This morning, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II prayed the Mass for the Feast of St Mina the winder maker, in St. Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria, and the bishops supervising the pastoral sectors in Alexandria, H.G. Bishop Bavly (Montazah Sector), H.G. Bishop Ilarion (Western Sector), and H.G. Bishop Hermina (Eastern Sector), participated in the prayers, and also Fr Abraam Emil, Patriarchal Vicar of Alexandria , and a large number of priests of the churches of Alexandria and its congregation.
Following the Prayer of Reconciliation, His Holiness prayed the prayers for ordaining the rank of hegumen to 15 priests of the churches of Alexandria, who are:
1- Hegumen Father Elisha Abdo Youssef
2- Hegumen Father Yusab Kamel Girgis
3- Hegumen Father Yacoub Barsoum Zaki
4- Hegumen Father Mikhail Shenouda Youssef
5- Hegumen Father Angelius Malika Tawadros
6- Hegumen Father Boutros Youssef Falita
7- Hegumen Father Tidaous Rizk Adam
8- Hegumen Father Shenouda Shukri Abdel Sayed
9- Hegumen Father Bakhoum Habib Sadaq
10- Hegumen Father Mataous Sabri Atallah
11- Hegumen Father Beyman Anwar Benjamin
12- Hegumen Father Philimon Subhi Jalou
13- Hegumen Father Karas Ibrahim Shafiq
14- Hegumen Father Kirolos Wadih Fares
15- Hegumen Father Bishoy William Bishara
His Holiness said before the start of the prayers for the ordination of the new hegumens that “hegumen” is a word that means “administrator,” that is, one who performs an administrative task, and that the church grants the rank of hegumen as a kind of appreciation and encouragement to the priest.
H.H. also pointed out that the priest’s ordination as a hegumen represents a renewal of his service and activity.
His Holiness ordained a new deacon for service in the Church of St. Mark in Alexandria under the name “Deacon Karas”.
His Holiness had spoken in the sermon of the Liturgy , through the subject of the Gospel, about “warnings and encouragements” that H.H. addressed to everyone, especially the priests, where H.H. pointed to three lessons, which are:
1- Be careful and beware of hypocrisy: Jesus Christ warns us against a crooked life, because hypocrisy spoils a person’s service, so he must be careful of hypocrisy and have his life clear, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms 51:10). Guarding ourselves against hypocrisy is a form of honesty in service, and priests must guard against all forms of hypocrisy, because we pray, “Give splendor to the clergy,” meaning an upright image in everything he does and thinks.
2- Keep your priestly consecration pure: God chose you for the priesthood one day, so you must guard it, and the guard of the blessing of the priesthood is your humility, so your true humility is the one that guards the purity of your consecration, so keep the blessing of the priesthood pure, so that this grace remains constantly active and vital, and the purity of your consecration is reflected on your family, the priest will be a good manager of his household.
3- Wash your heart with continuous repentance: This is achieved by meeting the father of confession, allocating periods of retreats and reading spiritual books. This makes a person live in spiritual activity, keep his heart pure, and hold himself accountable constantly, because repentance means renewed thought and a renewed life, always washed with tears, and pay attention to the words of St. Paul the apostle: “lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (I Corinthians 9:27), and always have a living conscience in which the Spirit of God works, “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!” (Matthew 12:18)
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