ACNS - A letter from the Bishop of Egypt

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

> A letter from the Bishop of Egypt

Posted On : February 2, 2011 2:23 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
ACNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2011/2/2/ACNS4792
Related Categories: Middle East

"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I
do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let
your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." John 14:27

> My Dear Friends,

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ!

First, I would like to thank you so much for your
prayers, phone calls, and messages from around
the world that you have sent in the last few
days. I want you to know that these meant a lot
to me personally and to your brothers and sisters in the church here.

In the midst of the turmoil which Egypt is going
through, we have felt that the Lord is very near
to us. We have experienced his peace, and we were
assured of his protection. In most of our
churches and homes, there have been prayer
meetings for the situation and for our beloved
country Egypt. All our churches are safe,
although they have not been guarded by the
security since Friday when all the security were
withdrawn. This assured us that the one who
protects the churches is the Lord of the Church.

I was touched to see young adults, Muslims and
Christians, guarding the streets, homes, and our
churches. They did not allow any thieves or
looters to come near the area. They also arrested
some of those and handed them over to the Army. I
applaud our local Egyptian clergy and people who
joined the youth in the streets in guarding homes and churches.

I admired all our expatriate clergy and diocesan
staff who refused to leave Egypt in order to stay
in the midst of the people who decided not to go,
even when their Embassies encouraged them to
leave and provided airplanes to do so.

Yesterday demonstrations were very peaceful, in
spite of the huge number that gathered in the
middle of Cairo. We praise the Lord that we have
now the internet back, and we can communicate
with you all.   This morning the security also
returned to guard the churches as normal.

Yesterday, President Mubarak made it very clear
that he will not seek re-election after he
finishes his term in November 2011. He appointed
Mr. Ibrahim Soliman as a Vice-President. He has a
good reputation among Egyptians. This appointment
ruled out the possibility of appointing the
President's son as a successor. President Mubarak
also appointed a new Prime Minister, Mr. Shafik
who was the Minister of Civil Aviation (Egypt
Air, etc?). He is a very good man and has done a
lot of improvement in his previous Ministry.
President Mubarak also called for a review for
the Constitution to allow democracy; he also
assured the people that those who were
responsible for the violence, destructions,
looting, escape of prisoners, etc? will be brought to judgment.

Our concern was that extremist groups would take
advantage of the demonstrations to push for
violence. We thank God that this did not happen.
It seems that the majority of the youth who are
demonstrating are aware of this possibility. Many
of them started to see this possible risk. The
youth who were interviewed by the television
yesterday mentioned that all what they need is
democracy. Many groups this morning are
demonstrating in support of President Mubarak,
the new government, and peaceful transfer of
authority at the end of the Presidents term.

Egypt is a very important country in the whole of
the Middle East, and whatever happens in Egypt
affects the rest of the countries. I was amazed
at how the President of Yemen, this morning,
announced that he will not seek re-election and
will not promote his son to be the next
president. We pray that we can set a good example
to the surrounding countries.

> We appreciate your prayers for:

?     Our churches and institutions, so that we
can fix our eyes on God who is in control. May
what is happening help us to draw nearer to God
and to know that the time is short.
?     The end of demonstrations, especially in
view of the changes that President Mubarak
announced. This will bring Egypt back to normal
and the curfew will be ended.
?     The new government, in order to achieve the
desired targets in serving the people, especially
the Minister of Interior who is now trying to
re-build the trust with the people of Egypt.
?     People to find their needs of food and health care.
?     Wisdom for the youth, in order not to allow
the extremists to stir them up.
?     The families who lost their loved ones in
the violence, and those who are injured.
?     Our beloved Egypt to recover this turmoil.

Once again, thank you so much for your prayers and words of encouragement.

> May the Lord bless you!

> Yours in Christ,

> +Mouneer

The Most Rev. Dr. Mouneer Hanna Anis

Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican Diocese of Egypt
with North Africa and the Horn of Africa
President Bishop of the Episcopal / Anglican
Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

>