Pope Francis heads to Egypt Friday to bolster relations with Muslims and show solidarity with the largest Christian community in the Middle East following devastating attacks. Security will be high for the Cairo visit after two bombings in Coptic churches earlier this month that killed 45 people, with the country currently observing a three-month state … Read more
The two church bombings that killed dozens in Egypt this month targeted unity among Muslims and Christians in the most populous Arab nation, Coptic Pope Tawadros II said Tuesday. Suicide bombers from the Islamic State group attacked two churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria on April 9, killing 45 people in the deadliest … Read more
Thousands of Christians marked Jesus’s resurrection on Easter Sunday at the Jerusalem site where they believe the miracle occurred, with some prostrating themselves over his tomb and leaving in tears. Visitors and worshippers filed through the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the site where tradition says Jesus was crucified, buried and resurrected. It … Read more
Egyptian Coptic Christians observed Easter Mass under tight security on Saturday with the ancient minority still reeling from twin church bombings that killed dozens just days before. In Saint Mark’s Cathedral, where Coptic Pope Tawadros II led the mass, worshippers passed through three metal detectors as policemen and soldiers stood guard in the sprawling compound … Read more
Egyptian Copts will celebrate Easter mass on Saturday, marking one of Christianity’s most joyous occasions just days after the deadliest attacks in living memory against the country’s religious minority. The faithful will spend a large part of Easter eve going through arduous security checks outside places of worship, after twin Palm Sunday bombings killed 45 … Read more
Egypt’s interior ministry said on Wednesday it had identified the suicide bomber behind a deadly attack at the weekend outside a church in the coastal city of Alexandria. The ministry said Mahmud Hassan Mubarak Abdullah had carried out the attack outside Saint Mark’s church in Alexandria on Palm Sunday that killed 17 people and was … Read more
Egypt’s Coptic Church announced on Wednesday that it would cut back Easter celebrations to a simple mass after twin bombings killed 45 worshippers last weekend. “Given the current circumstances and our solidarity with the families of the dead, we are going to limit our celebrations to Easter mass,” a statement said. The traditional handing out … Read more
Mourners crowded into a monastery for the ceremony Funerals have been held in Egypt for victims of Sunday’s suicide bombing outside a cathedral in Alexandria. Mourners crowded into a monastery for the ceremony, and the building was filled with the sound of Coptic prayers and chanting. In the aftermath of the attack a three-month state … Read more
Hundreds gathered Monday to mourn 45 Egyptian Christians killed in jihadist bombings just a week before Easter, after Cairo declared a state of emergency following the attacks on two churches. The Islamic State group said it was behind the twin bombings that targeted Palm Sunday services at churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria, … Read more
Pope Francis will visit Egypt as planned this month despite the weekend bombings of two Coptic Christian churches that killed 44 people, a Vatican official said. “There is no doubt the Holy Father will maintain his offer to go to Egypt” on April 28 and 29, Monsignor Angelo Becciu, the Holy See’s number three, said … Read more
Egypt prepared to impose a state of emergency Monday after jihadist bombings killed dozens at two churches in the deadliest attacks in recent memory on the country’s Coptic Christian minority. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi announced the three-month period, which will vastly increase the powers of Egypt’s security forces, after the Islamic State group claimed the … Read more
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has declared a state of emergency after two deadly bombings Sunday, the first at a church north of Cairo, the second hours later outside a church in Alexandria, that were claimed by the Islamic State group. “Islamic State squads carried out the attacks on two churches in Tanta and Alexandria,” … Read more
Egypt’s President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has announced a three-month state of emergency after attacks on two Coptic churches that left at least 44 dead. The measure allows authorities to make arrests without warrants and search people’s homes. It needs to be approved by parliament before it is implemented. So-called Islamic State (IS) said it was … Read more
Egypt in state of emergency after attacks on Coptic churches Egypt’s president has announced a three-month state of emergency after attacks on two Coptic churches that killed at least 45 people. Abdul Fattah al-Sisi had earlier ordered the deployment of the military across the country. So-called Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the blasts … Read more
Pope Francis have condemned the blast that killed at least 21 people and injured 50 Pope Francis, who is due to visit Egypt later this month, on Sunday (April 9), condemned the blast that killed at least 21 people and injured 50 a Coptic church in the Nile Delta. He also prayed for the victims … Read more
At least 11 people were killed in an Alexandria church bombing on Sunday, hours after a blast killed 25 worshippers in another church in Egypt, the health ministry said. Thirty-five people were wounded in the Alexandria blast at Saint Mark’s church where Coptic Pope Tawadros II had been attending a Palm Sunday Mass. A Coptic … Read more
Egypt’s Copts, targets of an apparent church bombing north of Cairo on Sunday, are the Middle East’s largest Christian minority and one of the oldest. Making up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 90 million, the Coptic Orthodox form the largest Christian denomination in the Muslim-majority country. Here is a recap of their history, … Read more
A bomb blast at a church north of Cairo killed at least 15 people and wounded dozens who had gathered for Palm Sunday mass, state media reported, in the latest apparent attack on Egypt’s Coptic Christians. Some 40 people were wounded in the blast, which struck at a Coptic Church in the Nile Delta City … Read more
Top Muslim and Christian clerics from the Middle East gathered in Cairo on Tuesday for a two-day conference on promoting co-existence, as sectarian conflict continues to ravage the region. The “Freedom and Citizenship” conference is hosted by Al-Azhar, one of the leading Sunni Muslim authorities based in Cairo. It comes as Coptic Christians in Egypt’s … Read more
Dozens of Coptic Christian families in Egypt have fled North Sinai province after a number of killings in recent weeks by suspected Islamist militants. Many have now taken refuge in the Evangelical Church in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya. The Coptic Church has condemned the attacks, saying they were aimed at “dividing” Egyptians. On … Read more