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PARK SLOPE – High church leaders from Egypt joined a congregation at the resurgent Coptic Catholic Church on Nov. 5 to celebrate their pastor and ordain him as a monsignor.
Reverend Francis Fayez, pastor of the church since 2013, received his new title in a solemn mass accompanied by chants, brass plates and shouts of joy. Bishop Thomas Halim Habib of the Diocese of Sohag and Kyrillos William Samaan, Bishop of Assiut, celebrated.
The congregation honored the missionary. Fayez is shepherding Coptic Catholics in Brooklyn and his multimedia ministry shares the Gospel around the world.
“I was shocked,” he said after Mass. “I am very happy”.
Many friends from the Diocese of Brooklyn, especially Holy Family-St. Thomas Aquinas Church, also in Park Slope, where Msgr. Fayez has lived in Brooklyn ever since.
According to Father Patrick Keating, as vicar in charge of finances in the diocese, he became friends with the lady. Fayez and attended mass in the church many times. On November 5, Father Keating read the Gospel message and prayed especially for his friend.
“It was an honor and a privilege,” said Father Keating, who is also the diocesan economist and curia moderator. “It was a celebration for both ladies. Fayez and his work here, his faith and commitment to the church community.”
Despite the challenges
As pastor, Msgr. Fayez has faced many challenges, including repairs and renovations to the church, serving the church during the COVID-19 pandemic, and flooding from Hurricane Ida last year.
However, Msgr. Fayez managed to install traditional icons in the church, including his twin brother, Egyptian film director Ayman Fayez, who is also a classically trained “iconographer”. Using naturally mixed pigments, the artist “writes” vivid images of the Gospels, a tradition since the 6th century to teach new Christians who could not read the Holy Scriptures.
The brothers are from Sohag, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile, about 300 kilometers south of Cairo. They grew up in the Coptic Catholic Church.
Christians in Egypt make up about 10% of the population. 1% of this group are Coptic Catholics. They are one of 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Vatican and thus recognize Pope Francis as their leader.
Coptic Catholics follow the Alexandrian Rite and have liturgies in the traditional Coptic language. As of 2017, they numbered 187,320 in 166 parishes, according to the Vatican.
Evangelists
Christians in Egypt have been persecuted by Islamic extremists, and Coptic Catholics have experienced some of the violence.
Msgr. Fayez described an incident in the 1990s when he tried to cross the Nile, but was attacked by some people from the other side because he had a full beard and was wearing a cassock, a clear sign that he was not Muslim.
They beat him and tried to drown him until other people intervened.
Violence escalated during the brief rule of former president Mohamed Morsi (2012-2013), who was supported by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Before coming to Brooklyn, Msgr. Fayez served at a church in Tahtah, Egypt, where Mass was suspended for about a month in 2013 as Coptic Catholics feared leaving their homes.
Morsi’s regime was toppled and violence subsided under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah Said Hussein Khalil al-Sisi. However, Christians, including Coptic Catholics, say they are underrepresented in many fields and marginalized in administrative positions.
But despite the discrimination, Christians are determined to stay in their homeland and accept the role of sharing the good news through words and actions.
“We grow step by step”
Msgr. Fayez strives to spread the gospel far beyond Brooklyn. Although the number of Coptic Catholics is small, thanks to technology, the pastor’s teachings are spread around the world.
His website (francisfayez.com) is a portal to social media channels that stream the Mass and proclaim his good news to audiences in the United States, Egypt and the Middle East. It is a state-of-the-art operation with video cameras, lighting and other equipment. On November 5, Ayman Fayez was in production control to broadcast Mass live on Facebook and YouTube.
“We want to preserve our traditions and rituals for the people and the new generations, our culture and faith,” the lady said. – said Fayez. “More and more people are following the website, especially in Egypt and Lebanon, Syria, and now Yemen.
“So we grow step by step and proclaim the Word of God.”
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