At the end of May the Coptic Orthodox Church was received into membership of Churches Together in England. Although it was already corporately represented through its membership of the Council of Oriental Orthodox Churches, it was felt that it was now time for the extensive Coptic community to apply for membership in its own right. Bishop Angaelos, however, has expressed his commitment to the Council and promised that it will continue to receive the active support of the Coptic Church. Precedents for "double representation" already exist in Churches Together with the Free Churches Council and some Black Majority Churches.

New Coptic Churches in Cyprus

On 9 January Pope Shenouda III, accompanied by Metropolitan Bishoy and Bishop Moussa, travelled to Cyprus for the regular meeting of the Middle Eastern Council of Churches. On 11 & 12 January His Holiness consecrated two new Coptic churches: Virgin Mary & St. Athanasios at Limossol and St. Mark at Nicosia. At a special reception for the MECC, His Holiness also met the President of the Republic of Cyprus.

Visitors to Pope Shenouda

On 13 February Pope Shenouda received a fraternal visit from the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Petros VII, accompanied by Archbishop Savva of Poland and attendant bishops.

Pope Shenouda's visit to Armenia

His Holiness Pope Shenouda made an official three-day visit to Catholicos Karekin II in Armenia, during which they signed the following:

Common Declaration

Being one in the Christian Orthodox Faith, we give thanks to God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit Who graced us with this opportunity to express our mutual brotherly love on the occasion of the third visit of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III to Armenia, accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy and His Grace Bishop Angaelos on the days between the 2nd and 5th May 2003, during the celebration of the 17th Centenary of the consecration of the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.

As the successor of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Apostle, Saint Athanasios the Great and Saint Cyril of Alexandria, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III is welcomed in the spirit of utmost respect and love by the successor of the Apostles Saint Thaddeus and Saint Bartholomew, and Saint Gregory the Illuminator, His Holiness Karekin II at the Catholicosate of All Armenians.

How rewarding it is to reaffirm the unity of our Christian Faith that has been maintained with loyalty throughout the past centuries and which is based on the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Tradition of the early Church as proclaimed by the first three Ecumenical Councils of Nicea (325), Constantinople (381) and Ephesus (431). We renew our commitment to give more concrete expression to that unity in the life and witness of our Churches in faithful obedience to the will of our Lord the Logos Incarnate, Jesus Christ, and in continuation of the Orthodox legacy of the sacred Tradition of our Church Fathers. We preserve and treasure the expression of our common father Saint Cyril of Alexandria "Mia physis Tou Theou Logou Sesarkomeni," (One Incarnate nature of God the Word).

We commit ourselves to promote in more visible and tangible ways the close cooperation of our respective Churches of the Family of Oriental Orthodox Churches, in our involvement in the Ecumenical movement on local, regional and world levels, to pursue increased activities in our common task in facing and meeting the challenges of the dangers of the heresies of Jehovah's Witnesses, the Adventists, the Nestorians, the Mormons, the New Age Movement, and other heresies that are dangerous to the Church. Our common task is also in facing and meeting the new challenges of the modern world where extreme trends of life are so deeply affecting the spiritual, moral and social life of our people.

The Coptic Orthodox Church warmly congratulates the Armenian Apostolic Church on the 17th Centenary celebrations of the consecration of the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin.

We encourage the pursuit of greater collaboration in the areas of Christian Education, Sunday Schools, Youth Meetings and Activities, and Theological Education to bring into focus the living traditions of our respective Churches. Exchange of students and professors of Theology is one of the immediate tasks that we recommend to our Theological schools. As a start, two Armenian priests are prepared and will be sent in the near future to Egypt to stay for some years in order to experience monastic life, to study the Coptic and Arabic languages and the living tradition of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II expressed his willingness to invite representatives of the Churches in the Oriental Orthodox family, to meet at Holy Etchmiadzin and to discuss together areas of collaboration as churches having the same Christian Orthodox Faith.

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III and His Holiness Catholicos Karekin II, visited the Saint Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan where they were warmly welcomed by the clergy and people and then addressed the faithful. In Yerevan, the two Pontiffs also visited the Holy Trinity Church under construction, Saint Nerses Hospital, and Church youth centers. Furthermore, they visited the Vaskenian Theological Seminary at Lake Sevan, where His Holiness Pope Shenouda III planted a tree.

Their Holiness were received by His Excellency Mr. Robert Kocharian, President of the Republic of Armenia. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III took the opportunity to congratulate the president on his reelection for a second term and thanked him for his support of the Church in Armenia. They also visited the National Academy of Sciences, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, where they were received by the Ambassadors of Egypt, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. The two Pontiffs were hosted to at a dinner by the President of the Armenian National Assembly, Armen Khachatrian, and other state officials.

On Sunday during Divine Liturgy in the Cathedral of Holy Etchmiadzin, the two Pontiffs exchanged official speeches and gifts.

Their Holiness visited the Memorial to the Armenian Genocide, where they laid wreaths and offered prayers. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III later planted a tree on the grounds of "Tsitsernakaberd."

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III noticed with great pleasure the revival taking place in the Armenian Apostolic Church, under the pastoral care of His Holiness Karekin II. The construction of several new churches, the establishment of new seminaries with an increasing number of students, the operation of a hospital, the renovation of Church youth centers, the collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences, the increased involvement in ecumenical dialogues and activities, and coordinated efforts with the government of the Republic of Armenia are some of the salient examples of this revival.

We pray, with all the members of our Churches, for peace and justice in the world, and for true human prosperity for Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh, for Egypt, for the whole of the Middle East, including the Holy Land and Iraq, and for the whole world.

May God guide us, our Churches and all peoples and nations on the way to peace for His Glory.

04 May 2003 Holy Etchmiadzin, Armenia. Shenouda III Karekin II

Holy Synod meets at Pentecost

His Holiness Pope Shenouda presided over the annual meeting of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which was held at the Patriarchate in Cairo on 14 June. Abba Seraphim returned to Cairo to participate in the meeting and the services for the Pentecost feast.

Abbot of Saint Mina's Monastery becomes Bishop

The Abbot of Saint Mina's Monastery in Maryut was elevated to the Episcopate in an historic service which began on the Eve of Pentecost and was completed on the Feast of Pentecost, 15 June. Presiding over the ceremony in Saint Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, Pope Shenouda, assisted by the Metropolitans and Bishops of the Holy Synod, consecrated Bishop Kyrillos Ava Mina in succession to the late Bishop Mina Ava Mina, who died in 1996.

He was born in Sohag on 13 August 1953, entered St Mina monastery on 9 September 1973 was consecrated as monk on 29 March 1975, priest on 21 January 1996, promoted to Hegumen on 2 January 2000, appointed prior of the monastery on 1st October 2000, then locum tenens on 12 October 2001 and abbot on 14 November 2002.

Coptic Church established in Mexico

One and half years ago, Pope Shenouda had sent Hegumen Mikhail Edward of Cleveland to study the feasibility of installing a Coptic church in Mexico and Father Agapius Anba-Paula was chosen to minister it.

Indeed, the construction of the church began, yet sending a priest took some time because of prolonged administrative procedures including granting official approval of the Coptic church.

Fr. Mikhail Edward kept ministering there through various visits when he celebrated liturgies, held meetings, and fulfils the ministry needs of the Coptic community there, including marriages and baptisms and receiving native Mexican converts to Orthodoxy.

Following the submission by Fr. Mikhail of an official request for recognition of the Coptic Orthodox Church as a denomination in Mexico, a decree number SGAR/2588/2003 was issued from the Mexican Ministry of Interior according official recognition of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Mexico. This letter was received from Dr. Javier Moctozuma Barragain the Deputy Minister of Interior for Religious Affairs and Dr. Alvaro Castro Estrada the General Director of Religious Affairs in the Mexican Ministry of Interior on 10 June 2003 and provides the right to build Coptic churches all over Mexico.

Construction of the church is already in progress: the ceiling of the first floor has been erected. This ceiling is the floor of the upper church. In the first floor lays the hall, offices, general clinic, dentist clinic, pediatric clinic and a pharmacy. The second floor is the church having a Coptic dome above the altar and a bell tower. Three buildings are affiliated to the church, those being a nursery and a primary school (6 years). The upper floor is a residence for the priest-monk, the Pope and guests. Each building has a possibility of adding two other floors in the future.

Pope Shenouda's birthday

On 3 August 2003 His Holiness Pope Shenouda will keep the eightieth anniversary of his birth.

Patriarchs to meet in Lebanon

The three Middle-Eastern Patriarchs of the Oriental Orthodox Churches (Pope Shenouda III, Mor Ignatius Zakka I and Catholicos Aram I of Cilicia) will hold their regular meeting in Lebanon on 17-18 October.

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