Archbishop assures Coptic Orthodox of ‘special intensity’ of prayer
Tuesday 30th October 2012
The following message was read at the celebration of the Coptic New Year (Nayrouz) in St Margaret’s Church, Westminster Abbey, on 30 October.The central London church was filled with a large Coptic Orthodox congregation, and attended by representatives of other Churches, of Parliament (the Speaker of the House of Commons), and of Government (Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP).
Your Grace Bishop Angaelos, Dear Friends:
At this time of transition and uncertainty in Egypt, we pray with special intensity for our dear brothers and sisters of the Coptic Orthodox Church as they celebrate the New Year.
It is our prayer that all the faithful of the Coptic Church will find the coming year a time of blessing and growth in the Lord Jesus Christ, a time when anxieties are laid to rest, and the future may open up in hope.
We pray particularly for all involved in the final stages of the election of a new Pope and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, a person who will be a worthy and Spirit-filled successor to Pope Shenouda of blessed memory.
May God guide and protect all his people and send his blessing specially on those who have gathered to celebrate this New Year.
With every blessing in Christ:
+ Rowan Cantuar:
The Coptic year is calculated from the anniversary of the worst persecutions and mass killings experienced by Christians in Egypt – in the late-third century, and is thus specially associated with the commemoration of the martyrs of Coptic history. The final moment in the election of a new Coptic Pope – a very significant figure in Egyptian national life – is on 4 November.