The Departure of the righteous Emperor Constantine the Great.
6th April - 28th Baramhat
On this day of the year 53 A.M. )337 A.D.( the rightright eous Emperor Constantine the great departed. His father’s name was Constantius I Chlorus which means )Green(, and his mother’s name was Helena. Constan- , Constan tius reigned over Byzantium, Maximianus reigned over Rome, and Diocletian reigned over Antioch and Egypt. Constantius was pagan, but he was honorable, loved to do good, compassionate and merciful. He went to the city of El-Ruha )Urfa - Gr. Edessa( and there he saw Helena, liked her and he married her. She was a Christian, and she conceived Constantine. Constantius left her in El-Ruha and returned to Byzantium. She brought forth Constantine and raised him up very piously, taught him every kind of learning, sowed in his heart mercy and compassion for the Christians, but she did not dare to have him baptized. Constantine grew up, and he was a bold and skilful horseman. He went to his father who rejoiced in him when he saw that he was full of wisdom, knowledge, and he was a skilful horseman. After his father’s death he received the kingdom and he reigned with justice and integrity, and stopped all unfair practices. All the people were subject to him and they loved him and his righteous judgement spread throughout the Empire. The nobles of Rome sent asking him to come and save them from the injustice of Maximianus. Constantine marched with his army toward Rome to save them. During the war he saw in the heaven, in the middle of the day, a Cross made of stars, and on it was written in Greek words which being interpreted as “With this you shall conquer.” The light of the Cross was more shinning than the sun, and he shewed it to his ministers and the nobles of his kingdom. They read what was written, marvelled and they did not know for what reason that cross had appeared. That night the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a vision and told him: “Make a sign for yourself like that sign which you had seen, and with it you shall conquer your enemies.” The next morning, he prepared a large flag with the sign of the cross on it, and made the sign of the cross on all the armaments. He engaged with Maximianus in a battle and fought. Constantine overcame Maximianus who withdrew with his army, and while crossing the bridge over the Tiber river, the bridge broke and he and most of his men perished. Constantine entered Rome and its people welcomed him with joy and gladness, and its learned men praised the Honorable Cross and called it the Savior of their city. Then they celebrated for the Cross seven days and Constantine became the Emperor of the East and the West. When Constantine established himself in Rome, he and most of his soldiers were baptized by the Pope of Rome, in the eleventh year of his reign, which is the
fourth year after the appearance of the Honorable Cross. He sent throughout the kingdom and commanded to set free all those who were imprisoned for the sake of faith, and that they should not work during the Passion week as the Apostles commanded.
Then he sent his mother Helena to Jerusalem where she discovered the Holy Cross of Our Lord Christ. In the seventeenth year of his reign the Holy Council of the Three Hundred and Eighteen bishops assembled at Nicea in the year 325 A.D. which arranged the affairs of the Christians and put down the cannons of the church. He rebuilt the city of Byzantium and called it after his name “Constantinia” and he brought to it many of the bodies of the apostles and holy martyrs. He departed in the city of Nicomedia, they laid him in a gold sarcophagus, carried him and brought him to Constantinia. The Patriarch, bishops, priests, and all the people received him with prayers, psalms, and spiritual hymns, and laid him in the sanctuary of the holy apostles. All the days of his life were seventy five years.
To Our God is the glory, might, and dominion and may His mercy and grace be upon us forever. Amen.
The Cmmemoration of the Life giving Annunciation.
7th April - 29th Baramhat
On this day the church commemorates the Annunciation of our Lady, the Theotokos, the Virgin St. Mary. When the appointed time by God since eternity for the salvation of the human race had come, God sent Gabriel the Archangel to the Virgin St. Mary, who is from the tribe of Judah the house of king David, to announce her with the Divine conception and the Glorious Birth as the Holy Scriptures testifies: « Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin›s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, «Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!» But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, «Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. «And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. «He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. «And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.» Then Mary said to the angel, «How can this be, since I do not know a man?» And the angel answered and said to her, «The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Then the angel gave her the proof of the validity of his massage: «Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has
also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. «For with God nothing will be impossible.» Then Mary said, «Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.» And the angel departed from her. )Luke ٣٦-١:2٦( When she had accepted this Divine Annunciation, the Only Begotten Son, the Word of God, who is One of the Three eternal Persons, came and dwelt in her womb, a dwelling, the human race can not comprehend. And straightway He united with perfect humanity a complete unity inseparable and unchangeable after the unity.
This day then is the first-born of all feasts, for in it was the beginning of the salvation of the world which was fulfilled by the Holy Resurrection of our Lord, saving Adam and his offspring from the hands of Satan. We ask Our God and Savior graciously to forgive our transgressions and excuse our sins. Amen.
The Commemoration of Samson, One of the Judges of Israel.
8th April - 30th Baramhat
On this day also, is the commemoration of Samson, one of the Judges of Israel. The name of the father of this righteous was Manoah from the tribe of Dan, and his mother was barren. The angel of the Lord appeared to her and announced her of his birth, and commanded her not to drink wine nor to eat unclean food all the days of her pregnancy. The angel also commanded her that no razor should come on his head, for the child was to be a Nazirite )dedicated( unto God from the womb, and that he would deliver Israel out of the hands of the Philistines. When she told her husband about what the angel had said to her, her husband asked God to allow the angel to appear to him. The angel appeared, and said to him: «All that I commanded your wife let her observe.» The woman conceived, and gave birth to Samson, and God blessed him and the Spirit of God filled him. At one time, he tore a lion apart as one would tear a young goat, and on another time, he killed thirty men and burned their fields. The Philistines rose against the tribe of Judah to fight and seize Samson, but Samson told the men of Judah: «Swear to me that you will not deliver me to them or kill me yourselves.» They said to him: «No, but we will tie you securely and deliver you into their hands. We surely shall not kill you.» They bound him with two new cords and brought him to the Philistines, who jumped upon him to kill him. The Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and the strong cords that were on his arms became as flax that were burnt with fire, and his bonds broke loose off his hands. He found a fresh jaw-bone of an ass, reached out and took it with his hand and killed a thousand men with it. Then he became very thirsty, he cried out to the Lord and said: «You have given this great deliverance by the hands of you servant, and now shall I die from thirst... ?» The all mighty God then split a hollow place and water came out. He drank and his spirit returned, and he survived. When he was in Gaza, the Philistines surrounded the place and laid wait for
him all the night at the gate of the city to capture and kill him. Samson arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate, pulled them up, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill. The Philistines came to his wife, Delilah, and asked her to entice Samson to find out the secret of his strength. When Samson told her that the secret was in his hair, for he was a Nazirite Dedicated unto God(. She told his enemies, lulled him to sleep on her knees, and called for a man to shave off the seven locks of hair off his head. She began to afflict him, as his strength went from him. The Philistines took him to their city, insulted him, and plucked out his eyes. His hair grew again, and his strength came back to him. He went to the temple of their idol, and took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple. Samson leaned with all his strength on the two pillars and said: «Let me die with the Philistines.» The temple fell on three thousands of the Philistine people and their lords killing them all. So the dead that he killed on his death were more than he killed in his life. He judged for the people of Israel twenty years, then departed in peace. To our God is the glory for ever, Amen.
Services Friday 11th April - Sunday 13th April
End Lent Friday Friday 11th April
7:30am Early Morning Prayer
8am Unction of the Sick
9:30 - 11:30am Divine Liturgy
Lazarus Saturday Saturday 12th April
8:30am Early Morning Prayer 9-11am Divine Liturgy
Palm Sunday
Vespers Saturday Evening 12th April
6 - 7:30 pm
Early Morning Prayer and Palm Procession:
6 - 8am Sunday 13th April
8 - 11am Divine Liturgy
11:30am General Funeral Prayers
5:30 - 8pm Monday Eve Pascha
Prayers
Passion Week starts Sunday 28th
April Evening. Follow the daily sevices in next week Bulletin
Sixth week of the Holy Lent
John 9:1-41
Baptism Sunday
“he went and washed, and came back seeing” John 9:7 The Born Blind is an image of man who has not been redeemed and renewed by the Blood of the Lord Jesus, a man still living in the darkness of sin and is estranged from God, condemned to everlasting death, but God has revealed His unconditional love of mankind. God has loved us to the extent of sacrificing His own for us, so that whoever accepts The Lord Jesus Christ as saviour and redeemer, believes on Him and is Baptised in His name, will wash his )or her( sins and be born a new creation with newly created eyes to see the true Light and become sons )and daughters( of the Light living in the Light and no longer in darkness )of sin(. Thus, are us; the sons and daughters of God who have accepted Him and were born a new in baptism and our eyes were opened to live and walk in the light. But, some lose the Light which is within and do not benefit from the light, loving the life of darkness. The Light is keen to work in us and we can live in the Light but there are obstacles which impede mankind and make him or her blind to the Light. Some of these obstacles are; the letter of the law, stubbornness and self-righteousness. + It was a Sabbath:
The Jews took great care in keeping the Sabbath as it is one of the ten commandments, but their understanding of the Sabbath was extremely limited to the literal meaning. They strictly observed the Sabbath by no work of any kind on the Sabbath. The simple act of carrying a vessel or a tool of work would be breaking the Sabbath. Buying and selling is absolutely forbidden under sny circumstances and the punishment of breaking the Sabbath was death. The Jews had accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath many times because he healed the paralysed man for thirty-eight years by the pool of Bethesda. Also, cured the bleeding woman on a Sabbath, and the man born blind is again healed on the Sabbath. When His )Jesus( disciples were hungry on a Sabbath in the fields, they began to pick the spikes of grain and eat )Matthew 12:1( and this to them )the Jews( was not allowed on a Sabbath. If someone’s an ox or an ass fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the Sabbath day )Luke 14:5( but it is not legal to cure a sick-man on a Sabbath? A limited literal interpretation of the law which kills the spirit of the law and destroys all meanings of mercy and love which God intended in His commandments. How hard it is to fulfil the Lord’s commandments literally and void of love? It is without any doubt, it loses any relation to the commandment giver, for God is Love. They presented a woman who was caught in the act of adultery to Jesus and asked Him to judge her )John :8(! Then Jesus said, “let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust reminding each of the accusers of their sins which deserves more than the stoning. All slipped away each admonishing his sins in his
heart, then the Lord says to the woman “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more” John 8:11( and He is the only One without a sin and has the right to condemn her.
Mercy supersedes wisdom, in the old testament punishment was harsh and instinctive; eye for an eye and tooth for tooth, but in the new testament, the Lord did not abolish the punishment but interwoven it with mercy and love. No longer one forgives his brother seven times but seventy time seven and when a debtor asks the Lord to give him time to pay, He forgives the lot and when the tax collector “beats his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner” )Luke 18:13(, he is justified more than the Pharisee who is observing the law literally, conceited in himself. The Lord has opened His heart to the outcasts and foes.
The Lord accepted the Samaritan woman and the Samaritans, also accepted the Canaanites and went to the tax collector’s house and allowed a sinful woman to anoint His feet with perfume and her tears )of remorse( and dry it with her hair. He has transformed the understanding of leadership. He, the Master of all became the servant for all, He even washed His disciples’ feet. Some do judge others with literal attitude which kills )the spirit(; for this one is a layer and this one is a thief and other is selfish or hypocrite and so on, all the people in their view are sinners and deserve punishment, should be excommunicated and outcasted and to be scorned and not dealt with! Extreme cruelty and literal interpretations coming from hearts void of love. Love is to endure all with patience and tenacity. To endure the weakness of the weak. This does not mean ignoring the wrong or belittling the sin, but to endure others’ faults and attempt helping them and to lead them to repentance. Before we judge others let us endeavour to work for their salvation and let us not forget our trespasses too. How severe is the literal worship? There are some who would apply the traditions of fasting literally, the presence fasting in great details forgetting mercy and charity and avoiding all the commandments of love and still quarrelling, covets and judge others!
Liberality in worshipping God transforms worship to mere appearances and traditions without any spirituality. When traditions lose its spirituality it becomes a mere strict routine and dull with no benefits.
+ I told you already, and you did not listen: Stubbornness and hard headedness; stubbornness and tenacity before God is idol worship, for stubbornness blinds man to see nothing but himself and feels only his needs and only his logic is acceptable and others point of view is wrong and not acceptable and any other alternative is definitely erroneous. The Pharisees saw the Light clearly as all others did see but only the Pharisees saw the Light as darkness and insisted it is darkness! The problem with the Israelites was stubbornness “How often
I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing” )Luke 13:34(. King Saul’s difficulty was stubbornness and Samuel the prophet said to him “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” )1 Samuel 15:22(.
Martin Luthor difficulty is his stubbornness and he testified to his stubbornness in his writings and he could have been a blessing to the whole catholic church if it was not for his tenacity with the catholic pontiff and church. He denied all the sacraments and demolished the priesthood and exchanged true salvation to a mere faith without deeds, he belittled the teachings of the church fathers and their traditions thus plunging the Christian world into wars and torn the catholic church into many sects and many denominations. What is strange is that most of the heretics and cult leaders were stubborn and insisted on their views and stubbornness even if it destroyed everything associate with them! Pharaoh of Egypt was stubborn and his stubbornness he didn’t care if Egypt is ruined with 10 curses )Exodus 7-11( but continued in his tenacity till he and his army drowned and thus became a symbol of stubbornness and hard headedness.
Are you a stubborn person?? Are you the type who would not retract his decisions or opinions no matter what the reasons are? Even if you wrong and found out that you were wrong? How many homes were destroyed because of stubbornness? The husband is stubborn and the wife also stubborn and the children are lost between them! Stubbornness kills the spirit of love and destroys harmony and understanding.
My beloved, learn to be lenient and accepting spirit willing to understand, ask God for wisdom and the grace of being gentle and empathetic to others. Remember; the stubborn person loses his or her spiritual lenience and become dry and barren and soon the winds )of life( will wipe and destroy him.
+ “You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?”:
Note the amazing contradictions; the Lord says “Neither this man nor his parents sinned” and they )the Pharisees( say “you were completely born in sins” , the man who thinks he is righteous and insists on his self-righteousness is unable to see any good in others and views all as sinners even the righteous! How problematic is self-righteousness, it is a harsh ailment? Amazingly it attacks those who are trying hard in fulfilling the commandments, then Satan will deceive them in believing that they have attained high level of righteousness, then they would become lukewarm and haughty! How many saints struggled for years and the end were deceived by satan and were inflected with their self-righteousness and lost all their struggles exactly as the Pharisees.
The sons & daughters of God, their tongue utters, if we did all the good we are unprofitable servants. David said of himself “Against whom has the king of Israel come
out? Who are you pursuing? A dead dog? A flea? )1 Samuel 24:14(. The person who is inflected with self-righteousness, cannot accept any rebuke, even if it was from the priest or the bishop and cannot fathom his mistakes or short comings quick to anger and explode from the smallest direction or instruction? The church fathers, used to ask for words of benefit from any man even the sinners and evil doers, but the self-righteous person is always a teacher and will not listen or learn from anybody!
+ If you were blind, you would have no sin: physical blindness is difficult but spiritual blindness is more difficult and harsh. In physical blindness, one is deprived from sight against his will but in spiritual blindness, one is willingly depriving one’s self from the Light with his own will.
My beloved, be careful that literality can make one blind and cannot see but only the black barren letters. Be careful, that stubbornness makes you a wild animal covering one’s eyes attacking and destroying without an aim. Be careful not be deceived by self-righteousness and NOT follow the true Light. If you are literal in )understanding the word of God(, come and drink from God’s love & grace to work within you the letters and light up your way. If you are stubborn, pore yourself under the Cross of Christ and let His Blood which is shed for you remove the scales on your eyes.
If you feel self-righteous, come and see yourself in God’s measures of Mercy and Love and ask that Him to let you grow the true growth in the spiritual fulfilment and remember, if you only seeing your literal impartations, stubbornness or self-righteousness, your sin upheld.
Celerating the start of construction works of the Junior Primary School Building at St Mary›s Coptic College Coolaroo 29th March 2025
Dualities in the Parables of Christ )3( – His Holiness Pope Tawadros II )
Parable of wheat and tares
Homily of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II from the Church of St. Anthony at the Pontifical Headquarters in Abbasiya on Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Today we consider the Gospel of the second Sunday of Lent )Sunday of Temptation( with its association with the Parable of wheat and tares and the interpretation of this parable as mentioned by Jesus )Matthew 13:24-43(. In fact, this parable is one of the most wonderful examples that present us with truths in simple analogies that benefit everyone. The Gospel of temptation mentions that after forty days and forty nights of fasting, Satan came to tempt Christ with many trials, and then Satan left him, and when angels came, they served him.” )Matthew 4:11(
Common points between the parable of wheat and tares and the gospel of temptation
1- Temptation: In the parable of wheat and tares there is an experiment and they said to him: “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? And he said unto them, ‘An enemy has done this’ )Mt 13:27, 28(. Human life is not without temptations. Sometimes because of temptations, man grumbles, refuses, complains, but temptations have their benefit. So why temptations come? Temptation comes to spoil human life just as tares spoil wheat. And the tares that suck from the earth the food of wheat are a symbol of evil and wicked, while wheat symbolizes good and righteous. Therefore, the church teaches us during the period of fasting that fasting and prayer are what cast out demons in the sense that they eliminate the evil and stop the work of Satan.
2, Satan: The Apostle Paul says of him: “The prince of the authority of the air, the Spirit who now works in the children of disobedience” )Eph 2:2( and Christ says: “The ruler of this is coming, and he has nothing in Me” )Jn 14:30(. So, there is a demon who resists those who walk in God’s way. Satan’s work is manifested in wars, crises, conflicts and trials that afflict man, family or society. He who surrenders himself to Satan will be on of the sons of disobedience, and the prayer of thanksgiving offers five descriptions that describe the work of the enemy of good: “All envy, all temptation, all work of Satan, the counsel of wicked men, and the rising up enemies, hidden and manifest.”
3. The Word of God: In the temptation on the mountain, the Word of God was the key to victory and standing before the tares. The Apostle Paul says: “But if our gospel is hidden, it is hidden in the lost, in whom the God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, which is the image of God, shine upon them.” )2 Corinthians 4:3-4( The word “hidden” means ineffective, so the church teaches us to read parts of the Bible in church readings, as well as special readings in order to be connected to the Word of God so as not to fall into the trap of the hidden gospel. As the Apostle Paul says: “Therefore he says, ‘Awake, you who sleep. Arise from the dead )sins( and Christ will give you light.’” )Eph 5:14(. At the end of the parable, he says: “He who has ears )inner ears that hear and respond( to hearing. Let him hear” )Matthew 13:43( for there are ears that hear without effectiveness or effect, or hear and act temporarily.
4. Angels: When the Teacher defeated Satan with the Word of God on the mountain, the angels came to serve him. In the parable of the tares, it says, “Gather first the tares and pack them in bundles to burn, but the wheat to my store” )Matthew 13:29( and those who do the work of sorting between the tares and the wheat are the angels on the day of harvest )judgment(. What responds to the question of why there is evil in the world is the Scriptures’ saying, “Let them grow together until the harvest” )Matthew 13:30(, because in the time of judgment every man will stand before God and give account.
1. The field: is the world.
Parable wheat and tares
2- The sower of good seed, which is Christ: who sows righteous souls, honest, far from hypocrisy, softened with love Wheat begins with a spike from which a large amount of wheat comes out that becomes food for humans, each of us is the seed of Christ, so the
Church in great wisdom baptizes the infant and is born from above, and on the same day he eats from the mystery of the Eucharist, which is said about him: “He will give us salvation, forgiveness of sins, and eternal life from for all whoever partake of Him,” thus beginning the first step on the road to eternity. This is why the Apostle Paul says: “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building” )1 Corinthians 3:9(, the farmer sows and then grows a little by little, and a building rises a little by little so we start from scratch and grow in the way of holiness.
3. Slaves: They are the servants who serve Christ in many forms in all fields, and this work is what the Apostle Paul says about; ‘We are God’s fellow workers’ )1 Corinthians 3:9(.
4. Harvest: The harvest is the image of the Day of Judgment, and it will come shortly as we sort the wheat from the weeds. And by God’s words to the righteous: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. )Matt 25: 34(, and to the wicked: “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for devil and his angels” )Matthew 25:41(, expressed in the parable of wheat and tares by saying, “First gather the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn” )Matthew 13:30(.
Four important lessons
The servants said to the householder about the tares: “Do you want us then to go and gather them up? He said, “No! lest while you gather the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest “ )Matthew 13:29, 30(, wheat is similar to tares in shape, but wheat is of great use and tares are useless and poisonous, I want to stop at this phrase and tell you four important lessons:
1. Do not condemn or judge anyone: there is a judgment and a time to harvest. The Apostle Paul says: “Who are you who condemns the servant of others? It is for his master fixed or fallen. But he will stand, for God is able to establish him” )Rom 14:4( All the disease of condemning others in you will turn against you, and it is written: “Judge not, that you be not judged” )Matthew 7:1(.
2. Check yourself every day: Are you a real wheat as intended by the sower or are you a weed that takes the form of wheat but eats the goodness of the earth? What will you say to Christ when you meet Him to give account about the whole of your life. Make yourself a real wheat to be at the right hand of Christ.
3. Grow your wheat in your heart: Grow your life for the better in righteousness. Perhaps there are sins, falls, negligence, laziness, or procrastination of age in vain, so take care of yourself and do not unravel in Weaknesses. Think of wheat. And if you grow wheat in your heart, the tares will disappear, and the wheat will take up all the space, so you will live in virtue and purity and in the way of heaven.
4. Do not be surprised by the presence of evil in the world: God has given man the freedom to choose between good and evil. And man has to choose between the two paths And there is a day of harvest, so do not be surprised by the presence of evil, for Satan works, but in the midst of sufferings and trials, be abiding in the Word of God, for “for the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints, and marrows, and is the discerner of thoughts and intents of the heart” )Heb 4:12(. Live in the gospel and stay away from what steals your time and makes you unenjoying the grace of life that God has given us. Job went through a severe trial, but at the end of the book he says to God: “I have heard of You by the hearing. But now my eye sees You” )Job 42:5(, take advantage of the trials so that you can say the same phrase with Job.
The Conclusion
This parable gives us powerful opportunities to understand life, to understand the existence of evil, because God has given us the freedom to choose. He allows for the wheat and the tares, and you must choose to purify your heart: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God “ )Matthew 5:8( and do not let the tares take up any space within you.
Be like the golden ears of wheat at harvest time, “then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” Matthew 13:43(.
+ Remember O Lord the Departed
Departed to the Lord
+ Late Dr. Maha Bushra Riyad, daughter of the late Bushra Riyad, has passed away.
Wife of Dr. Nader Aziz Riyad and mother of Sherif and Hadi in New Zealand.
Sister of Dr. Amani Bushra Riyad, wife of Dr. Ihab Barsoum, sister in law of Ashraf Barsoum and Amani Barsoum in Melbourne, Auntie of Dr Ramez Barsoum and Dr Nardeen Barsoum.
prayers for her pure soul will be held at Mark church address: 79 Sophia Street, Timaru Central, Timaru NZ 7910.
+ Late Mr Karlos Gerges
Departed to the Lord at Thailand after a road accident. He is Son of Mr Makram Gerges and Mrs Mariam Zakhary and brother of Jessica. He is grandson of Mounir and Fawzia Zakhary
01 february 1941 to 01 April 2025
In loving memory of
Mary Nichoula Rofaiel
“Blessed is the man you choose, and cause to approach you, that he may dwell in your courts” Psalms 65:4
Departed to paradise, our beloved Mary Rofaiel, mother of Fouad Habashy & family Renata, Nathan, Noah & Gabriella. Sister in law to Yusry Habashy & family. Aunt to George Rizkalla & family Mervat & Samuel, Aunt to Gergis Rizkalla & family Germeen, Mariz & Jonathan.
The family will receive condolences at St Mary’s Church, 1 Epsom Rd, Kensington at 6.30pm Wednesday 2 April 2025 nd
The funeral service will be held at 12pm on Friday 4 April 2025 at St Mary’s Church, followed by the burial at Bulla Cemetery, Cemetery Lane, Bulla at 2pm, returning to St Mary’s Church for third day prayers at 3 pm. th
The Departure of His Eminance Metropolitan Anba Pachomius
His Grace, the highly respected and beloved Archbishop Pachomius, Archbishop of Beheira, Matrouh, and the Five Western Cities, and Abbot of the St. Macarius Monastery in Alexandria, passed away in the Lord after a long and fulfilling life. He departed recently at the age of nearly 90, having served the Church and the nation for over 70 years in various capacities, including as a deacon, monk, priest, bishop, and archbish.op. He dedicated approximately 54 years of his life to episcopal care and shepherding He was born on December 17, 1935, and became a monk at the Monastery of the Syrians in Wadi El-Natrun under the name Father Antony the Syrian on November 11, 1962. He was ordained as a bishop on December 12, 1971, alongside the late Bishop Yoannis of Gharbia. Both were the first bishops ordained by the late Pope Shenouda III shortly after his enthronement as Pope. He was elevated to the rank of Metropolitan on September 2, 1990.
He also served as the temporary administrator of the Coptic Orthodox Church for eight months )from March 22 to November 18, 2012(, after being appointed as the Patriarchal Locum Tenens. During this period, he led the Church with wisdom and competence, earning praise from all those who followed his work both inside and outside Egypt.
Many generations of servants were nurtured under his guidance, with many becoming priests, monks, and bishops. Among them is His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, whom God grant him a long life.
Coptic Hope Charity Announcement
Coptic Hope Charity Easter Appeal 2025
“It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 22:35
Dearest Congregation, Easter is a sacred time of year. It is a time of fasting and sacrifice to commemorate Christ’s sufferings.
Many families in Egypt sacrifice and withstand suffering daily.
Our mission at Coptic Hope Charity is to bring some relief to these struggling families.
For Easter, we provide these families with food hampers so that they may also be able to celebrate the joy of our Christ’s resurrection. Each food hamper will cost $70, which provides enough food for up to a family of 4.
Larger families will receive multiple hampers.
Whether you can help one family or multiple families, any support is appreciated. Please join us by donating to the below bank account )a tax-deductible receipt will be provided to all donors(
Account Name: Coptic Hope Charity Limited ATF BSB: 063-159 Account Number: 10 686 722
Please use the reference: ‘Food Hamper’
At Coptic Hope Charity, we sponsor more than 1500 families on a regular basis. We need to increase this support to many more families.
If you would like to become a regular donor and sponsor a family for as little as $60 per month, please fill in our sponsorship form on our Facebook page )a tax-deductible receipt will be provided to all donors(.
For any further information, please contact Nagy Banoub on 0423 411 715 or email nsbanoub@yahoo.com or info@coptichope.org.au.
New Church, New Building and Car Park are ready
We started to use the New Building and church last on Lazarus Saturday 27th April 2024. church services are continuing as normal as in the Timetable inside the Bulletin. You can donate monthly contribution using Direct Debit forms available in the church or downloaded from church website. We thank Our Lord for this great Gift Cost of building works is around $13,000,000. Your support and donations will be blessing and very appreciated.
Donations to St Mary’s Church and Building project can be made by the following Link
https://www.stmc.org.au/donate
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