During the celebration of the Divine Liturgy at Morden College, Blackheath, on 1 October, Abba Seraphim offered thanksgiving for the safe deliverance of His Grace Anba Makarios, General Bishop of Minya, following an assassination attempt the previous day. 

The Bishop was visiting the town of el-Sario in Abou Qorqas, Minya province, on a pastoral visit to comfort a Coptic family, which had lost its son in the recent sectarian violence, when his car received a hail of bullets from several unidentified attackers. His driver was able to drive to the home of a local church member, where they took refuge. However, the attackers pursued them, surrounded the house and continued shooting for over 90 minutes, causing extensive damage to its windows, doors and walls. The local security service only arrived a further 90 minutes after the shooting had stopped. The head of Minya security told the media that the local Muslim villagers were angry because they thought the Bishop had come to reopen St. Michael’s church, the only church in the village, which has been closed for the past 10 years ago for security reasons.

Minya is one of the most highly populated governorates in Upper Egypt, and the region of Abou Qorqas is situated on the left bank of the Nile.  This summer saw considerable sectarian violence and incitement against Copts, in which some 43 citizens had their homes, shops and vehicles looted or destroyed whilst in Minya City the Amir Tadros Church, St. Joseph’s Convent, Abba Moussa Church an d the Assembly of Coptic Schools was burned to the ground,; Mar Mina Church was looted and the Evangelical and Baptist Churches were burned as well as the library of the Jesuit Association, the YMCA, the Soldiers of Christ Coptic Orphanage, St. Joseph’s Convent School and the Holy Bible Press. Two Copts were also burned to death when their tourist boat was set on fire.

Commenting on the attempted assassination, Abba Seraphim expressed concern about the extent of violent threats directed against Copts and supporters of the interim government. He noted that one website, calling itself ‘The Al Magreze Center for Historical Studies” publishes a “Wanted List of the Sharia Court” giving photographs and details of 37 targetted notables, including His Holiness Pope Tawadros II and the Sheikh of Al-Azhar, with a grisly cartoon of General Al-Sisli hanging from a gallows.

Bishop Macarios is a General Bishop, serving  as Auxiliary to His Eminence Metropolitan Arsenios of Minya, Abu Qorqas and Beni Hasan. 

Abba Seraphim with the new Bishop of Ebbsfleet and Fathers Shnork and Garegin

On 25 September, the Archbishop of Canterbury (the Most Reverend & Right Hon. Justrin Welby), assisted by the Bishops of London and Rochester, with the College of Bishops, consecrated two new bishops at Westminster Abbey. These were the Venerable Martyn Snow, Archdeacon of Sheffield & Rotherham, to be Suffragen Bishop of Tewkesbury in the Diocese of Canterbury, and the Reverend Canon Jonathan Goodall, the Archbishop’s Ecumenical Secretary, to be Bishop of Ebbsfleet in the Diocese of Canterbury.

Abba Seraphim was among the many ecumenical guests invited to the service and to the reception at Lambeth Palace following the consecration service. Canon Jonathan Goodall’s work with both the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Churches meant that they were well represented at the service. Among those attending were Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira (Ecumenical Patriarchate); Metropolitan Hilarion  of Volokolamsk, Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations & Archbishop Elisey of Sourozh (Moscow Patriarchate); Bishop Dositej of Great Britain & Scandinavia (Patriarchate of Serbia); Archbishop Iossif of Western & Southern Europe (Patriarchate of Roumania); Bishop Youhanna of Laodikea (Patriarchate of Antioch) and Archbishop Nikiphoros of Askalon (Patriarchate of Jerusalem). Others representing the Oriental Orthodox Churches were Bishop Angaelos and Fathers Shnork Bagdassarian and Garegin Hambardzumyan.

It was a particular pleasure that the Sermon on this auspicious day was preached by The Right Rev’d & Right Hon. the Lord Williams of Oystermouth, the previous Archbishop of Canterbury.

Abba Seraphim has signed an E-petition recently placed on H.M. Goverment website, which is especially aimed at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. The petition, which was drafted by Nicholas Crampton, founder of Eastern Christian Links, states:

“Noting with dismay the attacks on Coptic Churches in Egypt, and in Syria the kidnapping of the Syrian and Greek Orthodox Archbishops in Aleppo while working on humanitarian relief and of Father Paolo Dall’Oglio in Raqqa while working for Islamic/Christian dialogue and understanding, 

We call on the UK Government 
(i) To commit publicly to the promotion of toleration of and protection for religious minorities in the Middle East as an important part of UK foreign policy, 
(ii) To demand of, and make a condition of diplomatic or any material assistance for, (a) the authorities in and any new Government of Egypt and (b) the members of the Syrian National Coalition, especially the Syrian National Council and the Free Syrian Army, that they publicly promise, enact and energetically enforce the protection of the practice of peaceful religious activities by all their citizens whether Muslim or non-Muslim.”

Abba Seraphim noted that H.H. Pope Tawadros II had recently called upon the Committee responsible for drafting the new Egyptian Constitution to extend its toleration to all non-Muslim religions and not merely to the “three heavenly religions” (Christianity, Islam & Judaism) and believed that religious toleration cannot be limited but should be open to all faiths. He commended the petition to all who respect freedom, justice and toleration: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/54532

Abba Seraphim and Father Peter Farrington were among clergy assisting in the special Service commemorating the Coptic Feast of Nayrouz, hosted for the second year in succession at St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster. His Grace Bishop Angaelos presided and preached. Messages of welcome were made by the Rev’d Canon Andrew Tremlett,  Rector of St. Margaret’s; The Archbishop of Canterbury (read in his absence by the Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe) and H.M. The Queen (read by the Countess of Verulam, Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire). At the conclusion, addresses were given by Baroness Cox of Queensbury; the Right Hon. Alistair Burt, MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Foreign & Commonwealth Office and the Right Hon. John Bercow, MP, Speaker of the House of Commons. The Church was full and a large number of clergy from other churches joined the procession as ecumenical guests.

The recent visit of His Holiness Mar Basilius Mar Thoma Paulose II, Catholicos of the East, to England, was not only a great blessing for the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom but also a significant ecumenical event. His visit marked a number of historic anniversaries: 80 years since the first celebration of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Qurbana in the Chapel of King’s College, London; 75 years since  H.H.The Catholicos, Mar Baselios Geeverghese II visited the UK in 1937; 60 years since the Malayalee migration to the UK and 40 years since the formation of the St. Gregorios Congregation in London.

Abba Seraphim, accompanied by Subdeacon Daniel Malyon and Reader Trevor Maskery, attended the Divine Liturgy celebrated by the Catholicos at St. Gregorios Indian Orthodox Church in Brockley on Sunday, 8 September, and assisted in the liturgical celebration and the parochial speeches and festivities which followed.

On Monday, 9 September a Banquet of some 90 guests was held to honour the Catholicos at Lambeth Palace. In the absence of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishops of Gibraltar in Europe (The Right Rev. Geoffrey Rowell) and Southwark (The Right Rev. Christopher Chessum) acted as hosts. Representatives of all the major churches were present as well as many leading members of the Malayalee community in the UK and friends of the Indian Orthodox Church.  The British Orthodox Church was represented by Abba Seraphim, Father Peter Farrington and Father & Mrs. Simon Smyth.