NEW YORK — Sunday, December 11, marked another dark milestone in the ongoing affliction suffered by the Coptic Church, when a bomb explosion tore through the St. Peter Coptic Church in Cairo, Egypt. The church is adjacent to the St. Mark Coptic Cathedral, the seat of authority for the pope of the worldwide Coptic Church, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. The death toll of some 25 women and children.
Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, has communicated with the authorities of the Coptic Church in America, extending a spirit of profound solidarity, Christian outreach, and love for our persecuted brothers and sisters, and sending them the sincere condolences of the faithful of the Armenian Church in America.
In a directive issued earlier this week, the Primate instructed parishes of the Eastern Diocese to offer prayers for the faithful of sister churches around the world — in particular the Coptic Church — on Sunday, December 18.