Egypt: At Least 41 Christians Dead After Fire at Saint Mercurius Church in Giza

💭 በግብጿ ጊዛ የቅዱስ መርቆሬዎስ ቤተክርስቲያን በደረሰ የእሳት አደጋ የ፵፩/41 ክርስቲያኖች ህይወት አለፈ

✞✞✞ R.I.P ✞✞✞

• Thousands had gathered inside Philopatyr Mercurius (Abu Sifein) church in Giza, Egypt this morning
• Death toll climbing as 30 ambulances rush to Coptic Christian place of worship
• Pres. El-Sisi: ‘I have directed agencies to take necessary measures immediately’
• There is a nursery inside church, prompting fears many casualties are children

At least 41 worshippers, feared to be mostly children, have been killed after a fire in a church in Egypt where 5,000 people were praying.

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It’s feared many of the victims are children and the death toll could rise as some 45 people have also been left injured after flames tore through the St. Mercurius Church in Egypt. It’s reported the congregation had just finished prayer when the blaze broke out – causing a stampede as panicked church-goers rushed to evacuate.

Dozens of ambulances were rushed to the scene in Imbaba, Giza, as firefighters battled to extinguish the raging flames.

❖ Philopatyr St. Marcorios (Abu Sifein)

Philopatyr was born in 224 A.D. in the city of Eskentos in Cappadocia (Eastern Asia Minor.) The word Philopatyr is a Greek word which means Father of Love (Patyr = father, Philo = love). His family used to live on hunting wild animals. One day his father Yares, along with his grandfather, were hunting in the forest when they were attacked by a wild beast. The animal jumped on the grandfather, and that scared Yares so much that he fainted.

While he was unconscious, he had a vision: he saw a brilliant light and heard a voice saying, “Yares, I am your God who loves you. I know that you have a good heart and that you hate the pagan idols. I want to inform you that your son Philopatyr will become like a tree bearing good fruits, and because of him, I will bless you and your wife. Philopatyr will be my witness and will defy all prejudice in my name.”

Shortly after, Yares, his wife and his son were baptized and they were given new names. Yares became Noah, his wife became Saphina and Philopatyr became Marcorios. The news of their baptism spread quickly in the city and the prince ordered them to be arrested and thrown to the wild animals. But the Lord, who shut the mouths of the lions at the time of Daniel, tamed the wild animals and they did not harm them. The prince and his soldiers were astonished and decided to release Yares and his family.

When the Berbers attacked Eskentos, Noah went to fight them. He was taken prisoner and was brought to their foreign country, where he served them for seventeen months. When the war finally ended, he went back to his city and joined his family, but he died shortly after.

After the death of Noah, the pagan king Dicius chose Marcorios to replace his father. He led the army against the Berbers. After several days of fighting, the archangel Michael appeared to Marcorios holding a shining sword. He said, “Marcorios, servant of Jesus Christ, don’t be afraid. Take this sword from my hand and fight the Berbers with it. Don’t forget your God when you come back victoriously. I am Michael the Archangel, whom God sent to inform you that you should suffer for the Lord’s name. I shall be with you and support you until you complete your testimony. The name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you. “

The saint took the sword from the Archangel. He went to fight the Berbers with two swords. He conquered them as he felt the divine strength fill his heart. When Dicius heard the news about the triumphant victory, he was very pleased. He appointed Marcorios prince and gave him many honorable medals.

In 249 A.D. Dicius blasphemed against Christ and started persecuting the Christians. He issued a decree compelling everyone to offer sacrifices to his pagan gods. The Archangel Michael appeared to Marcorios and told him to remember his Lord and not to be scared of the persecutions. The saint was happy of the encouragement he received from the Lord and spent the whole night praying fervently, and confessing his weakness to God.

The next morning, the king sent some messengers to summon Marcorios to the palace, but he excused himself, saying that he was tired. The day after, the king sent for Marcorios again. He told him, “Dear Marcorios, let’s go offer incense to the gods who helped us attain victory in the war.” Being kind, Marcorios didn’t say anything but as they were going, he slipped through the crowd and went away. However, one of the king’s guards reported his absence, and the king called Marcorios and asked him, “Is it true that you refused to worship the idols who helped us during the war?”

Marcorios answered with courage, “Your Majesty, the victory was not due to dumb idols made by human hands. It was accomplished by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who sent his Archangel to give me a sword and strengthened me. I cannot deny my God and worship statues.”

The king was mad, but held himself back, because he didn’t want to loose a courageous hero like Marcorios. He tried to persuade him by promising him a higher position, and large sums of money, but to no avail. So he stripped him from all his gold medals and ranks. In all that, Marcorios’ faith was unshaken. Then the king ordered him to be thrown in jail.

That did not stop the saint from praying and singing hymns in prison. During the night, Michael the Archangel appeared to him and told him, “Don’t be afraid of the tortures. Confess your faith in Jesus publicly because He’s the only One able to save you.”

The next morning, the king called Marcorios and tried again to convince him to give up his faith. When he refused, the king decided to start the torturing. The soldiers hung the saint between two poles, higher than the ground so that they could hit him with sharp nails. They tried also to cut his body with sharp blades and burn it, but because of the Lord’s grace, Marcorios was able to endure all these tortures in silence. Back in jail, the Archangel appeared and touched Marcorios’ body. He was instantly healed.

The next day, when the king saw that the saint was in perfect health, he attributed it to witcheraft. Marcorios told him that it was Jesus who is the true healer of the soul and the body. Nevertheless, after Dicius tried so many tortures without any success, he decided to have him beheaded.

Marcorios lifted up his arms and prayed fervently, asking the Lord-to accept him in paradise. Then, all of a sudden, he saw The Lord Jesus in a glorified vision, surrounded by many angels. Jesus said, “My chosen son, Marcorios, come to your eternal rest with the saints. Your prayers have risen up to me like the aroma of good-smelling incense. Miracles will be performed in any church bearing your name. And I will save those who ask Me through your intercession. Whoever writes or reads the story of your life will have their names written in the Book of Life.”

Then, after the Lord had blessed him, Marcorios was so happy that he ran to his executioners, and begged them to carry out the king’s orders immediately. Then he knelt down and said, “Lord, do not count this sin against them.” Marcorios was martyred on the 4th of December in the year 250 A.D. He was only 25 years old.

After the end of the first persecution, God wanted to reveal the place of the saint’s burial. Marcorios appeared to a poor man in the city, and told him that he was Marcorios the martyr of the Lord. “My body is buried in Cappadocia Gardens, under the old house on the way to the royal palace. My body looks as white as snow, because Jesus was present at the time of my martyrdom,” said the saint.

The next morning, the man went to dig under the old house. Then he smelled perfume, and at the same time he saw the body of the saint. The news spread quickly and many people came to take a look at the blessed body. They moved it to the village’s Church until they built a new church bearing his name, and Marcorios’ body was buried there with respect and devotion.

A few years later, the Armenian patriarch visited Egypt and met with the Egyptian patriarch. The latter asked him if Egypt could have part of the relics of Saint Marcorios to be placed in the church that bears his name in old Cairo. On the 9th of Baouna (June 16) part of the blessed body was offered to Egypt. May the blessing and prayers of this great martyr and saint Marcorios Abu Sifein be with us all. Amen.

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Egyptian Archbishop Angaelos: The Destruction in Tigray is Incredibly Painful

Listen to the powerful message by His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos of the Coptic Orthodox Church UK at the Webinar on “Brutalities Against Religious Leaders, Holy Places and Heritage in Tigray” on 8th June 2021.

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የዲያብሎስ ጂሃድ በፋሲካ | መሀመዳውያኑ በግብጽ እና ናይጄሪያ ክርስቲያን ሕፃናት ላይ እየዘመቱ ነው

በደቡብ ግብጽ የአንድ ሺህ ሦስት መቶ ኮፕት ክርስቲያኖች መኖሪያ በሆነችው በ ናጋ አል–ጋፊር መንደር የሰንበት ትምህርት ቤት ውስጥ የተገኙትን ሦስት መቶ የሚሆኑ ሕፃናትን ጎረቤቶቻቸው የሆኑት ሙስሊሞች ግር ብለው ለጥቃት በመምጣት ስላስፈራሯቸው ቤተክርስቲያናቸው ያው በፋሲካ ዋዜም እንዲዘጋ ተደርጓል። ለመንደሩ ያለው ቤተክርስቲያን አንድ ብቻ ነው።

በናይጄሪያ ደግሞ፤ በካቶሊኮች ፋሲካ ዕለት፡ ጎምቤ በምትባለዋ ከተማ አንድ ሙስሊም ፖሊስ በዓሉን ለማክበር መንገድ ላይ ወጥተው የነበሩትን ሕፃናት በመኪና በመግጨት አሥሩን ሲገድል፤ ሰላሳ የሚሆኑትን አቁስሏል። በድርጊት የተናደዱት የሕፃናቱ ዘመዶች ሙስሊሙን ፖሊስ ተከታተለው በመያዝ ቀጥቅጠው ገድለውታል።

በሌላ በኩል ባለፈው ረቡዕ በመካከለኛ ናይጄሪያ ሙስሊም ፉላኒ እረኞች፡ ለ አንድ ህፃን የቀብር ሥነ ሥርዓት የወጡትን አስራ ሰባት ክርስቲያኖችን ጨፍጭፈው ገድለዋቸዋል።

ባለፈው ዓመት የፋሲካ በዓል ላይም ፉላኒ ሙስሊሞች አሥራ ዘጠኝ ክርስቲያኖችን መግደላቸው ይታወሳል።

ሜዲያዎች ይህን ዜና አግባብ ባለው መልክ አላቀረቡልንም፤ የመሀመድ አርበኞች በአገራችንም ተመሳሳይ ዲያብሎሳዊ ድርጊት በመፈጸም ላይ ነው፤ እግዚአብሔር ያልታሰበ ነገር ወይም እሳቱን ያውርድባቸው፤ እነዚህ ሰይጣኖች፤ ባጭር ይቅሩ!

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10 Killed, 30 Injured In Nigeria After Policeman Ploughs Car Into Children

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Ten people have died and 30 left wounded after a policeman ploughed his car into a group of children during Easter proceedings under way in Nigeria late on Sunday, AFP reported.

According to police sources who spoke to AFP, the angry bystanders killed the policeman, who was off-duty at the time the incident took place.

State police spokesperson Mary Mallum told AFP that the policeman as well as a parliamentary member were among the dead.

Witnesses who spoke to AFP said the driver got into an argument regarding the proceedings blocking the road and purposefully rammed his car into the crowd, RTE writes.

“The driver of the car had a heated argument with the children before they made way for him to pass, only for him, in a fit of rage, to turn and drive into them,” said Isaac Kwadang, head of the Boys Brigade in Gombe.

Various reports state that according to Mallum, the injured children have been taken to hospital and the investigation is ongoing.

Other recent Easter Sunday attacks include a series of eight bombings in Sri Lanka which left at least 322 people dead and more than 300 injured, the Associated Press previously reported.

Police have arrested 40 suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers and the owner of a house where some of them lived.

The attacks took place at three churches attended by worshippers during Easter Sunday services as well as three luxury hotels. At least 39 foreigners were killed.

Source

• Muslim Fulani Herdsmen Massacre Christians after Baby Dedication in Nigeria

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CHURCH CLOSED IN EGYPT AFTER MUSLIM MOB FRIGHTENS CHILDREN IN SUNDAY SCHOOL

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Another worship building shuttered over ‘sectarian tensions.’

A Coptic church in Upper Egypt is closed after a throng of angry Muslims attacked it this month, beating a priest and another Copt as more than 200 fearful children who had gathered for Bible lessons looked on, according to advocacy groups.

One of the injured Copts, Asaad Bakheet Rezek, told Coptic TV (CTV) that a Muslim about 17 years old beat one of the priests with a club as security forces led him from the Anba Karas Church building in Naga al-Ghafir, Sohag Governorate in southern Egypt.

The priest, identified as Father Basilious, sustained a minor head injury as security forces escorted him and another priest into an armored vehicle after the chanting mob tried to enter the building, Rezek said, adding that the children were terrified by the club- and knife-wielding crowds as they shouted, cursed and pelted the building with rocks.

The village mayor had gone to the church premises the previous day, angry at construction underway for a fourth floor to a building annex, according to advocacy groups Coptic Solidarity and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR).

The mayor accused the Christians of “treason” for the add-on. He started shouting to neighbors to take action against the church and left, later submitting a notice at the city council complaining about the construction, according to the groups. The city council immediately arrived, stopped the work and confiscated building materials, including the cement and the reinforced steel.

The next day at 4 p.m., dozens of angry demonstrators tried to enter the church premises but were unable to get through a steel door. Carrying clubs and knives, they started shouting, cursing and pelting the building with rocks, according to Coptic Solidarity.

Additional forces arrived, and Father Basilious was struck as he and another priest were escorted off the premises. Parents and church leaders were not able to move the 200 children away from the angry, chanting villagers until security forces dispersed the crowds. Though police witnessed the beating of the priest, no arrests were made.

Both Father Basilious and Father Bakhoum were taken for questioning into the evening hours.

Police issued an indefinite closure order, pending investigations, and froze all activities of the 10-year-old church, including the its daycare and the Sunday School.

The church, which held worship services every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, was the only one serving a Christian population of about 1,300 in Naga al-Ghafir village

Source

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የግብጽ እባብ | በረሃ ላይ አዲስ ቤተክርስቲያን ሠሩ፡ ክርስቲያኖች በብዛት በሚኖሩበት ሠፈር አራት አብያተክርስቲያናትን ዘጉ

በልደት ዋዜማ ቤተክርስቲያን ይከፍታሉ፤ በጥምቀት ዋዜማ ቤተክርስቲያን ይዘጋሉ!

ባለፈው የገና ዕለት በብዙ ሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ሙስሊሞች በፖሊሶች እየተደገፉ የኮፕት አብያተ–ክርስትያናት ፊት ሆነው ክርስቲያኖችን ሲሳደቡና እነርሱን እንደሚያጠፏቸውም በጩኸት ሲዝቱባቸው ነበር።

አሁን ክርስቲያኖች በብዛት በሚኖሩባቸው የተለያዩ የግብጽ መንደራት የሚገኙትን አራት አብያተ–ክርስቲያናት እንዲዘጉ የግብጽ መንግስት ትዕዛዝ አስተላለፈ። ይህ ውሳኔ ያደፋፈራቸው ሙስሊሞቹና ፖሊሶቻቸውም ቀሳውስቱንና መነኮሳቱን ጠፍረው በማሠር በከብት ማመላለሻ መኪናዎች ወዳልታወቀ ቦታ ወስደዋቸዋል።

አዎ! የእባብን ሥራ እያየን ነው? የግብጹ ፕሬዚደንት ከሁለት ሳምንታት በፊት አዲስ ካቴድራል በርሃ ላይ መርቀው ከፈተው ነበር። ባለፈው ጊዜ ልብ ያላልነው ነገር፦ እዚህ በረሃ ላይ፡ አንደኛ፤ ክርስቲያኖች አይኖሩም፣ ሁለተኛ፤ እዚህ አንጋፋ ካቴድራል አጠገብ በይበልጥ አንጋፋ የሆነ አዲስ መስጊድ በዚያው ዕለት በፕሬዚደንቱ ተመርቆ ነበር። አሁን ክርስቲያኖች በብዛት በሚኖሩባቸው ሠፈሮች የሚገኙትን አብያተ–ክርስቲያናት ዘግተዋል፤ ክርስቶስንና ተከታዮቹን ለማዋራድም ቀሳውስቱን ጠፍረው በማሠር በከብቶች ማመላለሻ የጭነት መኪናዎች ላይ ወርወረዋቸዋል።

እነዚህ እርኩስ የዲያብሎስ ልጆች፣ የእነዚህ እባቦች ምላሳቸው ካልተቆረጠ በቀር መናደፉቸውን አያቆሙም፤ ቅዱስ ገብርኤል ምላቻቸውን በሰይፉ ፈጥኖ ይቁረጥባቸው!

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የግብጽ ቤተክርስቲያንን እንዲጠብቅ የተላከው ሙስሊም ፖሊስ ክርስቲያኖቹን ገደለ

ከካይሮ በስተደቡብ፡ በሚኒያ አውራጃ ለተገደሉት ክርስቲያን አባትና ልጅ የተዘጋጀው ሌላ እንባ አስወራጅ የቀብር ስነሥርዓት

በግብጽ መንግስት አበረታችነት በየሳምንቱ ተመሳሳይ በደል እና ግድያ በኮፕት ወገኖቻችን ላይ ይካሄዳል፤ የመሀመዳውያኑ ወዳጅ የሆነው ሉሲፈራውያኑ ዓለም ፊቱን አዙሯል፣ ሜዲያዎች የፌንጣ ድምጽ እንኳን አያሰሙም፣ ክርስቲያን ነን የሚሉት የቡና፣ ጥምባሆና፣ ጫት ሱስ ባሪያዎች ከእምነት ወንድሞቻቸው እና እህቶቻቸው ጋር አብረው እንደመቆም ለደመ–ነፍስ አጥፊዎቹ መሀመዳውያን ጠበቃ ሆነው ሲሟገቱላቸው ይሰማሉ። እስኪ መቼ ነው የኢትዮጵያ ሜዲያ “ግብጻውያን ክርስቲያኖች በሙስሊሞች ተገደሉ!„ “ቱርክ በሶርያ እና አረመን ክርስቲያኖች ላይ ጭፍጨፋ አካሄደች” የሚሉ ርዕሶችን የያዘ ዜና አቅርቦ የሚያውቀው? ለሶርያ እና ለምያንማር ሙስሊሞች ግን ተቆርቆሪዎች ሆነው በተገኘው አጋጣሚ ሁሉ በሰፊው ሲለፍፉ ይሰማሉ። ግብዞች!

ለእነዚህ አረመኔ የዲያብሎስ ልጆች መልሱን መስጠት የምትችለው ኢትዮጵያ ብቻ ነበረች። የቀደሙት አባቶቻችን፦ “ዋ! ክርስቲያን ወንድሞቻችንና እህቶቻችንን ትነኩ እና ወዮላችሁ አባይን እንገድበዋለን፣ በአጻፋውም ኢትዮጵያ ያሉትን ሙስሊሞች እንበድላቸዋልን” በማለት መሀመዳውያኑን ሲያስፈራሯቸው ክርስቲያኖች ሰላም ያገኙ ነበር፣ አብያተክርስቲያናት ወዲያው እንዲሰሩ ይፈቀድላቸው ነበር።

የአሁኖቹ መሪዎቻችን ግን አላስፈላጊ ለግብጻውያኑ በማጎብደድ “አትፍሩ፣ ግድቡ መቼም አያልቅም፣ ሙስሊሞቹን አይሻንና ካዲጃንም ስልጣን ላይ እናስቀምጣቸዋለን፣ የሠራዊታችን መሪዎች እናደርጋቸዋለን፡ አይዞን!” ይሏቸዋል። በዚህም የተበረታቱት ግብጻውያን ሙስሊሞች ኮፕት ክርስቲያን ወገኖቻችንን ይጨፈጭፋሉ፣ አብያተክርስትያናቶቻቸውን ያፈራርሱባቸዋል። በአገራችንም ሳይቀር ተመሳሳይ ድርጊት እንዲጀምሩ አደፋፍሯቸዋል።

በዚህ የገና በዓል ሰሞን ክርስቲያኖች በጥሞና ሊያተኩሩበት የሚገባ ጉዳይ፡ ቱርክ ጥንታውያን ክርስቲያን ወንድሞቻችን እና እህቶቻችን በሆኑት አርመኖች እና ሶርያውያን ላይ የመጨረሻውን የጭፍጨፋ ዘመቻ ለማካሄድ እየተዘጋጀች መሆኑ ነው። ያው በዛሬው ዕለት አሜሪካ ወታደሮቿን ከሶርያ እንደምታወጣ አስታውቃለች። ይህ ማለት ክርስቲያኖች በተከማቹበት የሰሜኑ የሶሪያ ክፍል ለፀረ–ክርስቶሷ ቱርክ ሠራዊት በሩ ተከፈተ ማለት ነው። ከዚያ በኋላ ዘመቻው ወደ እናት ኢትዮጵያ እንደሚያመራ አንጠራጠር። የፀረ–ክርስቶሱ ሠራዊት እንደ አገራችን ተራራማ የሆነ መልክዐምድር ባላት በአፍጋኒስታን ለ18 ዓመታት በመለማመድ ላይ ይገኛሉ።

[መዝሙረ ዳዊት ምዕራፍ ፵፬፥፩፡፯]

“አቤቱ፥ በጆሮአችን ሰማን፥ አባቶቻችንም በዘመናቸው በቀድሞ ዘመን የሠራኸውን ሥራ ነገሩን።

እጅህ አሕዛብን አጠፋች፥ እነርሱንም ተከልህ፤ አሕዛብን ሣቀይኻቸው አሳደድኻቸውም።

በሰይፋቸው ምድርን አልወረሱም ክንዳቸውም አላዳናቸው፤ ቀኝህና ክንድህ የፊትህም ብርሃን ነው እንጂ ወድደሃቸዋልና።

አምላኬና ንጉሤ አንተ ነህ፤ ለያዕቆብ መድኃኒትንህ እዘዝ።

በአንተ ጠላቶቻችንን እንወጋቸዋለን፥ በስምህም በላያችን የቆሙትን እናዋርዳቸዋለን።

በቀስቴ የምታመን አይደለሁምና፥ ሰይፌም አያድነኝምና፤

አንተ ግን ከጠላቶቻችን አዳንኸን፥ የሚጠሉንንም አሳፈርሃቸው።”

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የግብጽ መሀመዳውያን “አላህ ዋክባር!” እያሉ በመጮህ ኮፕት ወገኖቻችንን ከቤተክርስቲያናቸው አስወጧቸው

በቅዳሴ ሥነ ስርዓት ላይ ተገኝተው የነበሩትን ክርስቲያን ወንድሞቻችን እና እህቶቻችንን ፀሎታቸውን አቋርጠው እንዲወጡ አስገደዷቸው። ቪዲዮው ላይ እንደሚታየው ኮፕቶቹ መንገድ ላይ ሆነው ብሶታቸውን በሰላማዊ ቁጣ ለእግዚአብሔር ሲያቀርቡ ይሰማሉ።

አስቡት በተገላቢጦሽ አዲስ አበባ ላይ ክርስቲያኖች ሙስሊሞቹን ከአዳዲሶቹ መስጊዶች እንዲህ ቢያደርጓቸው ደካሞቹ ሙስሊሞች ምን ልያደርጉ እንደሚችሉ።

ሁለት ሺህ አምስት መቶ የሚሆኑት የቆርሁም አልረሃብ መንደር ክርስቲያኖች እስካሁን አንድም ቤተክርስቲያን የላቸውም፤ ቅዳሴ በየቤታቸው ነበር የሚያደርጉት፤ አሁን አንድ የቤተክርስቲያን ሕንፃ እንዲሠሩ ቢፈቅድላቸው ያው የአካባቢው መሀመዳውያኑ ወረሯቸው።

ቆሻሾች! ክፉ የሰይጣን አምልኮት እስላም!

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CHRISTIANITY CRACKDOWN: Church ATTACKED by mob – ‘It happens every day’

A CHRISTIAN church in Egypt was forced to close on Sunday after an attack by Islamic extremists.

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Christians at the church in Koum Al-Raheb prayed on the street following the attack. The place of worship is one of many that have fallen victim to attacks from Islamic extremists, as they believe the church is not part of the Islamic country. Anti-persecution charity International Christian Concern (ICC) learned about the attack and said the church in Koum Al-Raheb recently opened a new building which serves 2,500 Coptic Christians.

To Islamic cheers of “Allahu Akbar”, literally Allah is the Greatest, groups of Muslim villagers had on Monday 10 December, waged attacks against the houses of the Copts in the village of Kom al-Raheb, pelting them with stones and thumping at doors and windows.

They were livid that the Copts had a day earlier, Sunday 9 December, opened a new church building and celebrated Holy Mass inside. The police arrived and demanded immediate closure of the unlicensed church. The Copts persuaded the police to wait for Mass to conclude before closing the building, which they did and confiscated its keys.

Monday morning, local government employees arrived to the church to cut off water and electricity from the building through removing the electricity and water meters, a standard measure taken against unlicensed buildings. The village Copts gathered around the church to oppose this procedure, and stood praying out loud in the street in front of the four storey building.

According to the village priest who asked for his name to be withheld, the new church would have served the village’s 2500 Copts, since the village includes no church. He said that fundamentalist Muslims had used the local mosque’s microphone to rally the village Muslims against the Copts.

The building is now closed and dependent on the outcome of a reconciliation session meaning local Christians have no access to the church.

A local carpenter named Sobhi told the ICC: “It’s a hard time. We don’t know what we should do. How does the government permit us to open new churches and then force us to close churches? We barely open churches, and the police don’t want to keep us safe.”

A Bible student called Karim told the ICC that Egypt’s constitution states the country’s religion is Islam.

He said: “With this item in the constitution, it gives the idea to radical Muslims that having a church is not part of the Islamic country and that Christians are not part of the Islamic community.”

Isaac Ibrahim from the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the attack was a “result of the state’s adoption of clear discriminatory policies and there is no desire to change. What happened is a single pattern, a prayer begins and then demonstration starts”.

Source

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ክርስቶስን በመከተላቸው በሙስሊሞች ለተገደሉት ፯ ግብጻውያን ወገኖቻችን የቀበር ሥርዓት ተካሂዷል

ሙስሊሙ የግብጽ ፕሬዚደንት በግብጽ ክርስቲያኖች ላይ የተፈጸመውን ግድያ ከጥቂት ደቂቃዎች በኋላ ሲያወግዙና፣ የ”ሃዘን መግለጫም” ሲያወጡ፤ የእኛው ሙስሊም መሪ ግን ለጅጅጋው የአባቶቻችንን ዕልቂት “ሃዘናቸውን” የገለጡት ከሳምንት በኋላ ነበር። በጣም የተገለባበጠ ዓለም ነው!

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ግብጽ | ወደ ቅዱስ ሳሙኤል ገዳም ሲጓዙ የነበሩ ኮፕት ወገኖቻችን ላይ ሙስሊሞች ጥቃት አደረሱባቸው

የመሀመድ አርበኞች ከካይሮ በስተደቡብ ወደሚገኘው ወደ ቅዱስ ሳሙኤል ገዳም በሚጓዙት ሁለት አውቶቡሶች ላይ ጥቃት አድርሰው፡ እስካሁን፡ በጥቂቱ 7 ክርስቲያኖች ሱገደሉ 14 የሚሆኑት ተጎድተዋል። አውቶብሱ ብዙ ህፃናትን የያዘ ነበር።

እ.አ.አ በ2017 ዓ.ም በዚሁ ቦታ ላይ በተመሳሳይ መልክ የአውቶብስ ጥቃት ደርሶ 30 የሚሆኑ ኮፕት ክርስቲያኖች መገደላቸው የሚታወስ ነው።

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“እኛ ሃገር ቤተክርስቲያን አንፈልግም” | በጠላትነት የተነሳሱ ሙስሊሞች ፰ የግብጽ አብያተ ክርስቲያናትን እንዲዘጉ አደረጉ

በሙስሊም ነዋሪዎች በተደጋጋሚ ዛቻ ከደረሰባቸው በኋላ በላይኛው የግብፅ ኮፕቲክ ሃገረሰብከት ውስጥ የሚገኙ ስምንት አብያተ ክርስቲያናት አሁን ለመዘጋት በቅተዋል።

የክርስቲያኖች ጠበቃ የሆኑት ጋሚል አይይ እንደገለጹት ሦስት ሺህ የሚሆኑት የመንደሩ ክርስቲያን ነዋሪዎች ለቤተክርስቲያን ሕጋዊ እውቅና ለማግኘት በመታገል ላይ ናቸው። ከሁለት ዓመት በፊት የግብጽ መንግስት ዓብያተ ክርስቲያናት ልክ እንደ መስጊዶች አንድ ዓይነት ሕጋዊ መብት ሰጠቻለሁ ብሎ ነበር።

እስካሁን 3,500 የሚሆኑ አብያተ ክርስቲያናት ህጋዊ ዕውቅና ለማግኘት በመጠባበቅ ላይ ቢሆኑም በመንግስት ያልተፈቀደላቸው አብያተ ክርስቲያናትን ግን ቀስ በቀስ በመዘጋት ላይ ናቸው። የሚገርም ነው፡ “ህጋዊ ዕውቅና ያልተሰጠው መስጊድ ግን አገልግሎት ሲያቋርጥ ወይም ሲዘጋ ተሰምቶ አይታወቅም። ይህ ፍትሕ ነውን? እኩልነት የት አለ? የሃይማኖት ነጻነት የት ነው? ህጉ የት አለ? የመንግስት ተቋማት የት ይገኛሉ?” በማለት ኮፕት ወገኖቻችን ይጠይቃሉ።

ከ ሉክሶር ከተማ በስተደቡብ በምትገኘው ድንግል ማሪያም እና ቅዱስ ሞህራኤል ኮፕቲክ ኦርቶዶክስ ቤተ ክርስቲያን በ ነሐሴ ፳፪ ላይ አንድ ሺህ በሚሆኑ ሙስሊሞች የተቃውሞ ጩኸት እና ወረራ ሳቢያ እንድትዘጋ ተደርጋለች። ቪዲይዎ ላይ እንደሚታየው ከ ፲፮ እስከ ፳፮ ዓመት እድሜ ያላቸው በርካታ ሙስሊም ወጣቶች “አላህ ዋክብር! (አላህ ከሁሉም አማልክት ይተልቃል) እና ” የእኛ የእስልምና መንደር ውስጥ ቤተክርስቲያን እንዲኖረን አንፈልግም” እያሉ በጥላቻ በመጮህ ቤተክርስቲያኗን ከብበው እንደነበረ፤ “የፊት ለፊቱን በር ለመስበር ሞክረው ነበር ነገር ግን ከውስጥ ቆልፈነው ነበር፡ ወዲያውኑ የፖሊስ ፖሊሶች መጥተው ሙስሊሞቹን ሊያባርሩ በቅተዋል፤ ነገር ግን ማንንም ማሠር አልፈለጉም።” በማለት የቤተክርስቲያኗ አገልጋይ በሃዘን ተናግረዋል።

ይህ ሁሉ ጉድ በሉክሶር ሃገረ ስብከት አካባቢ ብቻ ነው እየተከሰተ ያለው። በተለያዩ የግብጽ አውራጃዎችም ተመሳሳይ ፀረ–ክርስቲያኖች እንቅስቃሴ በመጧጧ ላይ ነው።

ያውም በአገራቸው! ኮፕት ወገኖቻችንን ትክክለኛዎቹ የግብጽ ነዋሪዎች፣ ከባቢሎን አረብ ሙስሊም ወራሪዎች በፊት እዚያ የነበሩ ግብጻውያን ናቸው። ግብጻውያን በአገራቸው ብቸኛውና ትክክለኛውን አምላካቸውን ኢየሱስ ክርስቶስን ማምለክ እንዳይችሉ እየተደረጉ ነው። ምናለ የእኛን ሙስሊሞች ወደ ግብጽ፡ የግብጽን ኮፕቶች ወደ ኢትዮጵያ በመላክ እንደ ግሪክ እና ቱርክ የሕዝብ ልውውጥ ብናደርግ?!

እናት ኢትዮጵያ ባክሽ የሕዳሴውን ግድብ ቶሎ ጨርሺው!

+ Copts Attacked in Egypt’s South Over Homes Used as Churches

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ግብጽ | “መሀመድን ከኢየሱስ ጋር አመሳስለሃል” ብለው በመቆጣት ሙስሊሞች የክርስቲያኖችን መንደር አጠቁ

ከትናንትና ወዲያ በሚኒያ አውራጃ በሺህ የሚቆጠሩ ሙስሊሞች ተጠራርተው የኮፕት ወገኖቻችን ቤተክርስቲያን፣ ቤቶችና ሱቆች “እናንት ኩፋር የመስቀል አምላኪዎች፡ ከነቀሳውስታችሁ ከዚህ ከተማ ገና እናባርራችኋለን፤ አላህ ዋክበር!” እያሉ በማውደም ላይ ናቸው። ለዚህ ጥቃታቸው የሰጡት ምክኒያት፦ “በፌስቡክ ላይ መሀመድን ከኢየሱስ ጋር በማመሳሰልህ የነብያችንን ክብር ነክተሃል፣ እስልምናን አንቋሽሸሃል” የሚል ነው።

በሚኒያ አውራጃ የምትገኘው ሜንባል ከተማ እስከ 45ሺህ ነዋሪዎች ሲኖሯት፡ 30% የሚሆኑት ኮፕት ወገኖቻችን ናቸው።

ጥቃቱ አሁንም ቀጥሏል፤ ኮፕቶች ከቤታቸው መውጣት ፈርተዋል፣ የፖሊስ ጥበቃ ቢደረግላቸውም ሙስሊም ጎረቤቶቻቸው “እንገላችኋለን” እያሏቸው ነው፣ ክርስቲያን ህፃናት በመጮህ ላይ ናቸው። ጥቃቱን የሚፈጽሙት እነማን እንደሆኑ ቢታወቅም እስካሁን ለመታሠር የበቃ ሙስሊም የለም።

በሊቢያ ሰማዕት ለመሆን ከበቁት 21 ኮፕቶች መካከል አንዱ ከዚህ ሠፈር ነበር።

መቼ ይሆን ከክርስቲያን ወገኖቻችን ጋር ለመተባበር ሚሊዬን ኢትዮጵያውያን መስቀል አደባባይ የሚወጡት?

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Egypt: Copts Attacked After Facebook Post Showing ‘Contempt of Islam’

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An attack by a Muslim mob on Copts in a village in the Egyptian governorate of Minya on Monday (9 July) has left the Coptic community holed up in their houses, while security forces patrol the streets.

A local source told World Watch Monitor the situation is still very tense in the village of Menbal, 225km south of Cairo, which was also home to Gaber Mounir Adly, one of the 21 men beheaded by Islamic State in Libya in 2015.

Monday’s attack took place after Muslim villagers in Menbal, which has a population of 45,000, 30% of whom are Copts, accused a Coptic Christian of publishing a post on his Facebook page that insulted Islam, said the source, who did not wish to be named. In his post, published last Thursday (5 July), the 35-year-old Abdo Adel had compared Islam’s prophet, Muhammad, with Jesus.

The Muslim villagers filed a complaint with the police in the nearby city of Matay. Adel was arrested the following day (Friday 6 July) on charges of insulting Muhammad and contempt of Islam. He was put in custody pending further investigation.

On the day of his arrest, a group of young Muslim men tried to attack his house and had to be dispersed by police who were guarding the Copt’s home, according to the source.

‘We will displace you’

Three days later, on Monday evening, the police were called in at 11.30pm because a mob was attacking Copts and their properties in the village.

“The Muslim extremists in our village and the nearby villages incited the Muslim villagers against us …. They began pelting the Coptic-owned houses with stones and bricks, while shouting ‘Allahu akbar’ [Allah is the greatest] and chanting slogans against Copts, such as ‘We will displace you and the priest from our village, oh kaffir [infidels], oh the worshipers of the cross, oh defiled people’,” Girgis Shawky, a 32-year-old resident told World Watch Monitor.

Windows were smashed and some of the Copts sustained minor injuries. The attackers also attempted to break into the St. Tadros Church and the house of the priest, Fr. Makarious El-Kommas Antoun, but security personnel who were guarding the properties stopped them by firing in the air, he said.

However the police were unable to disperse the crowd. Only at about 1am on Tuesday morning (10 July), when regional security forces arrived, was order restored, although none of the attackers were arrested, said Shawky.

He added that “security forces have cordoned off the houses owned by Christians and the church”, while a curfew has been imposed from 8pm until 8am.

‘A state of panic’

“We lived very terrible moments while the mob were attacking our homes. Our children were screaming,” said Hany Adly, a Copt who owns an electrical-supplies shop in the village.

“All of us [Copts] have stayed in our homes. We are afraid to get out to the village streets. There is a state of panic and fear among all of us here. I cannot open my shop. Despite the presence of security forces in the village, we are still receiving threats from our Muslim neighbours. They say they will take revenge on all of us as soon as the security forces leave the village. We are afraid that they will attack us this Friday after their noon prayers.”

Source

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