His Holiness Pope Shenouda III met with a small committee from the members of the Holy Synod on Tuesday morning 15th February 2011, and they released the following statement:

The Coptic Church salutes the honest Egyptian youth, the  Youth of 25th January, who led Egypt in a strong peaceful revolution, in which precious blood was shed,  the blood of the martyrs of the nation who were honoured by Egypt’s leaders and army, and also honoured by all the people and ourselves. We offer our condolences to their families and relatives.

The Coptic Church pays tribute to the valiant Egyptian army, and also to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces for what it has issued of official statements regarding the security of Egypt both internally and externally. We support its decision in dissolving the Peoples’ Assembly and the Shura (Consultative) Council, and its call for security to reign.

We all believe that Egypt must be a democratic and civil nation, choosing members of its parliament through free and fair elections, having representatives from all facets of the people.

We support all of Egypt in its fight against poverty, corruption and unemployment, resisting anarchy and destruction, and for the foundation of security and safety, the principles of social justice and national unity and the curtailing of corrupt and unlawful people.

The Coptic Church prays for the great Egypt, which has a glorious history and ancient civilisation. We hope that the Lord to keep Egypt safe and spread in it calmness, stability, security and prosperity.

Shenouda III

Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark

& Head of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church

Abba Seraphim visited the British Orthodox Church of Christ the Saviour on 13 February to ordain three new Readers for the Bournemouth and Portsmouth congregations. Despite the heavy and almost incessant rain throughout the day, the morning Liturgy was well attended and those present were delighted to witness Daniel Malyon, Anthony-Paul Holland and Roger-John Morgan receive the clerical tonsure and to be ordained as readers. Assisting Abba Seraphim were Fathers Simon Smyth and Seraphim Mina as well as Nicolae Popa and James-Antony Kelly, two long standing Readers.

Whilst presenting them to Abba Seraphim for ordination Father Simon read letters of support including one from Mina Riwes of Washington DC, who had attended British Orthodox services at Bournemouth and Portsmouth whilst he was working in Britain last year and another from Father Marcos A. Marcos of St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church, Scarborough, Toronto, who had received Roger-John into the Orthodox Church in Canada, who wrote, “Indeed they are worthy to join in the sacramental celebrations of our holy Church. On Sunday I will announce this news to our congregation and we will be sharing your joys singing  ‘Axios,Axios,Axios’ ”. Another message came from Negati & Safaa Banayoty, through whom Roger-John had come to know the British Orthodox Church in Bournemouth and who were later to  be his godparents. Daniel and Anthony Paul will largely serve at Portsmouth and Roger-John at Bournemouth, but as the two congregations are both under Father Simon’s pastoral care, they will often support both churches.

In his address Abba Seraphim spoke of the importance of the minor orders and their place in the ministry of the church and highlighted St. Paul’s injunction that “it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful”(1 Corinthians IV: 1-2) as well as the Lord’s promise to those who are faithful over a few things, “I will make thee ruler over many things” (Matthew XXV: 21).

A happy time of fellowship followed after the service and a buffet lunch was shared by those present.

His Holiness and Beatitude Catholicos Patriarch Ilia II of Georgia visited London to consecrate a new Cathedral for the 30,000 strong community of Georgian Orthodox living in the United Kingdom. Having established a Diocese of Great Britain and Ireland with Bishop Zenon of Dmanisi as its first hierarch, the Catholicos – assisted by several bishops of the Georgian Orthodox Church and His Eminence Archbishop Gregorios of Thyateira –  consecrated the Cathedral of the Nativity of our Lord at Rookwood Road, Clapton, London, N16 on Sunday, 6 February. The newly designated Cathedral was formerly known as The Ark of the Covenant and was built in 1892-5 to a design by Joseph Morris & Sons of Reading for the long extinct millenarian sect, the Apapemonites. Neglected after the war it was rented out to other church groups and at one time in the 1960s the British Orthodox Church used it on a monthly basis.

The same evening the Georgian Orthodox community held a reception at the Dorchester Hotel in London for the Catholicos, to which a number of ecumenical guests were invited. The Oriental Orthodox Churches were represented by Archbishop Athanasius of the Syriac Church,   Abba Seraphim of thev British Orthodox Church within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate and Father Snork Bagdassarion of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Representing the hierarchs of the Eastern Orthodox Churches were Archbishop Gregorios and Metropolitan Kallistos whilst the Right Rev’d. Geoffrey Rowell represented the Archbishop of Canterbury. In his short address Catholicos Ilia spoke movingly of the hospitality of the British people and expressed his respect and admiration for H.M. Queen Elizabeth II. He also touched on the difficulties of living next to a powerful nation and the pain of having Georgia’s territorial integrity compromised.

Abba Seraphim presented Bishop Zenon, who had been raised to archiepiscopal rank that morning,  with a copy of a rare booklet from the library of the British Orthodox Church, which marked the opening of the Ark of the Covenant in 1894 and described the symbolism of the building. Abba Seraphim spoke of the beauty of the church and its personal significance to him as he had himself been ordained there as a reader in 1965 and a subdeacon and deacon in 1967. He expressed his delight to know that this fine building was now consecrated as an Orthodox cathedral.

Father Michael Robson suffered a fall on 3 February during which he fractured the pubic bone in his pelvis and was admitted to hospital for treatment before returning to Morden College. He has since developed a chest infection which is causing some concern and on Friday evening, 4 February Abba Seraphim, attended by the chaplain of Morden College, Father Nick Woodcock, visited him and administered Holy Unction. Although in some pain and sedated, Father Michael was alert and able to follow and join in the prayers.

Only on Tuesday morning, 1 February, Abba Seraphim, assisted by Father Peter Farrington and Subdeacon Dr. Michael Kennedy, celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the Chapel of Morden College. Father Michael was not well enough to attend but afterwards Holy Communion was taken to him in his room and he was able to enjoy a time of fellowship with some of those present.

Your prayers are asked for Father Michael, who is in his 78th year.

An interview with Abba Seraphim

Q. How do you view the current demonstrations in Egypt ?

A. History shows us that all repressive regimes can only maintain a grip on power for a limited period of time. Like a volcano waiting to explode, the underlying tensions seeks a crack in the surface and then everything suddenly comes bursting out. No country can be totally isolated from its neighbours and the unrest we saw in Tunisia has spread to Egypt and its effect is already having an impact on other countries. I was impressed, however, by the calmness of the protesters in the early stages but the escalating violence and injury to people and property is now very alarming.

Q. Do you think that President Mubarak should go ?

A. I have already expressed my view that I believe the present government has lost its moral authority and retains power by electoral fraud and military repression. However, Tony Blair was right to remind us that President Mubarak is not Saddam Hussein, although he has presided over a corrupt and stagnant administration for three decades and a new generation of educated Egyptians have grown up who want to control their own destiny. It is not uncommon for political leaders to believe themselves indispensible and to try to hang on to power for too long but in truly democratic countries their term of office is limited by statute or they can be voted out. Egypt’s constitution provided for this but President Mubarak changed it and has now outstayed his welcome. Recent tragic instances have showed us that the Egyptian government was not ensuring the security of all its citizens and this has been a serious failure to fulfil a primary responsibility of government.

Q. Do you believe that America is still influencing events ?

A. Egypt has suffered from foreign interference for too much of its modern history and I am very conscious of Britain’s role in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, which sadly did not put Egypt’s interests first. However, Egypt is a proud nation and they did manage to reassert their independence before American influence and patronage tied them into a rather too close alliance. America and its Western allies have been complicit in winking at the totalitarian nature of the Egyptian government and the human rights abuses in Egypt and by so doing they have also lost some moral stature. Efforts to push for greater democratisation have been too half-hearted and now seem to be an afterthought.

Q. Is there a danger that if Mubarak goes now things will descend into chaos ?

A. There are signs of that chaos already appearing with vicious street battles between warring factions, the absence of proper policing with widespread reports of looting and rape as well as the serious damage being done to businesses and the economy in general. All parties profess a devotion to national unity and to achieve this there must be give and take. I would hope that President Mubarak will complete his term and be allowed to go into honourable retirement. He has served his country for many years and is not without some achievements and by going peacefully he may regain some respect from his opponents. We may justly criticise him for his failures but I dislike the crude abuse coming from some quarters. If he goes early, then the Vice-President will assume power in an orderly way and he should invite representatives of all the leading opposition groups to play some part in the reconstruction which must immediately follow and to pave the way for constitutional change and free and fair elections before the end of the year.

Q. Is there a danger that the Muslim Brotherhood or other religious fundamentalists will be the principal beneficiaries of these changes ?

A. Although the Muslim Brotherhood has been a banned party, it nevertheless managed to field “independent” candidates and to gain 88 seats (20% of the total) in the 2005 elections. In the latest, 2010 rigged elections, they gained only one seat (0.2% of the total). Obviously, support is still there and it is something which needs to be faced. Currently the Muslim Brotherhood professes a commitment to greater democratisation and if a new Constitution can be brought in before the elections we have to trust that the majority of Egyptians will back that and it will serve as a safeguard against any form of extremism.

Q. Do you have any views about what form that Constitution should take ?

A. The 1980 amendment introduced by President Sadat, which states “Islamic jurisprudence is the principal source of legislation” is discriminatory and contradicts the aspirations of non-Muslim citizens. The rights of all Egyptians to practise their religion must be respected but no faith should be preferred over another if there is to be true equality. National unity cannot be achieved by preferring one section of society over another and this is the soundest way to ensure that religious extremists do not gain control.

Q. How should Coptic Orthodox Christians react ?

A. In all societies there will be diversity of opinions, so Copts do not form a monolithic block vote. We have seen instances of Copts standing guard over mosques during these demonstrations and I know of very encouraging reports of Christians and Muslims working harmoniously to protect their local communities. The Coptic Church has always encouraged national unity and that vision is symbolised in the old motif of the conjoined cross and crescent expressing that sense of Egyptian unity which was so strong in the early twentieth century. Copts have been participating in peaceful demonstrations and Pope Shenouda has always condemned any resort to violence.  I feel sure that Copts will be at the forefront of support for the wounded and the vulnerable during these difficult days. The shameful and degrading violence of the past two days is something which cannot be justified under any circumstances.

Q. What can those of us do who are not living in Egypt ?

A.  As Christians we know the power of prayer and it is always our first resort. We not only pray for our friends and relations caught up in events, but we pray for the victims of the violence and that the politicians and leading figures in Egyptian society will be given wisdom and guidance in their judgements and actions. At the present, most Coptic Churches in the diaspora are observing a time of prayer and fasting. It is encouraging also how many Christians of other traditions are telling us that they too are earnestly praying for a peaceful and just outcome. Egypt is a great nation and they are a proud people. We pray that out of these troubled times a long and lasting peace may result so that freedom, justice and tolerance may flourish.