For the second day in a row, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrated the ordination of priests to serve in the churches of the See of St. Mark inside and outside Egypt, in Cairo, the new cities, Esna, and the State of Qatar, by the hands of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II.
H.H. prayed the Divine Liturgy this morning in the Great Cathedral of the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Wadi Natroun, and 14 bishops and a large number of priests and monks participated in it.
Following Prayer of Reconciliation , His Holiness, with the participation of the bishops, ordained 17 priests serving in the pastoral sectors in Cairo, four other priests for the churches of the new cities, two for Esna, and one for our church in the Qatari capital, Doha.
– Father Mina Sobhy Samy, Priest of St George’s Church (El Ollali)
– Father Bishoy Mounir Nessim, Priest of St Mary and St Samuel the Confessor’s Church (Mosset Al Zakah)
– Father Bishoy Akhnokh Fahmy, Priest of St Mary and St Mina’s Church (Al Salam City, Mosset Al Zakah)
– Father Macar Leesha Hanna, Priest of St Mary’s Church (El Osayareen)
– Father Bolous Ashraf Shenouda, Priest of St Mary’s Church (El Osayareen)
– Father Mina Mikhail Benyameen, Priest of St Barbara’s Church (El Sharabeya)
– Father Youhanna Awad Zakhary, Priest of St Mary and St Abraam’s Church (Al Zawya Al Hamrah)
– Father Abanoub Naguib Baseet, Priest of St Mary and St Mina’s Church (Ezbet Kheir Lelah)
– Father Moussa Youssef Zaki, Priest of St Peter and St Paul’s Church (Doha, Qatar)
– Father Moussa Makram Tawfik, Priest of St Mary’s Church (Ayad Bek)
– Father Shenouda Habib Shehata, Priest of St Gawargious’ Church (Abu Taqia)
– Father Youssef Fam Sadik, Priest of St Gawargious’ Church (Abu Taqia)
– Father Mina Wilson Badie, Priest of Prince Theodore’s Church (Gardinia)
– Father Youssef Samy Foley, Priest of St Mary, Pope Athanasius and St Paul’s Church (Ezbet El Nakhl)
– Father Mina Khalaf Ishaq, Priest of St Mary, Pope Athanasius and St Paul’s Church (Ezbet El Nakhl)
– Father Elia Ernest Ameen, Priest of St George’s Church (Mansheyet El Tahrir)
– Father Arsany Simon Asaad, Priest of St George’s Church (Mansheyet El Tahrir)
– Father Mina Sabry Fahmy, Priest of St Mary and Archangel Michael’s Church (Al-Abasiry)
– Father Gerges Awad, Priest of St Mary and St George’s Church (Madinty)
– Father Kirollos Mansi Labib, Priest of St Mary and St Karas’ Church (under construction, El Shorouk)
– Father Daoud Adel Fouad, Priest of St Gawargious and St Anthony’s Church (Al Nozha)
– Father Kirollos Maurice Mounir, Priest of St Mina and Pope Kirollos VI’s Church (Al Shorafaa)
– Father Elarion Magdy, General Priest in New Cairo
– Father Daoud Samir Basti, General Priest in the City of Esna
– Father Youssef Naguib Ishaq, General Priest in the Armant villages
In the sermon, His Holiness spoke about “the five priorities of the priest,” and referred to the phrase, “You are He who has given me this service, full of mystery” which the priest says in the Divine Liturgy prayer. What is meant by the word “mystery” is that it is greater than the mind and the imagination of thought, and the secret is the work of God at the hands of the priest in his priestly service, and therefore it is important for the priest to have clear priorities in his mind, so that his life is pleasing before God to the last breath.
His Holiness explained the priest’s five priorities as follows:
1- “Yourself”: “lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:27)
The priest must always be a good servant, soul, spirit and body. He must constantly prepare himself, strengthen his abilities and knowledge through reading, studying and preparation, and also take care of the health of his body, so that he has the opportunity to move. He organizes his time because success begins with order in time and punctuality, and that he pays attention to the going for treats and his own spiritual life, and that his sermons are fresh and immersed in the Word of God, and that his soul is present before God with his private prayers, and that he always remembers: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
2- “Your family”: When a deacon is chosen to become a priest, his family must agree to this, because his wife and children share with him in carrying the cross. His family must receive every interest from him by offering up time, because his neglect of them makes his service unacceptable before God. His good management and success in his family make him an ideal family, and thus he can make the congregation’s homes as ideal homes as his family.
3- “Your Church”: The priest’s dealings with other priests senior to him and with the bishop responsible for the service must be in full obedience and sharing, and his service must be compatible and organized with them, in order for him to be an effective and influential person. “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Matthew 9:37)
He should also care about the church, its work, its buildings, its splendor, and its maintenance so that it becomes a living image of heaven. It is also important that service in the church generates new project or service with the passing of the years, because this is an expression of the vitality of the church.
4- “Your people”: The priest must care for the congregation , serve them, and satisfy them completely spiritually, through masses, meetings, and teaching classes. He allocates time weekly to visit all the sectors and groups in the congregation , which requires him to be alert to whoever is missed every Sunday, because his presence is in every home is a presence of the person of Christ, and he must visit the congregation regularly.
5- “The weak”: The priest must pay attention to the weak in his congregation , and they include the spiritually and physically weak and those in need. “uphold the weak, be patient with all.” (I Thessalonians 5:14). He must also have extreme sensitivity to feel the needs of the congregation in his service, and according to his honesty, work, and purity, God will give him, for God is the owner of the church and He is the one who manages its affairs, and we represent only tools.
Yesterday morning, His Holiness ordained 27 priests to serve in Alexandria, the United States of America, and Africa.
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