Coptic Church to Comemorate Entry of Holy Family to Egypt

This night, Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church will commemorate the entry of the holy family of Jesus Christ to Egypt.

In an official statement, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced that it will extend the suspension of prayers and activities in its churches until 27 June due to the spread of the coronavirus but it will allow the celebration of a mass marking the entry of Jesus Christ to Egypt tomorrow, on June 1st,  and the mass of Pentecost next Sunday with a limited attendance of six monks and deacons.

His Holiness, Pope Tawadros II, will preside over the Mass of the feast of  Christ entry into Egypt tomorrow morning in conjunction with the rest of the Coptic Churches, who celebrate this occasion through the prayers of the Mass without the presence of the Coptic people.

The family with Jesus Christ, carried in the arms of his mother Virgin Mary and the servant of birth St. Joseph the Carpenter, fled to the land of Egypt, a journey that lasted for about three years and eleven months, according to the papyrus published by Cologne University  at 1997.

This holy visit is considered as one of the important glorious treasures of the Egyptian cultural history and the feast of the Christ arrival to Egypt is celebrated annually in the Coptic Churches on the 1st of June (24 Bashans according to the Coptic calendar).

The church statement noted that the decision was made during a meeting by the Holy Synod headed by Pope Tawadros II to discuss the resumption of prayers and educational services which have been suspended since March in an effort to stop the spread of the pandemic.

The Church said it will continue shutting down halls designated for funeral services at churches, limiting such services to the family of the deceased only. Baptism will only be held in churches in the attendance of the family of the baptised child.

The statement also noted that the decision to hold marriage ceremonies with a limited number of attendees in churches remains in place.

The Church said the decision comes as “daily infections continue to rise towards a peak for an unknown period,” adding that the committee headed by the Pope will meet again on 27 June to reassess the situation.

In the latest official figures, Egypt reported 1,367 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the highest daily record so far, bringing the total cases to 23,449.

“Thirty-four more deaths were confirmed; raising the total number to 913,” Khaled Megahed, the Health Ministry’s spokesman, said in a statement.

“Up to 5,693 coronavirus patients have recovered so far,” the spokesman noted. “As many as 182 Egyptians were among the recovered patients today,” he added.

Also, the number of coronavirus patients who had now been retested for the virus and had received negative results has reached 6,456 after getting proper treatment in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO).