Today (Tuesday), His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark visited the archaeological site of "Abu Mena" in Alexandria. The site includes the Monastery of the Martyr Saint Mina the Wonderworker in Mariout. He was accompanied by Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Mr. Sherif Fathy, Alexandria Governor Lieutenant General Ahmed Khaled Hassan, Ms. Nuria Sanz, Director of the UNESCO Regional Office in Cairo, Dr. Mohamed Ismail, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, and Dr. Gamal Mostafa, Head of the Islamic and Coptic Antiquities Sector.

Dear brothers and sisters, 
may the Lord give you peace! 

(opening greetings) 

Today, churches around the world are commemorating and celebrating the anniversary of perhaps the most important event in church history since the birth of the church itself. Nicaea, the council that brought together the bishops of the church at that time, an expression of the different souls and world views of the time, has shaped the Christian faith for all the generations that followed. Since then, everyone who believes in Christ, has spoken the same words in all churches and nourished his faith with the same expressions. 

The person of Jesus has never ceased to fascinate the world. His coming into the world has changed history, raised questions, and also provoked rejection and resistance. At all times, in short, Jesus has in some way forced us to take a stand about him. 

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one God. Amen.

“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17.20–23).

May 18, 2025


The venerable Church of Christ surpasses in glory the upper firmament, not that it surpasses the radiance of visible light, but because it carries the Divine Sun of Justice that does not set.
Its rays shine with the words of the Spirit day and night in a befitting manner.
By these God enlightens the eyes of the soul, saying, “Let there be light.”
He is the Life and Resurrection of all.

Your Eminences,

Dear friends,

I have found no words more eloquent than these, spoken 1,500 years ago at the dedication of the Church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople, to describe this holy church that is being planted today in the heart of Zahle by the right hand of God Most High. It is meant to radiate in splendor over Zahle, Lebanon, the East, and around the globe, saying to the world: We are the children of this East, with all our denominations, planted like olive trees. We are the makers of its history and the farmers who planted its cedars and olives. We are those who planted its cedars and olive trees. We are in this land as sprouts of the Creator of the cedars and the Maker of the olive trees.
We come from the lights of the One who said: “Let there be light.” This is the message of this church, which reflects in the golden domes, the golden hearts of its faithful, and the pure heart of its founder, Bishop Niphon Saikaly. We come from the radiance of its light because it bears the radiance of the Sun of Justice. We come from its joy, which reflects the joy of the myrrh-bearers at the sight of the empty tomb. We come from the Church of Antioch, steeped in history, rooted in the moment, and looking ahead with eyes that put their hopes solely in the Lord of Glory.

Under the auspices of His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, and His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea was celebrated on May 17 and 18, 2025, at the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Cairo and at the Great St. Mark’s Cathedral.

On May 18, 2025, their Holinesses Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Pope Tawadros II, and Catholicos Aram I, met with the Heads of the Churches in Egypt, at the Papal Residence in Cairo.

Concelebrated the Holy Qurobo at St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo on the occasion of the 1700 Jubilee of the Council of Nicea

On May 18, 2025, their Holinesses Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Pope Tawadros II, and Catholicos Aram I, concelebrated the Holy Qurobo at St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo on the occasion of the 1700 Jubilee of the Council of Nicea.

Sunday, 5th/18th May 2025, was celebrated as the Sunday of the Samaritan Woman, the fourth Sunday after Pascha. On this day, we commemorate the spiritual encounter of our Lord Jesus Christ with the Samaritan woman at the Well of the Patriarch Jacob. During their conversation, He revealed Himself to her as the awaited Messiah, the Christ. He spoke of the spiritual nature of God the Father and the Holy Spirit-filled essence of the faith of those who truly worship Him in spirit and in truth.

On May 14, 2025, on the occasion of the Feast of the Blessing of the Virgin Mary on the Crops (15 May), is Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, Supreme Head of the Syriac Orthodox Church of the World, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches celebrated the Holy Qurobo at St. Mary Church in Damascus.

Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

As Jesus fulfills His mission and returns to the Father, what remains of Him on this earth? What plant will grow from the seed He planted there?

Who will continue His mission, who makes visible the Kingdom He inaugurated?

We listen to today's Gospel (Jn 13:31-33a,34-35) to try and answer these questions.

On Saturday, May 10, 2025, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) welcomed the family of the Birds Nest Orphanage, led by the Director, Very Reverend Father Antranig Kurumlian. The gathering included students, staff members, board members, and representatives from the women’s auxiliary. Additionally, His Grace Bishop Dajad Ashekian, Chancellor of the Catholicosate, was present at the event.

On Monday, May 12, 2025, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) visited His Beatitude Patriarch Bechara Boutros al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East at the Patriarchal residence in Bkerke. The visit was to inquire about the Patriarch’s health following his recent hip surgery, which he underwent due to a fall during the Easter liturgy.

His Holiness Pope Leo XIV welcomes Eastern Catholics to the Vatican for the Jubilee of Eastern Churches, and highlights the need to preserve their traditions and pray for true peace, “which is reconciliation, forgiveness, and the courage to turn the page and start anew."

By Christopher Wells

Pope Leo XIV welcomed Eastern Catholics to the Vatican with the traditional Easter greeting, “Christ is risen! He is truly risen!”

On Tuesday, 13 May 2025, a press conference was held at the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem with His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, in the presence of several bishops and priests. The conference focused on the Cardinal’s experience in the election of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, his first time taking part in a Papal conclave, and a historic moment for the entire Holy Land. Cardinal Pizzaballa responded to questions from journalists, addressing the main concerns discussed in the meetings before the conclave, the role of the Church in world problems, as well as any expectations from the new papacy. You can watch clips from the press conference below: 

On the occasion of the Jubilee of Eastern Churches, His Beatitude Raphael Bedros XXI Minassian, Catholicos Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenian Catholic Church, and President of the Middle East Council of Churches for the Catholic Family, and presides over the Divine Liturgy in the Armenian Rite at St. Mary Major, and calls for the elimination of hatred in all its forms.

12 May 2025

We wish to express our congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election, and we hold prayer for his this new important spiritual mission. This is a significant event not just in the life of the Roman Catholic Church, but for the world.

On Saturday, May 10, 2025, His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), on behalf of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, extended cordial congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of his election as the new Supreme Pontiff of the Catholic Church.

On Sunday, the 28th of April / 11th of May 2025, the Sunday of the Paralytic, according to the book of the Pentecostarion, His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem, conducted a Pastoral visit to the town of Reineh, near the city of Nazareth.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark prayed the Saturday Liturgy of the third week of the Holy Fifties, marking 40 days since the departure of the Thrice-Blessed H.E. Metropolitan Pakhomious, Metropolitan of the Diocese of Beheira, Matrouh, and the Five Western Cities, and Head of St. Makarious of Alexandria's Monastery in Mount Qalali. The liturgy was held at Saint Mark's Vineyard in Damanhour (the diocese headquarters).

Joining His Holiness were H.E. Metropolitan Paula (Metropolitan of Tanta and Papal Deputy for the Diocese of Beheira and its affiliated regions), along with several metropolitans, bishops, the clergy of the Diocese of Beheira, and monks from St. Makarious' Monastery. Priests and monks from dioceses and monasteries of the See of St Mark, as well as nuns, consecrated women, prominent laity from Beheira, and a large congregation also participated in the prayers.

On May 7 and 8, 2025, the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) held a conference in Amman, Jordan, titled “Christians in the Arab Levant and the Aspirations of Unity and Enlightenment.” His Holiness Catholicos Aram I, Catholicos of the Armenian Church, Holy See of Cilicia, and Honorary President of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), emphasized the need for religious and cultural tolerance during the opening session in his speech.