Wādī al-Natrūn / Beheira

Pope Shenouda will not deliver his regular sermon in Alexandria on January 2.

In total, the Pope delivered 10 sermons in Alexandria this year, his smallest number ever.

The Pope has recently skipped his regular sermons because of medical trips to the United States, attendance at the inaugurations of two new churches in the Sinai, and his seclusion in a monastery in Wādī al-Natrūn. Other reasons include the Pope's participation in parliamentary elections and general church meetings.

According to the church, the patriarch will return to Cleveland for medial reasons on January 9.

‘Ādil Ḥammūdah says that when Pope Shenouda ordered the transfer of his dialysis machime and other medical equipment to Wādī al-Naṭrūn for his recent seclusion, observers felt that he was planning a long stay, which would mean he would miss the president's inauguration of parliament, which could lead to a clash with the president.

To avoid this, influential Coptic personalities took the initiative of arranging a meeting between Pope Shenouda and representatives of the regime.

Munīr Ghabbūr contacted Dr. Muṣtafá al-Fiqī, as did Dr. Nabīl Lūqā Bibāwī. The three went together to Wādī al-Naṭrūn. There, Ḥammūdah writes, the Pope expressed his sadness at the demonstration by the Salafīs over the Kāmīliyā Shihātah affair and the way he was insulted.

Al-Fiqī asked the Pope to agree to a meeting with Jamāl As‘ad, but the Pope refused. The Pope was also ready with an article by the al-Jumhūrīyah Chief Editor, in which he had underlined passages attacking him.

During the four-hour meeting, it became apparent that the Pope had made a decision to attend the President's speech before the visitors had arrived, but wanted to convey a message through his guests.

The Pope asked for a meeting with Mubarak and Al-Fiqī promised to relay it.

Rajab al-Mūrshidi holds the Supreme Council of Antiquities accountable for the various problems related to monasteries in Egypt.

Yūsuf Wahīb comments on monks and monasteries in Egypt and discusses monks’ important role in the country since Roman times.

A background on monasticism in Islam, Christianity, and Egypt.

Amīrah Ibrāhīm reports on the fatwá issued by Shaykh Yūsuf al-Qaradāwī concerning prayer time during working hours.

The article covers issues that have made the headlines in Egypt in the last month and includes the story of a postman was detained for two months, a fatwá that was issued declaring that non-Muslims are not apostates and the contentious issue of a piece of land near St. Macarius monastery that has been sold.

A group of reporters and journalists have visited St. Makarius monastery in the Western Desert to show their condemnation over the government’s sale of the land to investors, despite the fact that it may contain items of substantial archaeological worth.

Metropolitan of the Coptic Orthodox Church in France, Bishop Marcos, passed away last Sunday during his visit to Spain.

A secret front formed by bishops in Upper Egypt is discussing the idea of choosing a bishop to compete for the papal chair in case of Pope Shenouda’s death.