Trump on Global Coptic Day: Treasured traditions of Coptic community serve as light for Americans
The President's message read:
'Today, I join the Coptic Orthodox Christian community in observing Global Coptic Day—a celebration of the ancient heritage, rich culture, and reverent worship of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
'Tracing its roots to Saint Mark, the apostle of Jesus Christ and Evangelist who brought the Christian faith to Egypt in the first century, the Coptic Church has been a beacon of Christendom in Africa for nearly 2,000 years.
'The Coptic community has left an indelible mark on the hearts of millions of Christians—most evidently seen in their timeless contributions to Christian theology and culture.
'This Global Coptic Day, we also pause to reflect upon the vicious and ongoing persecution of Coptic Orthodox Christians in Africa and across the Middle East. In 2015, 21 Coptic construction workers were brutally executed by ISIS terrorists in Libya. Like persecuted Christians all around the world, these heroic martyrs refused to renounce their faith—they exemplified their sacrificial love and steadfast devotion to God, even in the face of certain death. The Copts' persistence amid relentless persecution is a living testament to their unbreakable resolve and fearless dedication to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
'As we remember the extraordinary contributions and tragic martyrdoms of Coptic Orthodox Christians, my Administration renews its commitment to vigorously defending the right to religious liberty, a bedrock of the American way of life. I was honored to recently establish the Religious Liberty Commission, a team of religious leaders tasked with ensuring that Americans can freely practice their faith without government interference. I also signed an Executive Order to eradicate the pervasive anti-Christian bias sweeping across our Nation—correcting the unjust abuses, investigations, and persecutions of faithful Christians that occurred under the previous administration.
'As our Nation celebrates Global Coptic Day, we pray for an increased love of God and a rebirth of religious faith both in the United States and around the world. Today and every day, may the treasured traditions of the Coptic Orthodox Christian community serve as a light for all Americans—and may their unwavering devotion to Christ inspire our Nation to renew our love, faith, and trust in Almighty God.'
Global Coptic Day is marked annually by the Coptic Church on 1 June, a date which coincides with the Coptic Feast of the Entry of the Holy Family into Egypt. The first Global Coptic Day was celebrated on 1 June 2019. Comments
comments Tags: Ashraf HelmyPresident Trump on Global Coptic Day 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al-Ahram Weekly
4 hours ago
- Al-Ahram Weekly
French bishops urge pilgrims to return to Holy Land - Region
A senior French bishop on Tuesday called for pilgrims to visit the Holy Land to show solidarity with struggling Christian communities in the region. Pilgrims "should not only to come here to deepen their faith and take some photos... but also to take an interest in the Christians and the other people who live here," Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, president of the French Bishops' Conference, told reporters in Jerusalem. The archbishop of the southern French city of Marseille made his appeal at the end of a five-day solidarity visit to the Holy Land, accompanied by two other prelates from the French Bishops' conference. On Monday, the delegation visited Bethlehem, a town in the occupied West Bank revered by Christians as the birthplace of Jesus but which has been largely abandoned by foreign visitors since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023. "When we went to the Nativity Church, we were the only visitors there," Aveline noted. Speaking about holy sites within Israel and east Jerusalem, he said that Christians "should understand that there are Christians in this land who cannot make the same pilgrimage, because they are not granted permits to move from one area to the other". Christian Palestinians from the West Bank, which Israel has occupied since 1967, require authorisation from Israeli security forces to visit holy sites within Israel and occupied east Jerusalem. On Sunday, the cardinal celebrated mass in Taybeh, a Christian village in the West Bank that has faced repeated assaults by Israeli settlers in recent months, according to the Palestinian Authority and witnesses. In early July, the village was hit by an arson attack in the area of the ruins of a Byzantine-era church. The cardinal also addressed relations between Christians and Jews, saying that "our bonds with the Jews are unbreakable" and warning against the "alarming rise of antisemitism in Europe". But he also lamented that "every criticism of the state of Israel is immediately portrayed as antisemitism". "Therefore we need dialogue, and the... will to tell the truth without harming anyone's dignity," he added. Aveline said that on Tuesday he spoke with Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the Holy Family Catholic church in Gaza, the territory's only Catholic church which was damaged in an Israeli strike last month. Romanelli was lightly injured in the strike. "He described the situation there as very uncertain," Aveline said, "but I was very impressed with his inner strength." Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
Egypt Independent
17 hours ago
- Egypt Independent
Hamas says it has agreed to new ceasefire proposal as mediators push to renew talks
Hamas says it has agreed to a new Gaza ceasefire proposal as mediators from Qatar and Egypt push to renew talks ahead of a major Israeli assault on Gaza City. In a statement, Hamas said it had accepted the new proposal presented on Sunday by Qatar and Egypt. Basem Naim, a senior member of Hamas' political bureau, said on social media, 'The movement has accepted the new proposal from the mediators. We pray that God extinguishes the fires of this war on our people.' Two Israeli officials told CNN that Israel had received the Hamas response from mediators. One of the Israeli officials said that the government's position had not changed, which includes calling for the release of all the hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and Israeli security control of the besieged territory. The proposal marks a renewed effort from mediators to restart negotiations that fell apart in July, extinguishing what had been the best hopes to stop the fighting in months. It also dashed chances of an imminent end to the war, and Israel's security cabinet recently voted to escalate the conflict and occupy Gaza City. The newly approved operation increased pressure on mediators to renew talks and secure a deal in an attempt to avert an even worse humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. The new proposal adheres closely to the last ceasefire plan discussed before negotiations fell apart last month. A senior Hamas official told CNN the proposal calls for the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages. The hostages will be released in exchange for 140 Palestinian prisoners serving life sentences and 60 serving sentences of more than 15 years. Israel will also release all Palestinian minors and female prisoners, the official said. According to a diplomat briefed on the negotiations, Qatari and Egyptian mediators secured a breakthrough that preserves 98% of the last proposal from US envoy Steve Witkoff, to which Israel had previously agreed. The mediators put pressure on Hamas to accept the proposal. The proposal entails a ceasefire during which Israeli forces redeploy to the lines specified in the Witkoff proposal, while humanitarian aid flows intensively to meet the basic needs of the population in Gaza. This step opens the way to reaching a comprehensive agreement in the best possible manner without endangering the lives of the hostages through further intense military operations and avoiding a worsening of the humanitarian situation for the people of Gaza, who are already suffering greatly, the diplomat said. It also marks the beginning of the road to a comprehensive solution, the diplomat added. A regional source involved in the Gaza talks told CNN that Hamas 'insists' on 'written American guarantees' for a ceasefire 'after 60 days.' Hamas wants the US to ensure that Israel does not return to war, the source told CNN. The most recent ceasefire negotiations, which fell apart in July, focused on a 60-day ceasefire and the release of approximately half of the remaining 50 hostages. A second diplomat involved in the negotiations said, 'Given the developments, Egypt and Qatar will extend an invitation to Steve Witkoff to come to Cairo.' Qatari Prime Minister and minister of foreign affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani arrived in Egypt for discussions about ceasefire negotiations, Egyptian officials said Monday. Qatari officials met with Witkoff last weekend in Spain. Hardening positions Prior to talks collapsing in July, the most difficult issues in the negotiations included the number of Palestinian prisoners to be released in exchange for the hostages, the size of the Israeli buffer zone around Gaza, and the scope of the Israeli withdrawal during the ceasefire. Hamas also demanded a comprehensive end to the war, which Israel has refused. The US and Israel indicated they would harden their positions, only accepting a comprehensive deal instead of a partial agreement, when the last round of negotiations failed. On Monday, US President Donald Trump said on social media, 'We will only see the return of the remaining hostages when Hamas is confronted and destroyed!!! The sooner this takes place, the better the chances of success will be.' Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday evening, 'Like you, I hear the reports in the media – and from them, one thing is clear: Hamas is under immense pressure.' He did not say whether he would consider a new proposal after insisting that Israel would only agree to a comprehensive deal that achieved his maximalist positions. He has said that any agreement needs to include the disarmament of Hamas, which has been a red line for the militant organization. This fresh proposal comes after hundreds of thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv and across the country on Sunday, demanding that Israel agree to a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages and end the war. In a series of events that lasted all day, protesters blocked major intersections across the country, carried out a grassroots strike, and held a massive rally in Hostages Square. Netanyahu's far-right allies, who have demanded an escalation of the war, warned the Israeli premier about accepting a ceasefire deal. Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir said in a recorded video: 'Mr. Prime Minister, I'll make this short and simple: you do not have a mandate to go for a partial deal. The blood of our soldiers is not to be disregarded. We must go all the way — to destroy Hamas.' Ben Gvir quit the government over the last ceasefire in January before rejoining when Israel resumed the war two months later. But opposition politicians immediately threw their weight behind Netanyahu and behind the latest ceasefire effort. Former Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who chairs the Blue and White Party, said in a statement, 'The government has a clear majority and a broad safety net to bring the hostages home. Netanyahu, this is not a time to hesitate — this is a time to make the right decisions for the people of Israel and the security of Israel.' There have been two ceasefires and hostage-release deals in Gaza since Israel launched its offensive in Gaza following the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks. In November 2023, a weeklong ceasefire saw 105 hostages freed from Gaza and around 240 Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons before it collapsed. A second ceasefire was not struck until January 2025. In just over 8 weeks – the first 'phase' of the ceasefire – Hamas freed 33 hostages, with Israel releasing around 50 Palestinian prisoners for every Israeli freed. Under the planned second stage, Israel was supposed to agree to a permanent ceasefire. But Israel resumed its offensive on March 18, shattering the truce and derailing the talks, saying it did so to put pressure on Hamas to release the remaining hostages. This is a developing story and will be updated.
Bold News
2 days ago
- Bold News
American Nun: Hamas Is a Resistance Movement Defending Its People and Land
By Mohamed El-Sayed Rashid American nun Agapia Stephanopoulos has described Israeli policies as making life 'extremely difficult' for both Palestinian Christians and Muslims, due to restrictions on movement, land confiscation, and settlement expansion. She stressed that the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) is a legitimate resistance defending its people and land. Life Under Occupation In a widely viewed interview with U.S. journalist Tucker Carlson, Stephanopoulos, who has lived in Bethany in the occupied West Bank since 1996, shared her personal experience over more than two decades, highlighting the daily struggles of Palestinians under occupation. She emphasized that Palestinian Christians face the same discrimination as Muslims, not because of religion, but because of their Palestinian identity. She also pointed out the dramatic decline in the Christian population since the Nakba of 1948, blaming displacement and systematic restrictions. Targeting of Churches and Blind Support for Israel The nun criticized what she called the 'blind support' of some Christian Zionists in the United States for Israel, accusing them of ignoring the suffering of Palestinian Christians while justifying settlement expansion and land confiscation. She also noted that churches and Christian institutions in the West Bank and Gaza have been bombed and damaged, describing it as part of a deliberate policy targeting Palestinians as a whole. Muslim-Christian Cohesion Stephanopoulos highlighted the natural cohesion between Muslims and Christians in Palestinian society, citing examples of Christian schools in Bethlehem and Jerusalem where most students are Muslim, reflecting a spirit of coexistence. Global Attention The interview, titled 'This Is How Christians Live in the Holy Land', has been viewed more than 12 million times, sparking global debate. It shed rare light on the shared suffering of Palestinians—Christians and Muslims alike—under Israeli occupation and settler violence.
