St.Virgin Mary Apparition in Coptic Orthodox Church a few days a go.

Stephentlig

Remarkable events in Egypt and not for the first time Our Lady appears on top of a Coptic Church 16.12.09

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOCQeYECWU0&feature=related

There is another YouTube link which has an Egyptian TV program's reporting of the events at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvtXjWMPcwg

It can be a little confusing watching some of the videos as the church in question normally has lit-up crosses on the top of the domes and these show up on the other videos. But the first video has the lights turned off, apparently implemented by the Moslem authorities.

A Cairo newspaper (Al-Ahram) report of the events is copied below:

Crowds flock to Warraq (Giza) as news spreads of an apparition of the Virgin Mary, reports Sherine Nasr

---

"If I could only see Her tonight, it will be the happiest day of my life," said 25-year-old sales representative Fadi Amir. He had been standing all night, his eyes fixed on the church's towers in hope of catching a glimpse of the Virgin Mary.

"Whether I see Her or not, I know She's there," said a young lady, shivering with the cold as she stood on the opposite side of the road to get a better view of the church.

Whether waiting for a miracle to happen or just watching for something unusual, the crowds that gather daily in front of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael in Warraq, Giza, could not be more positive about what they are doing. And when solving the simplest daily problem all too often involves insurmountable obstacles, who can blame people for seeking the miraculous. It is not unusual to hear reports of the Virgin Mary's appearance every now and then, particularly among Copts. And as on this occasion, the news spreads like wildfire.

According to Father Dawoud of the Church of the Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael neighbours, worried by crowds gathering outside, called at midnight on 10 December to ask if something was wrong.

"The phone calls poured in and many people said they had just seen an apparition of Virgin Mary on the right dome of the church," said Father Dawoud, who added that Muslim neighbours were among the callers, including "Haj Rashad, a neighbour and a dear friend who told me, 'what are you doing here, father? I have just seen Our Lady Mariam with my own eyes, go and see for yourself'."

"At first we thought that a little kid was playing with a flash light, but then the light intensified and moved from the tree in front of the church entrance up to the right dome and an embodiment of Virgin Mary could be easily recognised. It stayed there for a while. I have captured the scene with my mobile phone," says Hassan, the neighbourhood distributor of gas cylinders.

On Monday the Coptic Orthodox Bishopric in Giza issued a statement: "On 11 Friday, at 1am, a full apparition of the Virgin Mary on the right dome of the church was reported by at least 3,000 people. She appeared in her usual heavenly blue costume. She was crowned and the concrete cross on the dome was placed on top of her crown. Those present captured photos and videos of the Holy scene," read the statement. The scene, as described, was broadcast on Amr Adib's talk show "Cairo Today" on 13 December.

According to Bishop Theodosios of Giza, it was important to investigate the event in detail.

"I stayed up all night on Sunday. I saw doves appear suddenly in the sky. They flew in circles in front of the church before they vanished into thin air. They were floating rather than hovering with their wings," said Bishop Theodosios, adding that it is uncommon for doves to fly at night.

What makes the claims credible for many Copts is the fact that reports of the apparition coincided with the beginning of the Coptic month of Kiahk, better known as "Mary's month", dedicated to praising the Virgin's conception of Christ and ending with the Coptic Orthodox Church's Christmas celebrations of 7 January.

For security forces the event has a different dimension. Selim, a policeman, pointed out he had been on duty at the site for seven hours already and did not expect to be relieved for another five.

"The police are exerting a tremendous effort and they have been very cooperative," says Father Dawoud, who also praised church neighbours, many of whom allowed visitors to view the church from the roofs of their buildings.

The coffee shops -- there is one on each side of the church -- also find cause for celebration. Profits have spiralled.

"We've never had so many customers and they are there all night long," says Hassan, a tea boy. "We even rent chairs for LE3 per night."

Apparitions of the Virgin Mary are present in the minds of a majority of Copts. The longest and best documented occurred in the church named after her in Zeitoun in April 1968. Sightings continued for almost two years. The event was witnessed by millions, including President Gamal Abdel-Nasser, and was associated with miraculous cures. In 1986 a similar event took place in Saint Demiana the Martyr's Church in Papadouplo, Shubra. In 1997, a small church in Shentena Al-Hagger in Menoufiya hosted thousands of Copts following news of an apparition. In 2000, St Mark's Church in Assiut, 300km south of Cairo, was the scene of similar sightings.

"If the sightings continue a fact finding committee will be formed to investigate the matter and they will submit their report to Pope Shenouda III, on which basis he may issue a papal declaration," said Bishop Theodosios.

Orizio

Why did she do that then?

Busi_Girl08

Your move, Coleman.

Stephentlig

Orizio wrote: »

Why did she do that then?

Hi Orizio, I do not know too much about the event myself, but my 2 cents is for the conversion of sinners, she made the same appearance years ago on top of the same church in the 60's.

Tradition has it that the church is built on the hideout of Jesus St.Joseph and St.Mary until Herod was dead and it was safe enough to return.

When she last appeared millions of people saw her, muslim, jew, buddist, and atheist were converted to christianity when they saw her.

This thread might also explode into a debate, but I would kindly advise Catholics to stay clear of such debates.

God bless and take care.

Stephen.

Xluna

Stephentlig wrote: »

.

When she last appeared millions of people saw her, muslim, jew, buddist, and atheist were converted to christianity when they saw her.

Any links for that conversion figure?

Stephentlig

Xluna wrote: »

Any links for that conversion figure?

High Xluna, this link is the best I could do.

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Zeitoun

God bless

Stephen.

Nodin

My underline below.

The reports that the apparition was seen by millions are unsubstantiated. Thousands were said to have flocked to the Church after the first announced occurrences of the phenomenon. This dwindled to hundreds as time went by and interest waned. Other sources estimate the figure at around 100,000 in total. Since sightings of the apparition were quite sporadic by all accounts, the number of people who actually saw something could be expected to be considerably smallerI][URL="http://www.boards.ie/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed"][COLOR=#000080]citation needed[/COLOR][/URL][/I. Cynthia Nelson [3] was an outstanding professor of anthropology at AUC (American University in Cairo) and the founding director of the Institute of Gender and Women's Studies. She visited the church site on several occasions including April 15, 1968, another week later near the end of April and on June 1, 1968. Despite the accounts of ongoing, if irregular, visitations by the Marian apparition, Cynthia Nelson documents seeing nothing other than a few 'intermittent flashes of light' [4].
Cynthia Nelson and others [5] have put the Mary apparition in its context. The appearances came at a period of crisis in Egyptian history.
Sociologists Robert Bartholomew and Erich Goode offer the Zeitoun apparitions as a prominent case of mass delusion:
“It appears that the Marian observers were predisposed by religious background and social expectation to interpreting the light displays as related to the Virgin Mary

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Zeitoun

lmaopml

From the same Wiki very noteworthy article..

The tectonic strain hypothesis
Canadian neuro-psychologist Michael Persinger of Laurentian University and American geologist Dr. John Derr raised the hypothesis linking luminous phenomena and the seismic activity [7]. According to Persinger and Derr analysis of the seismic activity in the region from 1958 to 1979, reveals its correlation to the occurrence of luminous phenomena. They state that:
“Temporal analyses were completed between the occurrence of intense displays of exotic luminous phenomena over a church in Zeitoun (Egypt) during the years 1968 through 1969 and regional seismicity. These phenomena, viewed by thousands of onlookers, began one year before an unprecedented increase (factor of 10) in seismic activity about 400 km to the southeast. Monthly analyses also demonstrated a moderate (0.56) correlation between increases in seismicity and the occurrence of luminous phenomena during the same or previous month. These results were interpreted as further support for the hypothesis that most anomalous (terrain-related) luminous phenomena are generated by factors associated with tectonic strain.”
It must be tectonics!! Shees...Wiki is so dependable.

Cheers for posting this Stephentlig, I wouldn't have known otherwise. Interesting to watch on youtube...which is kinda weird too..lol...but still, it's really quite nice, especially when the vid looks around the crowd gathered...

Makes you ?????

I was watching a program only lastnight on Mejugoria, which I know is not 'recognised' by the Catholic Church and it made me.. ???? too..

Thanks for posting anyways

Xluna

Stephentlig wrote: »

High Xluna, this link is the best I could do.

http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Zeitoun

God bless

Stephen.

Thanks Stephen. I thought,from your extract, that millions of Jews,atheists,Muslims and Buddhists converted. This direct extract has clarified my initial confusion.

They were seen by millions of Egyptians and foreigners, including Copts, Orthodox and Roman Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Jews and people of no particular faith. The sick and blind are said to have been cured, and many people converted to Christianity as a result. Saint Mary and Saint Mary the Virgin both redirect here. ... Jesus Christ in a Coptic icon. ... April 2 is the 92nd day of the year (93rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 273 days remaining. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian: مسلمان) is an adherent of Islam. ... Religious conversion is the adoption of new religious beliefs that differ from the converts previous beliefs; in some cultures (e. ...