Today, H.H. Pope Tawadros II prayed the Divine Liturgy of the Covenant Thursday (Great Thursday) at St. Mina’s Monastery, Mariout. The prayers began with the early Thursday prayer, which included a cycle of reprimanding Judas the traitor, then the rest of the daytime prayers, followed by the Lakan prayer, then the Divine Liturgy, and the prayers were concluded with the prayer of Eleven o’clock on Thursday.
H.H. delivered a sermon during the Divine Liturgy, in which he indicated that Covenant Thursday is a great feast day because on it the Sacrament of Communion (the Sacrament of the Eucharist) was established. H.H. explained the events of this day in the life of Christ on earth: In the morning he ate the Passover with his disciples, then washed their feet, then established the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and began preparing for the Day of the Cross, and at the end of Thursday, his farewell prayer was in the Garden of Gethsemane, then Judas came with the soldiers to deliver him to them and his trial began that night.
H.H. put three personalities for consideration in their lives for understanding:
1- Judas, the traitorous disciple [without understanding], represents the dishonest person in his life, work and in his discipleship of Christ.
2- Peter the impulsive disciple [with limited understanding], after treating his weaknesses with love came to represent the faith that man lives, “Lord, you know all things. You know that I love you” (John 17:21)
3- John the disciple of love [deep in understanding], is an example of love and calm, and he has deep theological explanations anointed with love in the five books he wrote in the New Testament, “O my children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but with knowledge!” (1 John 3:18).
H.G. Bishop Kyrelos Ava Mina, Bishop & Abbot of St. Mina Monastery, Mariout, Alexandria, the monks of the monastery and a large number of people contributed in the prayers.

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