21st May 2018
Members of the Holy Synod at the Logos Centre in St Bishoy Monastery
The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church completed its one week annual summit at the Logos Center at the Papal Residence in St Bishoy Monastery, Wadi El Natroun, led by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and in the presence of 111 of the Synod members, with 14 members absent. The General Assembly concluded the subcommittee meetings that began taking place on Monday 14th May.
The Outcomes of the Holy Synod, May 2018
Decisions:
1- Recognition of St. George’s Convent in Ireland
2- Setting a procedure for recognition of saints ecclesiastically and canonically in a couple of clauses, one of which is recognition must be after at least 40 years of the believer’s departure
3- Approval of a new article in the Holy Synod’s guidelines concerning the standing committee terms of reference and membership
4- Approval of an amendment to the article of selecting the chairmen of the general committees in the Holy Synod’s guidelines to be by secret ballots
5- For three more years, the selection of:
– His Grace Bishop Yulios as General Bishop for the churches of Old Cairo
– His Grace Bishop Daniel, Bishop of Maadi & El Basateen to be the new Secretary of the Holy Synod
– The Secretariat Committee:
H.G. Bishop Ghabrial, Bishop of Beni Suef
H.G. Bishop Gabriel, Bishop of Austria
Recommendations:
1- His Holiness proposed convening an event of brotherly love that includes all the patriarchs of the Oriental and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Church of Alexandria. This proposal was received well by the Holy Synod and a committee of metropolitans and bishops was formed to implement it
2- Formation of a committee of five Holy Synod members to study and examine errors in teaching from lecturers
The Holy Synod also appeals to the Coptic people everywhere not to pursue information posted on suspicious and false websites that unfortunately carry Christian names, promote fabricated news, fabricate facts, and harm the established traditions of our glorious Church and distort her image in the eyes of her children.