Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Amid Instability In Egypt, Coptic Christians Flee To U.S.
NPR ^ | 1/4/13 | Bruce Wallace

Posted on 01/05/2013 11:08:23 AM PST by marshmallow

Coptic Christians will celebrate Christmas on Monday, and many will do so outside their native Egypt. Since the revolution there, their future in the country has looked uncertain, and many are resettling in the United States.

Their population in the U.S. may have grown by nearly 30 percent, according to rough estimates. One church that has felt its membership swell with new arrivals from Egypt is in the Queens borough of New York. St. Mary and St. Antonios Coptic Orthodox Church boasts more than 1,000 members, according to Father Michael Sorial. Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George in Brooklyn last January.

Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George in Brooklyn last January. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"I would say probably in the past two years, our community has, if not doubled, quite possibly more than doubled in size," Sorial says.

The story is the same at churches around New York, New Jersey and Southern California, the centers of Coptic life in the U.S. since the early 1970s. Nationwide, researchers estimate that as many as 100,000 Copts have joined a pre-revolution population of around 350,000.

They're leaving continued instability in Egypt — uncertain economic prospects combined with ongoing violence.

Mariana Bolis is from Assiut, Egypt, home to a big concentration of Copts. Her father was a victim of this violence.

"He was a priest, and he was killed at home. So after this accident, I decided to leave Egypt and to go anywhere," Bolis says.

They call it an accident, but the family is clear about what happened: They say he was murdered by Muslims.

Bolis arrived in Queens with her husband and two children in mid-October.

(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...


TOPICS: Current Events; Islam; Orthodox Christian; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS:

1 posted on 01/05/2013 11:08:31 AM PST by marshmallow
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
The so-called religion of peace strikes again...

It's time to stop calling it a religion. Just a bunch of ignorant followers of a cult of death.

2 posted on 01/05/2013 11:16:38 AM PST by Sacajaweau
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow
Under Obama’s rule, I am not sure how safe the US is going to be for Christians - Coptic or otherwise.
3 posted on 01/05/2013 11:33:26 AM PST by Truth29
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow

Any Christian with the means to leave Egypt had better do so —and soon.


4 posted on 01/05/2013 11:58:24 AM PST by Venturer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow

The Copts are welcome here. The entire state of New Jersey should be cleaned out and they should be set up there.

Their persecutors in the cult of death should be permanently banned from the USA and all civilized countries.


5 posted on 01/05/2013 12:17:29 PM PST by I want the USA back (Liberalism is the irreparable breakdown of the mind's ability to reason.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Truth29

>>Under Obama’s rule, I am not sure how safe the US is going to be for Christians - Coptic or otherwise.<<

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is in prison for a “video” that started a demonstration in Benghazi.


6 posted on 01/05/2013 12:45:15 PM PST by reagandemocrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: marshmallow; Truth29; Venturer; I want the USA back
Don't ask me how this works out, but I have been expecting just such an exodus of Christians from Egypt; I believe it's a part of God's plan. Remember, it was prophesied that God would turn Egyptian against Egyptian and I think we're seeing that now and that God wants the Christians out of that land because they are his people too.

Initially I felt it would be Israel that would accept them. Now, after becoming more enlightened, I'm not too sure Israel is the place for them. IMO, the faithful in America should rise up, provide assistance, and welcome these fellow believers, as would Jews welcome their brothers and sisters to the land of Israel.

I believe this is an important development and a sign of the times we're living in. Thanks for posting.

7 posted on 01/05/2013 12:49:15 PM PST by Errant
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: reagandemocrat
"Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is in prison for a “video” that started a demonstration in Benghazi."

Actually, it has finally been admitted by the State Department that the video had nothing to do with the Benghazi attack and there was no demonstration before the assault.

8 posted on 01/05/2013 1:44:20 PM PST by Truth29
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Truth29

Exactly. Obama fabricated a story to cover his butt in the Benghazi massacres, and Basseley, a Coptic Christian, was the patsy. Message: Christians are expendable.

Kabukki theatre.


9 posted on 01/05/2013 1:57:42 PM PST by reagandemocrat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson