shenouda III and Their Graces the Bishops to the Reverend Fathers, as well as Question & Answer sessions.

On Tuesday morning, September 15, 2009, H.H. along with Their Graces the Bishop and Reverend Fathers travelled to Nashua, New Hampshire to consecrate the Coptic Orthodox Church of Virgin Mary & Archangel Michael (41 Chandler St, Nashua, NH 03064-2816). After consecrating the church H.H. and the clergy returned to the vineyard to continue their seminar.

On Tuesday evening, H.H. received and welcomed FTFT! (First Timothy Four: Twelve!), a faith-based church-supervised youth-managed missionary service organization. FTFT! presented to H.H., and all the clergy in attendance their origin, history, and goals.  FTFT! explained that they are answering H.H.’ call for missionary service in the United States.  They are serving with the spiritual goal of bringing people to Christ.  They serve the neediest of our Lord’s people such as those who are hungry, homeless, sick, elderly, lonely, and imprisoned both Copts and non-Copts. H.H. was pleased with the group’s presentation, he blessed and encouraged them.  H.H. distributed gifts to the presenters and took a group picture with them. H.G. Bishop David (Overseer of FTFT!) suggested that any priest interested in getting their local youth involved in such a service could contact FTFT! for help getting started.

To read more about the Seminar please visit:

• http://www.telegram.com/article/20090917/NEWS/909170670/1101

To learn more about FTFT! please visit:

• http://www.ftftmission.org/

Holy Synod Session June 2009

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.”

3. Delete the insults against Pope Theophilos (23), and St. Epiphanius the Archbishop of Cyprus and against Queen Odoxia from the book of “Defnar”.
4. 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).
5. 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.
6. 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.

The ECCYC 20th Anniversary Video

This year was the 20th Anniversary for the East Coast Coptic Youth Convention (ECCYC).  This video commemorates the 20 years of ECCYCs. It is a compilation of pictures and clips from throughout the years. Congratulations to the ECCYC!

The 2009 Exercise Your Spirit 5K Run

On June 6, 2009, St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church of Jersey City, NJ hosted it’s Second Annual ”Exercise Your Spirit” 5K Run. The race was held on a beautiful sunny day at Nomahegan Park in Cranford, NJ.

In addition to the many returning participants from last year, runners from all over the tri-state area joined us this year to support their sister church.  We hosted some 110 runners and 220 people at the BBQ.  We were blessed with the attendance of our Reverend Fathers, Fr. David Bebawy and Fr. Anthony Basily, who distributed awards to our fastest male and female runners.

Fastest Male Runner – Mena Francis, finishing in 22:30

Fastest Female Runner – Maryann Sous

Also this year, we witnessed the Lord’s hand working as the money raised nearly doubled over night. The 5K Run raised $44,759.05!  Five times the income of last year’s event!  With this in mind, we especially recognize and thank the great efforts of the top three fundraisers:

1. Nasheds (Mark Thomas Daniel) – $6,058.00

2. Safwat Shaker – $4,285.00

3. Ralph Toss – $4,265.00

Many thanks to all those who planned, worked, and labored for this event to be such a GREAT success!  A special thanks to our priests for their support and mentorship.

2009 5K Run Photo Album

Start of the 2009 5K Run Video

2009 Runners Awards Presentation Video

2009 Highest Fundraiser Award Video

Other Sources:

• http://5krun.nihov.org/2009
• http://sneakersandbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/mena-francis-wins-exercise-your-spirit.html

Anesti Productions is born!

In memory of Hegumen Fr. Sorial Sorial, on his one year memorial, St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church of Jersey City, NJ distributed a collection of songs that were loved by Fr. Sorial.  They were recorded by his spiritual children and the CD was a great success.  Among the songs were 4 produced by Anesti Productions.

Anesti Productions is an up and coming production studio geared towards the creation of new and exciting Christian music, not forgetting our Coptic roots. Look out for its future website and release of its first album soon to come this year. Click below for a free download and listen to some of their latest material:

In The Midst Of The Raging Sea by David Bebawy

She Came With The Spices by Mary Loka

Ya Sayeh (O Seeker in Arabic) by Antonios Habib

Oh You Oh Great Potter by David Badie & Monica Sorial

Note – To download these songs, Right Click and click “Save Target As..”

H.H. Pope Shenouda III Returns to Egypt

H.H. Pope Shenouda III

Coptic News Bulletin…

After fully recovering from the injury to His Holiness’ femur, H.H. Pope Shenouda III will be returning home to Egypt on Monday,  October 20, 2008.   On the way His Holiness will stop briefly at the Papal Residence in Cedar Grove, New Jersey.  Those who wish to take the blessing of His Holiness may do so when His Holiness arrives around 1:30pm on Saturday, October 18, 2008.  The address for the Papal Residence is:

5 Woodstone Drive
Cedar Grove, New Jersey  07009

Let us all pray for the continued health and well being of our honored father, H.H. Pope Shenouda III. May the Lord grant him continued good health and may the Lord keep him for us for many more years and peaceful times. Amen. Amen. Amen.

(Click here for story)

West Point Cadets Visit St. George and St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church

West Point Cadets listen to General Bishop David at St. George and St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church

On Thursday, September 25, 2008 our church, St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church, welcomed some cadets from West Point Academy as they came to learn about our religion and the ethnic customs of its members.  The cadets enjoyed an Egyptian lunch at Bethany then went to the Church for presentations about the Coptic Church.  H.G. Bishop David, general bishop of the Coptic Orthodox Church, was present, he addressed the cadets, and answered their questions about the church and its members.

Full Story at NJ.com – West Point cadets come to Jersey City for Ramadan – Hudson County

Pre-Servants Graduation 2008

Every year our church celebrates the graduation of it’s Pre-Servants Class on the eve of the Feast of the Coptic New Year.  It was a special surprise this year to have some of the oldies of the class graduate.  David Fam, George Bebawy, and Daniel Bishara (who couldn’t make the ceremony) graduated this year after some 4-5 years in the program.  The program is 2 years long.  There are roughly 10 exams and 2 papers in various topics such as Church History, Rites of the Church, Comparative Theology, The Holy Bible, and Spirituality.  In order to graduate, you need to have 70% attendance and 70% on all your exams. In all fairness its quite difficult to finish in the 2 years.  I myself took the 3 year plan.

Also graduating with the oldies were the regular scholars, Merit Eskandar, Caroline Gadalla, Joanne Malek, Marize Ramzy, Marian Girgis, and Magi Ibrahim. So CONGRATULATIONS to all and welcome to our servants family at St. George & St. Shenouda Coptic Orthodox Church.

The oldies talking together in disbelief...

The oldies laughing at me taking pictures of them like crazy!

From Left to Right: Dr. Labib Labib, Merit Eskandar, David Fam, Fr. Makarius Sawirus, H.G. Bishop Serafim, George Bebawy, Fr. David Bebawy, Caroline Gadalla, Joanne Malek, Boutos Wassef, Marize Ramzy, Marian Girgis, and Magi Ibrahim.

The oldies!

The oldies and I!

A bunch of us congratulating the oldies after the ceremony...

The passing of Fr. Rewis Magar

The Late Fr. Rewis Magar Priest of St. George's Coptic Church in Astoria, Queens, NY.

Dear Beloved Brethren,

The heavens rejoice in receiving a beloved priest, Fr. Rewis Magar, who served the altar of St. George’s Coptic Church in Astoria, Queens, NY. He reposed in the Lord last night, Monday, September 8, 2008, and has gone to the paradise of joy, the place out of which grief, sorrow, and groaning have fled away.

The family will be taking condolences 5pm-9pm tonight, Tuesday, September 9, 2008, at the church (38-25 31st Street, Astoria, NY 11101).  Tomorrow, September 10, 2008, there will be Vespers and Midnight Praises followed by the Divine Liturgy and Funeral Service on Thursday, September 11, 2008.

We pray that God may repose his soul and grant comfort to his family, children, and to us all.  Amen.

Pope Shenouda’s Recovery Photos – Cleveland, Ohio – August 4th, 2008

Pope Shenouda’s Photos – Cleveland August 4, 2008.
His Holiness Pope Shenouda in Cleveland Ohio.