Middle East – Africa

Alexandria, Egypt, Aug 20, 2018 / 02:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Last month’s murder of Bishop Epiphanius, the abbot of St. Macarius Monastery in the Egyptian desert, has highlighted tension in the Coptic Orthodox Church over monasticism, ecumenism, and reform.

Bishop Epiphanius’ body was found July 29, with injuries to his head and back that suggest that he had been hit by a sharp object.

Isaiah al-Makary, whose name in the world is Wael Saad, was charged with the bishop’s murder Aug. 11, and confessed to the murder the following day. Saad said another monk, Faltaous al-Makary (Raymond Rasmi Mansour), assisted in the crime. Faltaous attempted suicide in recent weeks, and was being treated at a Cairo hospital.

Saad was expelled from the monastery Aug. 5, for “inappropriate actions which violate monastic behavior and way of life.” The Coptic Orthodox Church said that his dismissal had been decided on before the bishop’s death.

Bishop Epiphanius’ murder has led to the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate issuing several decrees on monasticism.

Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, announced Aug. 1 that the Church’s monasteries would stop accepting new brothers for one year. Those who established monasteries unapproved by the patriarchate will be stripped of their priesthood and monastic state. No new monasteries may be founded except as a revival of old monasteries, and this is to be done under the care of a recognized monastery.

The Church has also instructed its monks to close their social media accounts, and has suspended the ordination of monks for three years. Permissions for monks to attend outside functions is also being restricted.

And on Aug. 16, the Church announced that unrecognized monasteries have one month to submit to the supervision of the patriarchate. This will allow Tawadros “to supervise spiritual, financial, and managerial aspects,” the Egypt Independent reported.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers had historically been considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, though they are not considered so any longer.

Samuel Tadros, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told the New York Times that Bishop Epiphanius was “a senior figure in a reformist Coptic movement” that has been favored under Tawadros.

“His appointment, in May, to position in which he would work as a liaison with the Catholic Church was seen as a sign that conservatives were being sidelined, Mr. Tadros said.”

Pope Francis visited Egypt last year, and signed a joint declaration with Tawadros announcing that their Churches will recognize the validity of each other’s baptisms.

Previously, the Coptic Orthodox Church had repeated baptism if a Catholic had sought to join it.

Conservative members of the Coptic Orthodox Church have reportedly resisted such reforms under Tawadros. According to a commentary by Engy Magdy in the Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn’s The Tablet, these conservatives are associated with Shenouda III, the immediate predecessor of Tawadros as Coptic Orthodox Patriarch.

The dispute goes back to tensions between Shenouda and Fr. Matta El Meskeen.

Fr. Matta was tasked by Cyril VI in 1969 with reviving monastic life at St. Macarius Monastery. The monk was focused on the spiritual life, openness to the thought of other Churches, and ressourcement.

While Shenouda was a disciple of Fr. Matta early on, after he was elected Pope of Alexandria in 1971 the two came into conflict. Shenouda restricted Fr. Matta to his monastery, and discouraged the reading of his books, according to an essay by Mina Thabet in Middle East Eye.

It was during this time, in 1984, that Epiphanius joined St. Macarius and became a monk. Epiphanius was a disciple of Fr. Matta, and was involved in ecumenism.

Fr. Matta died in 2006.

St. Macarius Monastery was long independent of the Coptic Orthodox hierarchy, but Shenouda restored it under the Church’s authority in 2009, and appointed some 70 conservative monks, among them Saad and Faltaous.

In the year after Shenouda’s 2012 death, Epiphanius was elected abbot of St. Macarius, and consecrated a bishop.

The murder of Bishop Epiphanius in his cell at St. Macarius may well only heighten tensions within the Coptic Orthodox Church, especially as Tawadros continues to extend his oversight of the monasteries in the desert of Egypt.

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Cairo, Egypt, Aug 13, 2018 / 11:37 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Egyptian police have arrested two men, one a monk and one a former monk, over the death last month of Bishop Epiphanius, the abbot of St. Macarius Monastery.

Bishop Epiphanius’ body was found July 29, with injuries to his head and back that suggest that he had been hit by a sharp object. St. Macarius is a Coptic Orthodox monastery in Egypt’s Beheira governorate, about 60 miles northwest of Cairo.

Isaiah al-Makary, whose name in the world is Wael Saad, was expelled from the monastery a few days after Bishop Epiphanius’ death. He was charged with the bishop’s murder Aug. 11.

The Egypt Independent reported that Saad confessed to the murder the following day, and said that another monk, Faltaous al-Makary (Raymond Rasmi Mansour) had assisted in the crime.

Faltaous, 33, was detained Aug. 13. He had attempted suicide the previous week and was being treated at a hospital in Cairo.

Saad was expelled from the monastery Aug. 5, for “inappropriate actions which violate monastic behavior and way of life,” the Egypt Independent reported. The Coptic Orthodox Church said that his dismissal had been decided on before the bishop’s death.

After Saad’s confession, his lawyer, Amir Nasif, withdrew and declined to defend the suspect.

Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, announced Aug. 2 that Coptic Orthodox monasteries will stop accepting seminarians for one year, Egypt Today reported.

The Church has also instructed its monks to close their social media accounts, and has suspended the ordination of monks for three years.

According to The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre, Bishop Epiphanius was born June 27, 1954 in Egypt’s Tanta governorate. He joined St Macarius Monastery in February 1984, and became a monk in April of that year. He was ordained a priest Oct. 17, 2002, and in 2013 was elected abbot and consecrated a bishop.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers had historically been considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, though they are not considered so any longer.

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Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Aug 10, 2018 / 02:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- President Joseph Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo announced this week that he will step down after 17 years in power. The announcement follows years of prot… […]

Cairo, Egypt, Aug 2, 2018 / 06:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Coptic Orthodox bishop was was found dead as a result of a suspected murder in St. Macarius Monastery in Egypt on Sunday.

Bishop Epiphanius, who died July 29, was abbot of the monastery, which is located in Egypt’s Beheira governorate, about 60 miles northwest of Cairo.

His body had injuries to his head and back that suggest that he had been hit by a sharp object, according to the preliminary security investigation.

The bishop was remembered for his wisdom, simplicity and humility by Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria, who celebrated Bishop Epiphanius’ funeral Mass on Tuesday.

“Just as the meaning of his name is light, he also enlightened our world. We are extremely saddened by his departure but we live on in hope of the resurrection when we bid farewell to all our loved ones,” Tawadros II said at the July 31 funeral, according to Ahram Online.

According to The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre, Bishop Epiphanius was born June 27, 1954 in Egypt’s Tanta governorate. He joined St Macarius Monastery in February 1984, and became a monk in April of that year. He was ordained a priest Oct. 17, 2002, and consecrated a bishop March 10, 2013.

In Defence of Christians (IDC) condemned the “horrific attack” on Bishop Epiphanius, calling it “the latest in a string of violence against Coptic Christians that has increased sharply in 2017 and 2018.”

Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority has suffered continued attacks since the 2015 Islamic State beheading of 21 men. In December 2017, ten people were reported dead after terrorists attacked a Coptic church near Cairo. Forty-nine Christians died in church bombings on Palm Sunday in 2017. A Coptic priest was murdered in a knife attack in Cairo in October 2017.

IDC called on the U.S. Administration and the State Department to hold Egypt accountable for the treatment of Coptic Christians.

Tawadros II announced Aug. 2 that Coptic Orthodox monasteries will stop accepting seminarians for one year, Egypt Today reported.

The Coptic Orthdox Church is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers had historically been considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, though they are not considered so any longer.

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Jerusalem, Jul 31, 2018 / 05:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A recently-adopted Israeli law that strongly affirmed the country’s link with the Jewish people and avoided mention of non-Jews wrongly excluded the non-Jewish population, the Latin Patriarchat… […]

Abuja, Nigeria, Jul 30, 2018 / 11:23 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A thriving and holy marriage depends on choosing a suitable spouse, having realistic expectations for the difficulties of marriage, and understanding the role of God’s grace in Christian life, according to a Nigerian bishop.

“You do not choose when and where you are born, you may or may not choose what school you attend, but you alone can choose who your spouse will be. And because this is a critical life decision, it can mar one’s life when a wrong choice is made,” said Bishop Anselm Umoren, auxiliary bishop in Abuja, at a July ceremony launching a book on marriage written by Henrietta Okechukwa, a counselor in Abuja.

At the ceremony, the bishop noted that “many young people, having observed the tragic situation of marriage and family life today, are giving up hope of ever starting a family. I have heard and seen young people today who say, ‘If this is what marriage is, I prefer to remain single’. This seems to be the chorus on the lips of many young people in our society,” according to the Catholic News Service of Nigeria.

Those young people who do marry, he said, “go into marriage relationships with skewed values. Many young people want to marry a wealthy partner and are desperately seeking a life of comfort without seeking the values that make for a happy and holy life. They therefore end up mortgaging their lives and exchanging their happiness for the temporary pleasures of life.”

“On Valentine’s Day in 2014, Pope Francis addressed 10,000 young couples preparing for marriage at a special Valentine’s celebration in St Peter’s Square in Rome. In his address, the pope spoke to the engaged couples about love and about lasting fidelity in marriage and encouraged them not to be afraid to make the life-long commitment that marriage entails. But the pope also expressed his sadness that many marriages today do not last long. This mentality, he says, has affected many young people who now see marriage as a temporary arrangement according to their own preferences,” Umoren said.

“This is why today many young couples seem to be overtaken by excessive planning and preparation for wedding, with exotic wedding gowns, elaborate photo shoots, and huge financial spending, without giving much attention to the spiritual and mental preparation for marriage.”

“They spend a lot of time and resources preparing for wedding instead of preparing for marriage. The wedding ceremony takes only a couple of hours, but the life after wedding lasts ‘till death do us part’. We need to help today’s young people to focus on this priority,” he added, while praising Okechukwa’s book.

The book, “Understanding your spouse before and after saying ‘I do,’” has not been released in the United States.

The bishop urged dating couples to reflect carefully on their values, and those of their partner, encouraging them not to marry if they do not share a common commitment to the permanence of marriage, to faith and to the Gospel.

“We are inundated almost on a daily basis with harrowing tales of husband and wife who are unable to live together under the same roof and sometimes resort to violence even to the point of killing a partner,” he said of his own pastoral experience in the Diocese of Abuja.

“It is better to put an end to an incompatible relationship today than to find yourself in an unhappy and sorrowful marriage tomorrow.”

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Asmara, Eritrea, Jul 26, 2018 / 11:33 am (ACI Prensa).- After a peace accord signed this month ended 20 years of conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, an Eritrean Catholic priest said the country needs to focus on opportunities for youth, to stem the flow of emigration.

“Peace is the base. Now we need to start to build a better future for our youth,” said Fr. Mussie Zerai, a 2015 Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder and president of Habeshia, an organization which helps immigrants and refugees in Italy.

A peace agreement was signed in July by Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, formally ending a lengthy war between the two countries, which are located in the Horn of Africa.

Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, and intermittent border clashes have continued since then. The July 8-9 summit formally ended the border conflict, restored diplomatic relations, and opened the nations’ mutual border.

The priest told EWTN that the peace agreement has fulfilled 20 years of dreams and given people hope for the future, but should be followed by guaranteeing freedom, education, healthcare, and jobs, to “reduce the exodus of young people.”

Eritrea is a one-party state whose human rights record has frequently been deplored. Isaias has been president of the country since it formally gained independence in 1993.

Zerai, who was involved in the peace-building efforts, said he and others had been trying to promote dialogue as the solution for the two countries.

Religion, as well, had a role, he noted, since the prime minister of Ethiopia “invited all religious leaders” to become involved in preparing “the people for reconciliation and for tolerance and for good relations between neighboring countries” following the accord.

Religious freedom has long been a concern in Eritrea, which was highlighted in the U.S. State Department’s annual report on the state of international religious freedom, released May 29.

The report documented the arrest of hundreds of independent Protestant Christians in Eritrea, where the government reportedly coerced numerous individuals into renouncing their faith.

Catholics make up about 5 percent of the country’s population and Oriental Orthodox nearly 40 percent. The Eritrean Catholic Church uses the Alexandrian rite.

Zerai said the Catholic Church in Eritrea is very active in all aspects of society, including evangelization, charity, education, and healthcare, but faces government discrimination.

Authorities recently shut down eight free Catholic-run medical clinics, he explained, which prevented the Church from serving the poor people in those areas. Authorities said the clinics were unnecessary, because of the presence of state clinics, he said.

“Our hope is that with peace maybe the internal policy will change,” Zerai said, decrying the lack of rule of law over the last two decades.

“Now with peace I hope the country, the government, will start to build this important infrastructure and structure for the country.”

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Pretoria, South Africa, Jul 25, 2018 / 05:01 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The South African Catholic Bishops’ Conference decried Wednesday a recent series of taxi driver murders and encouraged the government to bring the criminals to justice.  

“It is clear that there is a serious problem in the Taxi Industry that needs an immediate response,” the bishops wrote July 24.

“AS [sic] the Catholic Church we implore the government, the relevant authorities and the taxi associations to destroy this demon of viciousness and slaughter.”

Rivalries between taxi associations in South Africa have occurred in the past. Reportedly, tensions develop between groups of taxi drivers aiming to access particular routes. Minibus taxis are among the country’s most popular forms of transport.

One driver was killed July 24 in Springs, 30 miles east of Johannesburg. Another was shot July 23 in Alexandra, immediately north of South Africa’s largest city.

A massacre occurred July 21, when members of Ivory Park Taxi Association from Gauteng province were attacked on the way back from a colleague’s funeral. The minibus was shot up on the R74 road between Colenso and Weenen in Kwa-Zulu Natal.

In the attack, 11 people were killed immediately and another died later at hospital, according to Times Live. Three men were also critically injured and only two men escaped unharmed.

Another driver had been killed July 19 in Johannesburg, and in Cape Town, 10 were killed in one weekend in May.

“For years now the Taxi Industry in the country has been mired in violence, resulting in killings, including the killing of the innocent people who depend on taxis for transport,” wrote the bishops.

Taxi services are a major source of transportation in South Africa, the bishops said, noting that the service “is in danger of being clouded in an aura of criminality.”

“The church believes that the government is capable of addressing the problem and uprooting it totally if it could concern itself with ruling the country, putting the lives of ordinary people on the top of their agenda.”

“It is not enough for those in power to condemn taxi violence. It is time that serious and radical measures should be put in place to make South Africa a safe place to live in.”

The bishop offered their condolences to those affected by the violence and encouraged all citizens to co-operate with the authorities.

“We convey our sincere condolences to the victims of violence and crime in the country. We invite all citizens to co-operate with the security authorities in identifying and rooting out murderers.”

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Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jul 24, 2018 / 12:18 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Unity, peace building, and strong families were among the themes of a document released by the bishops of Eastern Africa after an 11-day meeting in Ethiopia this month.

The Association o… […]

Kampala, Uganda, Jul 20, 2018 / 01:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The potential for Christian engagement and renewal will be a focus for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the leadership organization for Catholic bishops’ conferences in Africa.
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