What came out of the first Holy Synod meeting chaired by Pope Tawadros
Translated from Christian Dogma
The first ever Holy Synod meeting chaired by Pope Tawadros II took place this morning and lasted several hours. The meeting was attended by 91 bishops. Seven bishops were absent. The Holy Synod will meet every six months.
Bishop Raphael, bishop of churches in central Cairo, and one of the final candidates for Papacy, was appointed secretary of the Holy Synod, a positioned considered to be the second most powerful in the Coptic Church. He will be replacing Bishop Bishoy of Kafr El-Sheikh, Damietta, who has held this position since 1985. Bishop Thomas of Qusiya, Bishop Youssef of the southern United States and Bishop Apollo of South Sinai were all appointed as his secretaries.
Fr Seraphim Al Soriany, one of the final candidates for papacy, was appointed as secretary for affairs of the diaspora. He served in three churches in the United Kingdom for 12 years ...
Translated from Christian Dogma
The first ever Holy Synod meeting chaired by Pope Tawadros II took place this morning and lasted several hours. The meeting was attended by 91 bishops. Seven bishops were absent. The Holy Synod will meet every six months.
Bishop Raphael, bishop of churches in central Cairo, and one of the final candidates for Papacy, was appointed secretary of the Holy Synod, a positioned considered to be the second most powerful in the Coptic Church. He will be replacing Bishop Bishoy of Kafr El-Sheikh, Damietta, who has held this position since 1985. Bishop Thomas of Qusiya, Bishop Youssef of the southern United States and Bishop Apollo of South Sinai were all appointed as his secretaries.
Fr Seraphim Al Soriany, one of the final candidates for papacy, was appointed as secretary for affairs of the diaspora. He served in three churches in the United Kingdom for 12 years. These were St George & St Athanasius in Newcastle, St. Mary & St. George in Nottingham as well as one of the churches in Wales.
The church also announced a plan to increase its online presence. A new website is being built for the Cathedral of St Mark. New Facebook and Twitter accounts are being made for His Holiness Pope Tawadros. For the first time in the history of the church, there is a push to use modern technology to facilitate communication to the congregation.
Also, a committee was formed under the leadership of Bishop Pakhomious to rewrite the outdated laws of patriarchal elections which were written in 1957. Bishop Pakhomious acted as the interim pope after the passing of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III till the appointment of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. The committee will write a preliminary draft of the new law in the next four months. The draft will be sent to all the bishops for study and feedback. Another committee will have four months to study and examine the feedback from bishops. Yet another committee will have four months to write the final draft and present it to the Holy Synod. Once approved by the Holy Synod, it will be submitted to the Egyptian government to be written into law.
He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart;... Isaiah 40:11 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested. 1 Chron 4:10 May our Lord answer the prayers of our most Holy Fathers as they go about doing His willing; may He bless them, and be at their side, and enlarge the borders of our most Holy Coptic Orthodox Church for this I pray...amen
A great step forward. Will this new website keep the diaspora up to date on what wrongs are being committed against our Coptic faithful. Will the bishops in the diaspora send the abuses to the relevant governments in their countries. I am saying this as most people say in the UK that the Coptic Church is Orthodox but rather think they are R.C perish the thought.
He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;...
Isaiah 40:11
And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
1 Chron 4:10
May our Lord answer the prayers of our most Holy Fathers as they go about doing His willing; may He bless them, and be at their side, and enlarge the borders of our most Holy Coptic Orthodox Church for this I pray...amen
A great step forward.
Will this new website keep the diaspora up to date on what wrongs are being committed against our Coptic faithful. Will the bishops in the diaspora send the abuses to the relevant governments in their countries. I am saying this as most people say in the UK that the Coptic Church is Orthodox but rather think they are R.C perish the thought.