“These are blessed days for which we profoundly thank the Lord,” Pope Tawadros said as he spoke during Vespers incense service on 9 March, the eve of the Sunday preceding Lent.
Pope Tawadros explained that, as the Coptic Orthodox Church prepared to embark on the holy days of Lent, it was marking a number of events. On 8 March, the Church commemorated the 4th anniversary of the passing of a great monastic figure: Anba Sarapamoun, previous Abbot of the monastery of Anba Bishoy in Egypt’s Western Desert; on 9 March it celebrated Pope Kyrillos VI, the saint who departed our world in 1971; and on 17 March it honours the memory of the monumental Pope Shenouda III who passed in 2012.
Additionally, the Church has seen three major events at the outset of Lent. The Holy Synod convened and issued its decisions and recommendations on 7 March, new bishops were consecrated or appointed to dioceses on 9 March, and Holy Myron oil was prepared for the 41st time in the history of the Church on 11 March.
Holy Synod on same-sex relations
On 7 March 2024, the Coptic Orthodox Church’s Holy Synod issued its decisions and recommendations based upon reports by its special committees. It issued a statement which Watani published in full at
Coptic Church Synod on same-sex relations, new decisions and recommendations
The statement spelt out the Coptic Orthodox Church’s position on same-sex relations: “God created man in holiness, male and female, and joined them in the bond of holy matrimony because He is a holy God; ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’ (Genesis 2:24). Following citations of Bible passages to confirm its view, the Synod declared that “those who suffer from homosexual tendencies and abstain from sexual acts, that abstinence is credited to them as a struggle. Those who struggle are afflicted with the warfare of thought, sight, and attractions, just like heterosexuals. Those who fall into homosexual practices are like heterosexuals who fall in the sin of adultery, they need true repentance. Both need continuous spiritual and psychological follow-up … As for those who choose to conciliate with their homosexual drive, letting go of themselves to homosexual practices, rejecting spiritual and psychological treatment, and choosing of their own free will to break God’s commandment, their condition becomes worse than the one who lives in [struggle against] adultery. Therefore they must be warned and cut off from communion until they repent.
“Accordingly, the Coptic Orthodox Church rejects what is called sexual perversion in its general and comprehensive understanding, and all types of sexual practices outside the sacred framework of marriage. It categorically rejects invoking the idea of different cultures to justify same-sex relations within so-called absolute human freedom… The Church, while affirming its complete belief in [personal] human rights and freedom, also affirms that the freedom of the created is not absolute to the point of transgressing and breaking the laws of the Creator.
“The Church also affirms its adherence to its pastoral role in helping its children who suffer from homosexual drives, not rejecting them but providing them with support and assistance in order to reach psychological and spiritual healing, placing its trust in its Christ, the Holy One, who is able to heal, change, and develop in ways more than what we ask or envision.”
Monasteries, policies, pastoral care
The Synod decided to restore monastic life to two monasteries in Upper Egypt, and recognise three monasteries, two in Egypt and one in California
Coptic Church Synod on same-sex relations, new decisions and recommendations
A decision was taken, following consultation with the sister churches of the Oriental Orthodox family, to “suspend theological dialogue with the Catholic Church, reevaluate the results achieved by the dialogue since it started 20 years ago, and establish new standards and mechanisms for the dialogue to proceed in the future”.
The Synod decided to establish the General Technical Office in the Patriarchate, with branches in the dioceses to communicate with various government agencies regarding procedures related to churches.
An office acronymed H.I.G.H.,“Hands in God’s Hand” was set up to connect members of the Coptic Church abroad with areas in need of service inside Egypt.
A General Secretariat of Coptic Hospitals in Cairo was established, similar to the General Secretariat of Coptic Hospitals in Alexandria.
As to the recommendations issued by the Synod, they concerned topics of nurturing nationalism and awareness of the Church’s strong role in integrating its social, health, and developmental services in Egyptian society; transforming families dependent on charity into productive and income-earning families; sharing churches’ activities on social media; raising awareness of the danger of blood-related marriage; adding mental health topics to youth meetings and to pre-marital classes; also adding a drug test to the compulsory pre-marital medical investigation; establishing family reconciliation committees; and training school teachers of Christian religion.
The Synod recommended that all books translated from Coptic heritage, and new books released be collected in one site to share the benefit and avoid duplication.
It affirmed its firm position on rejecting all forms of homosexual relationships, citing any blessing of such relations to be a blessing of sin which it said “is unacceptable”.
Finally, the Coptic Orthodox Church declared it “prays for the unity of the sister Orthodox Church in Ethiopia, and for peace and love to prevail among all.”
Bishops appointed to dioceses
During Vespers service on 9 March, Pope Tawadros conducted the first part of the ritual of consecrating two new bishops and appointing four other bishops as new diocesan bishops soon to be seated in their respective dioceses. The second part of the consecration was completed during Mass the following day.
The consecration ceremony started with the monks and bishops nominated for the episcopate marching in a procession among the congregation for the people to recognise them. The episcopal pledge was read, and the episcopal vestments blessed and donned.
Appointment prayers were read for the four general bishops who were assigned to dioceses; one was appointed as head of monastery.
Anba Thomas, who had been consecrated in 2022 Bishop-General of Monastery Affairs was made Bishop and Head of the Monastery of the Holy Virgin and Archangel Michael in al-Bahnasa, Minya. That monastery was only a few days earlier officially recognised by the Church as a thriving monastery.
Anba Mikhail was consecrated in 2018 Bishop-General of Hadayeq al-Qubba churches in Cairo, and Deputy of the Clerical College; the Pope appointed him to the Diocese of Helwan and its dependencies. Pope Tawadros said that Anba Mikhail had been an architect before taking orders, and recently earned a doctoral degree. The Diocese of Helwan, the Pope said, very recently lost its bishop, Anba Bisenti, who had suffered debilitating illness before he passed, which required placing Helwan Diocese under special supervision. Anba Mikhail, the Pope said, possessed excellent managerial capabilities and was the right man for the job.
Bishop Joseph, who was consecrated in 2021 and served in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Malawi, was appointed to a new African diocese that includes these countries.
Bishop Axios was consecrated Bishop-General in 2021 and served in Mattariya and Ain Shams districts in Cairo, and has been appointed Bishop of Mansoura, a diocese whose Bishop had passed in 2022.
New bishops
The Pope consecrated two new bishops in a ritual known as the ritual of calling or naming. He called the two monks by the names given to them as bishops, and by their new episcopal titles.
The monk Ekladius al-Suriani was named Anba Ekladius, Bishop and Head of the Monastery of Anba Pachomius al-Shayeb in Luxor; and the monk Anastasi al-Suriani named Anba Bdaba, Bishop of Nag Hammadi and its dependencies, a diocese that had remained without a bishop since its previous bishop Anba Kyrillos passed in 2022.
Holy Myron oil
The monastery of Anba Bishoy in Wadi al-Natroun, some 120km northwest Cairo in Egypt’s Western Desert, witnessed on 11 March the preparation of the Holy Chrism Oil, the Myron, for the 41st time in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is also the fourth time during the papacy of Pope Tawadros II.
Holy Myron is used in the Holy Anointment, the Sacrament of Confirmation, and in anointing the baptised and consecrating churches. It is prepared whenever it is needed by the Church. In view of growing Coptic congregations inside and outside Egypt, it has been prepared more often in modern times.
The preparation or ‘cooking’ of the oil is an event which replicates one of the oldest and most revered Church traditions.
Tradition has it that the first who made the Myron were the Apostles from the fragrant oils that had been used for the burial of Jesus Christ and the sweet-smelling spices the women had brought to anoint the body of Jesus, but discovered He was risen from the dead. When St Mark headed to Alexandria, he brought with him some of the Myron made by the Apostles and used it in the Sacrament of the Chrism. The tradition was handed on to the successive patriarchs until Pope Athanasius (AD 298 – 373) who decided to remake the Myron in Alexandria. The original oil was, and still is today, used as ‘leaven’.
Modern-day Myron
This year, Pope Tawadros arrived at the 4th-century church in the monastery with members of the Holy Synod who received from his hands the bottles of 27 special oils and sweet spices—those mentioned in the book of Exodus and in the Song of Songs—that would be used in the preparation of the holy Chrism oil. Among them are the oils of cloves, sandalwood, liquid amber, and balsam. These ingredients are mixed in pure olive oil.
Carrying the bottles, the bishops moved in procession to the big cathedral, led by the choir of deacons chanting Church hymns, followed by the priests and monks, then the metropolitans and bishops, then Pope Tawadros holding in his hand the “Holy Myron Tradition”. At the cathedral, a large congregation was gathered, participating for the first time in Church history in the ceremony.
The Pope explained the origin of the ingredients and the process of mixing them together. “We obtain the 27 ingredients we use from companies specialised in producing oils from their plant sources,” the Pope explained. “This,” he said, “ensures that the oils are extracted with a high degree of concentration and purity.”
Giving thanks
Myron may be prepared at any time and in any place. Traditionally, it is prepared during Lent, and the crucibles containing it are placed in front of the sanctuary to be there during all the Lent Masses celebrated, and during Holy Week prayers.
The crucibles remain in place till Easter Monday when the Pope adds the ‘leaven’ to the Myron Oil.
They are then left standing in front of the altar throughout the Khamasseen, the fifty days following Easter that end with the Pentecost, when the Myron Oil is finally stored in flasks and sent to the various dioceses.
The Pope thanked the monasteries that provided the pure olive oil and the aromatic oils.
Anba Danial, Metropolitan of Maadi and Secretary of the Holy Synod, read the tradition of making Myron for the 41st time in the history of the Church, then Pope Tawadros and members of the Holy Synod signed the Myron Tradition.
The entire ceremony was conducted to chants of praise, hymns, and readings from the Old and New Testaments.
For details of full ceremony:
Holy Myron Oil prepared for 41st time in history of Church, fourth by Pope Tawadros
Watani International
12 March 2024