Coptic United Mag. 1.Pub
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Volume (1) Issue 1 - Jan./Feb./ Mar. 2007 The 7th Anniversary for ElEl----KoshehKosheh Martyrs (2nd Jan 2000) 1-Adel Ghatas Fahmy DOB 8-Alamir Halim Fahmi DOB 15-Abdel-Meseeh Mahroos Eskan- 12/7/77 9/1/85 dar DOB22/5/45 2-Maison Ghatas Fahmy DOB 9-Tadross Lawendi Tadross 76y 16-Samia Abdel-Meseeh Mahroos 20/8/88 10-Nasser Tadross Lawendi 21 y 3-Gaber Sidrak Saeed 85y DOB12/12/74 17-Wael El-Dab'ea Mikhaeel 4-Refaat Zaghlok Gaber Sidrak 11-Mohran Labib Shenouda DOB2/8/83 DOB 15/7/73 DOB 13/3/56 5-Halim Fahmi Makar DOB 1 8 - Amdan Zarif Kedes 1/2/39 12-Bona El-Komos Gobraeel 50y DOB12/12/75 6-Zakaria Halim Fahmi DOB 13-Mamdouh Noshi Sadek 19-Moawad Shenouda Moawad 50y 25/11/71 DOB8/8/68 20-Wahib Girgis Hana 4/.7/49 7- Ashraf Halim Fahmi 22y 14-Atef Ezzat Zaki 24y 21-Refat Faiez Awad 1/9/85 United Coptic of Great Britain A message from the Baroness Cox of Queensbury Dear Copts I would like to congratulate you on the production of the first issueof your magazine "United Copts Quarterly". I hope it will raise political awareness amongst Copts and help to increase involvement with and assistance for your community in Egypt. I am very much aware of your situation, which I follow closely and speak about when the opportunity arises. For example, last year I asked a question in the House of Lords following events in Alexandria. Standing up for the weak and the oppressed, becoming a voice for the voiceless, witnessing for the truth and endeavoring to avert injustice are very much at the core of the Christian val- ues. I am sure these will be at the heart of your publication. I appreciate the fact that the Copts' experience is virtually unique. You are a substantial Christian minority in the Middle East. You have experienced discrimination and persecution at the hands of Radical Islamists which could have served as an early warning for the other parts of the world if the West had taken notice. You also share the same language – Arabic – of many Islamic countries in the Middle East. This gives you great knowledge of and insight into all things Islamic including Radical Islam. Your experience should therefore be invalu- able in helping us all to understand and to withstand Radical Islam. I am sure your magazine "United Copts Quarterly" is going to serve a very important func- tion and I wish you every success. With my warmest regards to your community and the assurance of my prayers, Who are we the United Copts GB Aims of the United Copts GB We are a group of the sons 1)To raise the profile of the discrimination/ and daughters of the Coptic persecution of Copts in their home land. community in UK. 2)To provide moral, legal, financial support or any We are busy professional other form of legitimate support to the Copts who people not politicians. suffer discrimination, and/or persecution as We have been aggrieved by the deemed necessary. injustice befallen on our Cop- 3) To disseminate information to individuals, govern- tic people in our Motherland ments agencies, Human Rights organisations Egypt, we vowed not to remain and any other interested legitimate parties as need silent but to stand by what we arises. feel is right for our people 4) To co operate with other Coptic, non-Coptic and good for Egypt. Human Rights and Christian and non Chris- tian organisations to help achieve the above aims. Out of our concern and love 5) To provide moral, legal financial or otherwise we grouped ourselves to help support to Copts refugees in UK and asylum our people in the Motherland seekers in UK. Egypt our methods only em- 6) To achieve all above aims by peaceful means and ploy legitimate and peaceful the Christian moral code is the guide to our con- mean. duct. United Coptic of Great Britain 2 Meekness Adapted from His Holiness Pope Shenounda III lecture stead weakness of character and a mis- mitted to obstruct the other virtues. understanding of meekness, and also We have here another example of becomes a misunderstanding of spiri- mixing meekness with noble- tuality generally. Spirituality does not mindedness and generosity. It is the consist of adhering to one virtue, with boy David in his fight with the giant all the other virtues being nullified. Goliath. There is no doubt that David Instead, spirituality consists of all the was meek, as he was a quiet shepherd "Is meekness incompatible with virtues operating together in a ho- who was good at playing the lute. bravery and noble-mindedness?" mogenous and cooperative way in an When this young men went to the bat- atmosphere of integration. tlefield to find out whether his broth- Meekness is kindness, gentleness Our best example of this is the ers were safe, he heard about the giant and calmness, as we mentioned previ- Lord Jesus himself. Goliath attacking the whole army, ously. But the problem is that some He was meek and humble-hearted with everyone being afraid of him. people may misunderstand meekness, (Matthew 11:29). "He will not snap Holy zeal possessed David. He said, as if a meek person was someone who off the broken reed, nor snuff out the with all bravery and strength of faith, remains without any personality or smouldering wick" (Matthew 12: 20). that he volunteered to go and fight effectiveness, and as if he was a quies- However, when the Lord Jesus saw Goliath. He said to Goliath: "The Lord cent body which is not active. Such a the Jews defiling the Temple by buy- will put you into my power this day; I meek person may become a laughing- ing and selling in it, he drove them all will kill you." (1 Samuel 17:46) stock of whom people make fun. out of the Temple and said to them: Here, meekness was mingled with Then that meek person is trans- "My house shall be called a house of strength, bravery and faith. Meekness formed into a languid individual who prayer, but you are making it a rob- therefore does not prevent the strength does not intervene in anything. bers' cave." (Matthew 21:13). of the personality or the strength of But no. This is a misunderstanding Was it possible for the Lord Jesus, influence. The Lord Jesus was meek, of what meekness is, and is not com- acting in the name of meekness, to but at the same time had a strong per- patible with the teachings of the Bible, leave them so that they could turn the sonality and a strong influence on oth- or with the life stories of the Fathers house of God the Father into a house ers. But I want to give an example at a and Prophets. A meek person is in fact of commerce? Or did he mix meek- human level. It is St. Paul the Apostle, a kind and quiet person, but this is ness with holy zeal, as he did? whose meekness we have explained only half of the reality. Meekness is a great virtue, but above. The other half of the reality is that here we see it linked with holy zeal The book of the Acts of the Apos- meekness is not incompatible with and with bearing witness to the truth. tles speaks of St. Paul when he was a noble-mindedness, bravery and gener- Our example for this is Christ Him- prisoner and was speaking of right- osity. "For every activity under heaven self. eousness, self-restraint and future its time" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Does meekness prevent the bearing judgement. Felix the ruler was Yes, this is what the Bible says. of witness to the truth? It certainly alarmed and said: "Go away for the St. Father Antonius was asked does not. We have the example of St. present; when I find it convenient I whether the best virtues are prayer, Paul the Apostle. We see him in his will send for you again." (Acts 24:25) fasting, silence, or something else. He attitude towards St. Peter as regards At a time of necessity, meekness is replied that the most important virtue eating with Gentiles in a way which not incompatible with defending the is wisdom in action, or discernment as St. Paul the Apostle regarded as hypo- truth. This is revealed in the story of regards what is to be done. critical behaviour. St. Paul the Apostle Paul the Apostle and Claudius Lysias, Thus, kindness is the prevailing said: "I opposed him to his face be- when the latter ordered that Paul be characteristic of a meek person. But cause he stood condemned. I said to interrogated to the accompaniment of when the situation calls upon him to Peter before the multitude: "If you, a beatings, in order to find out why the act in a noble-minded and brave way Jew born and bred, live like a Gentile Jews were screaming at him. The Bi- or to bear witness to the truth, he is and not like a Jew, how can you insist ble says that he was whipped. Paul not permitted to refrain from doing that Gentiles must live like said to the centurion: "Do you have that on the grounds of meekness, be- Jews?" (Galatians 2:14). the right to whip a Roman who has not cause if he does so and refrains from Here he was mixing meekness yet been sentenced?" When the centu- acting bravely, then his meekness is with bearing witness to the truth.