His Holiness Pope Shenouda, accompanied by a number of  Coptic bishops, recently visited Budapest to receive an honorary doctorate from Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest for his outstanding academic work in humanities, especially in literature, philosophy and the history of sciences. On 19 August he was welcomed by the University’s President (György Fodor)  and Cardinal Péter Erdő. The next day, at the invitation of the Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister, Zsolt Semjén, he attended celebrations for the Hungarian National Day. Mr Semjén, who is also responsible for religious affairs, said that the visit by Pope Shenouda was a landmark event in East-West religious dialogue. His Holiness participated in the official ceremony at the parliament building where he met President Pál Schmitt, who decorated him with the Hungarian medal of State. He then joined Zsolt Semjén to attend Mass in St Stephen’s Basilica. On 21 August His Holiness consecrated the first Coptic Orthodox inBudapest’s eighteenth district, during which he anointed and consecrated the altar and the icons.

Photo source: hungarianambiance.com

The British Orthodox Church is pleased to announce that a Coptic Language Summer School has been organised by Father Peter Farrington with the blessing and support of H.E. Metropolitan Seraphim and the sponsorship of the British Orthodox Church.

The student numbers are limited to approximately 10, and places are already filling up.

The details are as follows:

Coptic Language Summer School
King’s College, London

Monday 5th – Thursday 8th September, 2011

Session 1: 11:00-13:00
Lunch and Discussion Break: 13:00-14:00
Session 2: 14:00-16:00

The tutor will be Dr Carol Downer, an experienced and well qualified lecturer in the Coptic language.

The course material will be based on Introduction to Sahidic Coptic by Thomas O. Lambdin.

The cost of the School is £60, payable in advance.

Those wishing to book a place should urgently contact the School organiser:

Father Peter Farrington – fatherpeter@britishorthodox.org

and make an online payment of £60 using the following link..

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=XSUHUEF8VMSLN

On Saturday, 14th May, clergy and laity from all of the Oriental Orthodox churches gathered together for the 4th annual Oriental Orthodox Festival. The festival provides an opportunity for the members of the various Orthodox communities to meet together and share in the celebration of the Liturgy, and then have an opportunity for fellowship over a varied buffet lunch provided by the different Orthodox traditions and ethnicities represented.

The latest festival took place at St Michael’s Eritrean Orthodox Church in Camberwell, London. Participating bishops included His Grace Bishop Angaelos and His Eminence Archbishop Athanasius in the presence of His Grace Bishop Markos. The attending priests represented the British Orthodox, Syrian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Indian Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox and Eritrean Orthodox Churches. There were many deacons from the various Churches and the sanctuary was filled with a wonderful fraternal spirit. As Father Youhannes began the prayers of the Liturgy a spiritual atmosphere descended upon the crowded Church.

Many British Orthodox clergy and faithful had travelled to Camberwell to participate in the Festival. They included Father Sergius, Father Simon and Father Peter, together with Deacon Theodore from the French Coptic Orthodox Church, and servants and laity from the South Coast congregations. Many other friends of the British Orthodox Church were present in the congregation, including Father Deacon Richard Downer and Dr Carol Downer.

The Liturgy was conducted with the participation of the various clergy, and the congregation was marked by enthusiastic singing of the hymns and chants of the Eritrean tradition. It always makes a great impression to see so many of the faithful dressed in their traditional white clothes. It is important that this concelebrated liturgy takes place each year so that we provide a visible manifestation of our unity as Orthodox Christians.

After the Liturgy the choir of the Eritrean Orthodox church sang many of their traditional songs with the accompaniment of drums. It was a great blessing to see such devotion and seriousness in the young Eritrean Christians who sang and performed their liturgical dance, but also to see the joy and spiritual delight in the faces of the many members of the congregation who joined in. His Grace Bishop Angaelos addressed the congregation, as did His Grace Bishop Markos, whose message of welcome was translated by Father Youhannes.

But the Festival is more than the concelebrated Liturgy, and we were invited to the basement of the Church where the various churches represented had laid out diverse foods from their own cultural traditions. After a great deal of warm conversation it seemed that most people had a plate of food in front of them. I certainly enjoyed the Eritrean food I was offered, and the opportunity to talk with some of the other clergy. Father Youhannes was tireless in his hospitality and hardly had time to sit down himself.

To conclude our Festival the choir of the Indian Orthodox church had arranged to share some of their musical repetoire with us. As they started their first song the church filled up with clergy and laity. The choir sang enthusiastically, and the choir director even managed to urge the Eritrean Orthodox choir to join in with their drums. The congregation were given an opportunity to try and sing one of the Indian Orthodox songs, but I am not sure that we all managed to pronounce the Malayalam words properly.

After a final prayer Father Youhannes dismissed the congregation. It had been a most successful event, and already I have received messages from those who had been able to attend and who had enjoyed the Festival.

[Report by Father Peter Farrington]

Abba Seraphim assisted at the Divine Liturgy for the Feast of Pentecost in St. Mark’s Cathedral, Abbesseya, Cairo, on 23 May 2010. During the Divine Liturgy His Holiness Pope Shenouda III ordained a number of new priests for both the churches in Cairo and those in the lands of emigration. These included Father Boula to work alongside Fr. Kyrillos in Abagaya, where Abba Seraphim and other British Orthodox members have been regular visitors; and Fr. Mina for the Coptic Orthodox Parish of St. Mary & Archangel Mikhael at Golders Green.

In the afternoon, Abba Seraphim, accompanied by Shenouda Mamdouh and his wife Mary, visited the Monastery of St. Macarios (Deir Abu Maqar) in the Wadi al Natrun to pray at the shrines of the three St. Makarios, St. John the Short, the 49 Martyrs of Sheheet and the more recently discovered relics of St. John the Baptist and the Prophet Elijah. They were warmly received by the fathers and entertained to lunch. Returning to Cairo Abba Seraphim invited the family of his host, Mr. Mamdouh Abdou to a Nile felucca trip.

Fr Anthony Clements, the British Orthodox General Priest in Scotland, assisted Fr. Karas Anba Bishoy and Fr.Seraphim El Souriani in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at the Coptic Cathedral of St. George & St. Athanasios in Newcastle on the Feast of Pentecost (23 May). The large congregation included not only expatriate Egyptians and Sudanese, but also worshippers from Iraq and Eritrea, as well as a large group of Coptic Canadian students in Britain to attend Newcastle university. His Grace Bishop Antony was not present as he was attending the annual Pentecost meeting of the Holy Synod in Cairo.