Apparitions of the Mother of God Reported in Cairo, Alexandria

Coptic Orthodox Christians from Alexandria and Cairo are reportedly claiming to have witnessed multiple appearances of the Mother of God last night as Egypt continues to mourn clashes in Cairo that resulted in the death of twenty-eight Copts. A film of one of the apparitions reported in Heliopolis, a Cairo suburb, can be found here. There is no word as to whether anyone in the hierarchy of the Coptic Orthodox Church has verified the apparitions.

24 Dead in Cairo Clashes

Riots broke out in Cairo over the weekend as Coptic Orthodox protests over the plight of a church in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Aswan turned into clashes with Egyptian security forces. Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf is urging calm in the aftermath of the riots, in which twenty-four died. More here.

Copts, Secularists to Join Friday Protests

Coptic Orthodox and secularist political movements have announced that they intend to participate in demonstrations tomorrow on Tahrir Square alongside Islamist organizations, which had called for protests on a 'Friday of Identity' to defend a supposedly Muslim Egyptian national identity. It appears that the demonstrations will now be in support of 'popular will,' though whether all the Islamist groups originally intending to participate agree with the new designation. More here.

Clashes Break Out in Cairo Suburb

Muslims and Copts have clashed today in Cairo's Shubra al-Kheima district. The violence comes after a Copt shot and killed two Muslims on Sunday and the area's Muslims found out the suspected killer was hiding in a church in the district. Police have cordoned off Shubra al-Kheima's churches while an investigation into the killings and clashes is undertaken. More here.

Coptic Orthodox Church Renews Call for No Youth Protests

The Coptic Orthodox Church has again called on a Coptic Orthodox youth movement not to hold a second sit-in in the Egyptian capital. More here.

Metropolitan Hilarion Meets with Pope Theodore, al-Azhar Grand Imam

Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk has begun a visit to Egypt. After meeting with the rector of the Russian Orthodox representation in Cairo and the Russian ambassador to Egypt Metropolitan Hilarion held meetings with Pope Theodoros II (Horeftakis) of Alexandria and Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb of Cairo's al-Azhar University to discuss relations between the Alexandrian and Russian Orthodox Churches and the situation of Egypt's Orthodox Christians in the country.

Pictured are Pope Theodoros and Metropolitan Hilarion with papal auxiliaries Bishops Niphon of Babylon and Nicodemus of Nitria.

Fundamentalists Block Church Reopening in Cairo

The story of one of the Coptic Orthodox churches Muslim fundamentalists in Egypt have kept from opening (and now reopening) can be found here. Hit tip to Ad Orientem for posting this! Interestingly enough, this sort of thing happens in a low key way in Ethiopia (43% Orthodox, 33% Muslim, 18% Protestant) too. My understanding is that legally you can't build new places of worship within a certain distance of each other. As a result, a number of new mosques have been built along the new highways and roads to raise Islam's visibility in the country and to force churches to build further away from major transportation routes and developing population centers.

Pope Shenouda Calls for an End to Cairo Protest

Pope Shenouda III (al-Suriani) of Alexandria has called on Copts demonstrating outside the Egyptian state media offices in Cairo to end their protests for the sake of Egypt, saying that the "patience of the rulers is starting to end and you will be the losers if you continue in the protest." More here.

Attack on Cairene Copts Kills 2, Injures 60

Two are dead and over sixty injured in Cairo after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a peaceful sit-in at the Egyptian state media buildings organized by Copts upset over the burning of two Coptic Orthodox churches in Giza. Egyptian riot police were deployed to separate from the gunmen and the Coptic protesters, but not before lives had been lost. More here.

Muslims, Orthodox March in Tahrir Square

Thousands of protesters marched in Cairo's Tahrir Square yesterday to emphasize the unity of Egypt's Orthodox Christians and Muslims. The protests began with a Coptic Orthodox Divine Liturgy that was followed by Muslim Friday prayers. More here.

Coptic Orthodox Bishop Calls for End to Demonstrations

The Coptic Orthodox Church's Bishop Moussa, papal auxiliary for youth ministry, has called on demonstrators outside the Egyptian state media offices in Cairo to end their protests over weekend clashes in Giza that left 12 dead. More here.

Copts Protest Imbaba Burnings, Deaths

Hundreds have staged a sit-in at the Egyptian state media building in Cairo to protest the violence over the weekend in Giza that left 2 churches burned and 12 dead. More here.

Copts Announce March to Protect Abbasiya Cathedral

Several Coptic Orthodox movements announced earlier today that they will be organizing a million-man march at Cairo's Cathedral of St. Mark in Abbasiya this coming Friday in response to this past Friday's sit-in at the papal cathedral by Muslim fundamentalists. The march is intended to protect the cathedral from possible attack by Muslim fundamentalists leaving Friday prayers. More here.

Islamists Demonstrate in Cairo

Thousands of Muslim fundamentalists demonstrated today in Cairo for the release of Coptic Orthodox women they claim are being held against their will because of their desire to convert to Islam. The demonstrators do not believe taped interviews with one of the supposed victims that deny any desire to accept Islam. More here.

Copts Demand Return of Kidnapped Women

Copts in Cairo held a protest in front of the Egyptian High Court today demanding the return of eleven Orthodox Christian girls and women kidnapped (in at least one case with her children) since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak earlier this year. More here.

Convert Murdered in Cairo

A 2005 Muslim convert to Orthodox Christianity, Salwa Atallah, was murdered this past Pascha together with her husband and one of her two children. Her three brothers were responsible for the murders. More here.

Restoration Work on Old Cairo Monastery Planned

Restoration work on the church of St. George's Monastery in Old Cairo, the site of the Saint's martyrdom and also a stopover of the Holy Family in Egypt, is due to begin shortly. More here.

Cairo Protesters Dispersed by Army

A new round of protests by Copts in Cairo has been squelched by the Egyptian Army. The protesters gathered to demand justice for the protesters attacked by a mob this past Saturday, but were dispersed by the Army, which beat the protesters with electric batons and sticks. More here.

Copts End Cairo Protests, Army Starts Rebuilding Helwan Church

Copts have ended their protests in Cairo after their representatives met with Deputy Prime Minister Yehia al-Gamal, who promised the Egyptian Armed Forces would release 11 Copts arrested for breaking a curfew and rebuild the church recently burned down in Helwan. In fulfillment of al-Gamal's promise the Egyptian Armed Forces has already begun rebuilding the church. More on that here.

Copts Enter 6th Day of Protests Over Church Burning

Protests over the burning of a church in Helwan have continued into their sixth day, with Copts saying that they will not stop protesting until all their demands are met. In addition to the rebuilding of the church (which has already been agreed to by the Egyptian government) the protesters are calling for the arrest of those responsible for the church's burning and the dismissal of the Governor of Helwan, who is seen as complicit in the incident. The Copts have been joined in their protest by sympathetic Muslims. More here.