This evening, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, at the beginning of the sermon of Wednesday’s meeting, referred to the Church’s celebrations and memorials in the second half of March, where the Feast of the Glorious Cross and the eleventh commemoration of the departure of the H.H. Pope Shenouda III, and the memorial of Father Bishoy Kamel are celebrated after the official recognition, in addition to the family feasts, mothers’ day and spring holidays.
His Holiness said: “Next Sunday we will celebrate the Feast of the Cross, which is on the 10th of Paremhotep, and the Feast of the Cross comes on this fixed date, March 19th.
It is similar to the Feast of the Cross, which we celebrate again in the month of September on the 17th of Tout, and we celebrate on these two dates – in March and September, i.e. every six months, and we celebrate between them on Big Friday (Friday of the Crucifixion), which is considered the annual feast of the Cross.
“On the same day, we celebrate the commemoration of the departure of Fr Bishoy Kamel in Alexandria, and one of the nice things is that he spoke a lot about the cross, and he has a very famous phrase that says:
“Christianity without a cross is a bride without a groom,” and he used to teach it in university youth meetings, and of course this year we celebrate the first feast of the departure of Fr Bishoy after the recognition of the holiness of this priest by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
As of last June, the Holy Synod recognized the holiness of this father, our father Bishoy, the priest of Alexandria, as well as the holiness of our Father Yostos El Antony, who is one of the fathers of the Monastery of Anba Anthony in the Eastern Desert.
Also, during this week, we remember H.H. late Pope Shenouda III who departed on March 17th, and in his eleventh anniversary, we remember this giant who led the Church through forty years as a patriarch.
H.H. led the church in Egypt and introduced it to the whole world, and of course generations and generations have been taught by H.H., and most of us who are present at this time are fathers, metropolitans, bishops, priests, deacons, servants, or the congregation. We are all taught by his sermons, articles, writings, and books, and for his encounters, and for all the life with which H.H. faithfully served the Church over the long years, we remember his departure and ask for his prayers for us, as he prays for the whole Church.
“Also, as I told you previously, we celebrate the month of March with very beautiful events. Next week, it will be the Family Festival or the Spring Festival, the beginning of the spring season, and the Mother’s Day, all of which are social holidays and related to nature. They even call the Spring Festival the “Creation of the World Festival,” as if The world was created on this day in particular, and it is a known date in the whole world, and it is the beginning of the spring season. Happy new season to you.”

This page is also available in: العربية