Clashes in Egyptian Village Force Flight of Resident Copts

Clashes in Dahshur, a village to the south of Cairo, have left one dead and sixteen wounded and resulted in the flight of the village's Coptic Orthodox residents. The fighting, which occurred this past week, resulted in the torching of multiple shops and homes owned by Dahshur's Copts. More here.

Aleppan Christians Fear Rebel Attacks

As Syrian rebels attack the city of Aleppo Christians there fear they will suffer as their coreligionists in Homs did. Following Islamist rebels' seizure of parts of Homs most of its 120,000 Christian residents fled the city. More here.

Abductions Up in Egypt as Syrian Islamists Continue Attacks on Christians, Iraqis

It is being reported that planned abductions of Coptic Orthodox women and girls in Egypt have risen significantly since the overthrow there of President Hosni Mubarak, while in Syria Islamist terrorists fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad continue to terrorize the country's large Christian minorities, including the many Iraqi Christian refugees who fled to the country after the US occupation of Iraq. More here and here.

Last Christians in Homs Evacuated

Christians from the Syrian city of Homs have been evacuated under an agreement on the issue between the Syrian Armed Forces and the rebels fighting to take the city. At the time of the evacuation the city, once home to tens of thousands of Christians, only had roughly a hundred left due to Islamist rebels' targeting of the city's churches. More here.

GOAA Clergy-Laity Congress Passes Resolutions Supporting Greece, Middle Eastern Orthodox

The biennial Clergy-Laity Congress of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, has passed resolutions calling on the US government to protect the Orthodox Christian minorities native to Syria and Egypt. The Congress also appealed to all Americans to help Greece as it continues to struggle with the effects of its economic crisis. More here.

Fast for Eritrean Orthodox Church Announced

Three days of fasting and prayer for the clergy and faithful of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church in Eritrea have been announced. The days are to be observed on 24, 25, and 26 July, and clergymen are requested to especially remember Patriarch Abune Anthony of Asmera, who has been placed under house arrest by the Eritrean regime, at any Divine Liturgies they serve on these days. More here.

50,000 Christians Flee Syria?

In a repose to the Duma a Russian diplomat serving in Syria has estimated that 50,000 Christians have fled Syria or been killed during the course of the ongoing Syrian conflict. More here.

Macedonian Orthodox Archbishop Arrested

The Serbian Orthodox Church is reporting that Archbishop Jovan VI (Vraniskovski) of Ohrid, head of the autonomous Macedonian Orthodox Church, has been arrested upon attempting to enter his native Macedonia from Greece. It is expected that Archbishop Jovan will request a retrial for the false accusations brought against him in Macedonia in absentia during 2010. In the meantime he has been imprisoned in the Macedonian capital, Skopje. More here.

Kosovo's Cemeteries in Poor State

The Kosovo-Metohija mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has released a report on the state of the breakaway region's Serb cemeteries, which receive little to no attention from local authorities and are in an increasingly poor condition. Of the 392 cemeteries in central and southern Kosovo surveyed in the report 229 were listed as being in a poor or bad condition. More here.

Maronite Catholic Patriarch Expresses Concern Over the 'Arab Winter'

Maronite Catholic Patriarch Beshara (Rai) has expressed his concern over the ongoing unrest in Syria and much of the Middle East, saying that the so-called 'Arab Spring' may in fact lead to a 'winter' for the region's Orthodox Christians, Eastern Catholics, and Assyrian Christians, as has been the case in Iraq and increasingly seems to be the case in Egypt. More here.

St. Chryse the Great-Martyr

Joyous feast! St. Chryse the Virgin-Martyr (more commonly known as Zlata) was born in the region between what today are Bulgaria and Serbia during the Turkish Yoke. The Saint possessed a strong character and deep faith, but drew the attention of a Turk because of her great beauty. Having kidnapped her, the Turk attempted to seduce the virgin and convert her to Islam, turning from seduction to threats when St. Chryse remained firm in her faith.

St. Chryse endured six months of threats in the Turk's household. Seeing that his threats had no effect on the Saint, the Turk turned on her family and threatened to murder her and torture them if they did not persuade her to accept Islam. Despite their appeals to convert for appearance's sake, however, St. Chryse remained steadfast in the Orthodox Faith and endured three months of tortures, being beaten and having her skin peeled off her body by her tormenters.

At the last St. Chryse was tied to a tree by the Turks and cut into pieces, her precious relics later being recovered by the area's Christians and buried with reverence. She witnessed to the Orthodox Faith in 1795. May her blessing and prayers be with us all! More on St. Chryse's life can be found here.

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.

Church, Homes Burned in Upper Egypt

Clashes between Muslims and Copts have taken place in the Upper Egyptian city of Edfu after Muslims attacked a parish there that was undertaking the expansion of its church. After setting fire to the church the attackers burned other Copt-owned houses and shops in the area. More here.

Islamists Threaten to Destroy Upper Egyptian Church

Controversy has erupted in the Upper Egyptian governorate of Aswan over the reconstruction of St. George's Church in the village of Elmarinab. The originally church was built over a century ago and was recently renovated using plans approved by the local authorities and reopened in June only to face protests from Islamists from neighboring villages who claim that there was never a church on the site and that they will destroy the church and use its remains as a mosque if Elmarinab's Copts do not agree to remove the church's crosses and domes by tomorrow. More here.

Al-Qaeda Iraq Bombings Make Dormition Bloodiest Day of 2011

Today marks the bloodiest day in Iraq this year, with some 31 bombings, presumed to be the responsibility of al-Qaeda, taking place in the country. One of the bombings targeted St. Ephraim's Syriac Orthodox Church in Kirkuk, but thankfully the bomb went off well before new style Dormition celebrations at the church. More here and here.

Clashes Occur in Upper Egyptian Governorate

The state prosecutor in the Upper Egyptian city of Minya has ordered the arrest of three local Muslims involved in ongoing clashes in the Minya Governorate this week. So far the clashes have resulted in the death of a Coptic Orthodox Christian and the burning of six homes. Reconciliation meeting have been held between local leaders of the mosques and the Coptic Orthodox Church, but it is understood that the violence is intended to encourage Copts to leave the region, which has a much higher percentage of Copts than Lower Egypt. More here.

US Commission Calls for Discussion of Safety of Iraqi Religious Minorities

In light of the recent bombing of a Syriac Catholic church in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and the attempted bombings of two other churches the US Commission on International Religious Freedom has recommended that the US and Iraqi governments make the security of Iraq's religious minorities a topic of discussion in negotiations on the presence of US forces in Iraq after this year. More here.

St. Joseph of Damascus

Joyous feast! St. Joseph the New Hieromartyr of Damascus was born in the Syrian city at the end of the 1700s under the Turkish Yoke. As a youth he became zealous for learning and quickly became well known by the Orthodox living in Damascus and so loved that in 1817 he was ordained to the priesthood at the age of twenty-four and assigned to the patriarchal cathedral in Damascus.

St. Joseph enjoyed the favor of both the patriarch who ordained him, Patriarch Seraphim of Antioch, and his successor Patriarch Methodius. He was also well loved by the Antiochian Orthodox faithful in Damascus thanks to his sermons, so much so that some called St. Joseph a new Chrysostom. When Damascus was struck by yellow fever the Saint worked tirelessly to comfort and care for the sick without regard for his own life and so became even more deeply loved by the Damascenes.

Because of his great learning St. Joseph attracted students desiring to study under him and eventually formed a patriarchal theological school in Damascus. The Saint also engaged in dialogue with the members of the then newly formed Melkite Catholic Church, bringing many of them back to the Orthodox Faith by strengthening them in their support of the Apostolic Faith and the Julian calendar when the Melkite Catholic Patriarch Clement forced the Gregorian calendar and various latinizations upon his flock. St. Joseph's influence within the Melkite Catholic Church was said to be so strong that had he not been martyred it would not have survived his lifetime because of the number of its member who were returning to Orthodoxy.

In 1860 a great persecution of all the Christians in Damascus and its region took place, with many of the Antiochian Orthodox taking refuge at the patriarchal cathedral. St. Joseph traveled along the city's rooftops from his home to get to the cathedral and strengthen the faithful there with both sermons and communion. When the cathedral was finally attacked St. Joseph was martyred together with the faithful gathered there on 10 July. For this reason we also commemorate today St. Joseph's companions in martyrdom, whose names are not known to us.

More on St. Joseph's life can be found here. May his blessing and prayers be with us all!

Tajikistani Ban on Minors Attending Services Passes Parliament

The Tajikistani Parliament has passed a bill banning minors from attending services in mosques or churches. The proposed law is intended to halt the growing strength of Islamic fundamentalism in Tajikistan, but would also affect the country's large Orthodox Christian minority. As the bill was proposed to the legislature by the Tajikistani president it is expected to be signed into law shortly. More here.

Foundations of Kosovar Monastery Damaged

Excavation works approved by Kosovar authorities have undermined the hillside beneath the historic Monastery of Sts. Cosmas and Damian in Zociste, Kosovo, and its cemetery and placed the site at risk of collapse. The site, like many other Serbian Orthodox holy places in Kosovo, is theoretically protected by the KFOR. Despite protests from both the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Raska and Prizren and the representation of the European Union in Kosovo the excavation works have yet to be stopped. More here.