H.H. Pope Tawadros II conveyed his greetings to the congregation of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the occasion of the Coptic New Year, which begins tomorrow (Thursday).
This came at the beginning of his weekly Wednesday sermon, delivered today at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria.

His Holiness noted that the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates the Feast of Nayrouz (the Feast of the Martyrs) and the commencement of the year according to the Coptic calendar, now entering the year 1742 of the martyrs. He emphasized that this feast is unique to the Coptic Church. Pope Tawadros also extended his greetings to all Coptic churches worldwide, adding: “We, as Copts, are the continuation of the ancient Egyptians, and the Coptic calendar is an extension of the ancient Egyptian calendar. It is an agricultural year, as the Egyptians live near the Nile River and cultivate the lands near the river. Thus, they celebrated the year and its months, which are closely tied to the agricultural cycle.”

He illustrated this with examples from the names of certain months:
-Tout: “Water without delay.”
-Hatour: “The scattered gold.”
-Kiahk: “Morning and evening, you rise from breakfast searching for your dinner.”

Pope Tawadros concluded by extending his greetings to the entire nation, affirming that it is also an Egyptian feast. He further explained that the Era of the Martyrs (Anno Martyrum) began with the reign of Emperor Diocletian in 284 A.D.

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