Media and
Communications Office
Coptic Orthodox Church
United Kingdom
Press Release and Report
Messages
received from His Majesty The King, The Archbishops of Canterbury and
Westminster, and The Prime Minister at the 14th annual Nayrouz (Coptic
New Year) Service at St Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey
21 September 2026
On 14 September 2026, The Coptic Orthodox Church in the United
Kingdom marked the Feast of Nayrouz (Coptic New Year) in its 14th annual
celebration held in St Margaret’s, Westminster Abbey. Messages were received
from His Majesty The King, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of
Westminster, the Prime Minister, and the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of
Religion or Belief, wishing His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos OBE, Coptic
Orthodox Archbishop of London and Papal Legate to the United Kingdom, and the
Coptic Orthodox community worldwide a blessed New Year.
New Year (Nayrouz), which is celebrated by the Church globally on
11 September, is an opportunity to honour the legacy of those who have made the
ultimate sacrifice to maintain Christian life and worship since the first
century, while also providing a time of reflection on new beginnings. Sadly,
waves of persecution around the world continue to affect people of all faiths,
and those of no faith, and the service in Westminster is a testament to the
relevance and ongoing necessity and significance of gathering people from all
walks of life in a spirit of respectful friendship and fellowship.
The evening began with a welcome from The Reverend Canon David Stanton on behalf of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster, followed by a Vespers service which included a sermon by His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos, and concluded with messages and addresses.
In his sermon,
His Eminence Archbishop Angaelos spoke of the need for graciousness when
interacting with one another:
“One of the great Fathers of the Church, St. John Chrysostom, writes, ‘A word is often sufficient, both to raise up him who is fallen, and to fill with consternation and fear him who is standing’. Our life is comprised of words. While we might choose to restrain our actions, and stop hostility being directed at others in person, our words may remain unchecked on social media platforms, a place where we do not have to look into another’s eyes, or read the other person’s reactions, or care about their pain.”
His Eminence went on to say:
“You see, in His words, our Lord did not deny the existence of
suffering in the world, broken heartedness, captivity, poverty, blindness or oppression…but
He spoke truth with grace.
Many confuse graciousness, with a lack of commitment, but that is
simply not true; we are called to ‘speak the truth in love’ (Ephesians 4:15)….The
Epistle of the Colossians 4:6 says, ‘let your speech always be with grace, seasoned
with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer one another’. Someone
needs to communicate that to many people who are on our social media platforms
at the moment. Many interactions are seasoned, not with salt, but a bit too
much spice and far too much bitterness. That is not what our world is supposed
to be, and that is not how we are called to interact with one another”.
His Eminence
concluded by saying:
“Look around this church now at this gathering, which really makes
no sense. People here, from a variety of backgrounds and convictions, are not
usually in one place together, sitting beside one another or meeting and
greeting in the same vicinity, and yet, churches are places of sanctuary. Let
me challenge you on that concept.
I do not mean the church as a building, because that means that once
we walk out of the building, there is no more sanctuary. We are the Church! The
people of God are the Church! This means that we are a space of sanctuary
wherever we go.
We are the common ground wherever we go. We are the reconcilers and
peacemakers wherever we go. That is what we are called to. Not to just come and
pray, as beautiful as the hymnology is, or to stand together, as wonderful as
fellowship is, but to be a place of sanctuary and reconciliation for one
another”.
The message from His Majesty King Charles III was read by Bishop Philip Mounstephen, The Rt Rev the Lord Bishop of Winchester, House of Lords, and said:
“At a time when many around the world, and in our own Nation, are
suffering the dreadful effects of conflict, economic struggles and division, it
is vital that there are continued, proactive efforts to bring together people
of all walks of life, faiths, backgrounds and convictions. It is in these acts
of solidarity that we see more clearly the remarkable beauty of our shared
humanity.”
“I congratulate your community on recently celebrating the 20th
anniversary of the Inauguration of the Cathedral of Saint George in
Hertfordshire, the home of your Diocese. I remember fondly my visits to the
Cathedral on two occasions and my encounter with your most special community
there. I deeply value the ongoing presence and contribution of the Coptic
Orthodox community in the United Kingdom, which is active in efforts to unite
people in a spirit of peaceful collaboration.”
The Rt Revd and the Rt Hon. Archbishop of Canterbury, Dame Sarah Mullaly DBE, read by Fr Matthias Grebe, said:
“Nayrouz holds
together memory and hope. In remembering the Martyrs, the Church remembers
those whose witness to Jesus Christ was stronger even than the fear of death.
Their faithfulness reminds us that Christian hope is not founded upon the
absence of suffering, but upon the risen Christ who has conquered death and
calls his Church into the fullness of life. This witness has particular
resonance today. Across our world, many Christians continue to suffer because
of their faith, alongside people of other faiths and beliefs who face
persecution, violence, and displacement.”
“Here in this
country, I give thanks for the life and ministry of the Coptic Orthodox
community and for the friendship and fellowship we share. Your Eminence, I am
especially grateful for your commitment to Christian unity and for all that you
do to deepen the bonds between our churches. As you begin a new year, may the
witness of the martyrs strengthen us in our common calling to follow Christ.”
Archbishop Richard Moth, Archbishop of Westminster sent warm
greetings and assurance of prayers to all in the Coptic Orthodox community, and
The Right Honourable Andy Burnham MP, The Prime Minister sent his greetings and
congratulations, expressing his gratitude for what the Church and its charities
are doing for the service of the country and communities across the United
Kingdom.
The Prime Minister’s message was read by Anna Dixon MP, Officer of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Faith and Society, who said the following in her address to the community:
“Faith is also
a force for strength that brings both wellbeing and cohesion to the whole
community. As a Labour MP, and Chair of Christians on the left and an Officer
of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Faith and Society, I would like to take
a moment to acknowledge the huge contribution of Coptic Christians in
communities across the UK in promoting that solidarity. The Faith and Society
APPG seeks to recognise and promote the crucial role that faith groups and
faith communities play in social action. The history of the Coptic Christian
community is obviously well marked by remarkable resilience, and yet out of
that you have shown such service and positive action, and I commend the Coptic
Church for its powerful work in communities across the country; in particular
by bringing together young people. Uniting us around our faith and shared
values, you have enabled empowered young people to become agents of change in
their communities, overcoming division and prejudice. So I bring my own
commendations for everything that you do, and I hope that we can draw strength
from one another and work together to build communities that are founded on
faith, understanding, justice and hope.”
David Smith MP, UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, in his message read by Kevin Bonavia MP, commended the resilience of the Coptic Orthodox Church and faithful, and said:
“It seems there
are fewer communities more resilient than the Coptic Church. Yours is one of
the mother Churches. home to the Holy Family in the first years of the infant
Christ and a land of profound revelation throughout the Bible. Throughout the
history of the Church you have persevered under the most testing of conditions.
You have continued to worship through the rise and fall of some of the world's
most significant empires and held to your faith within the shifting
demographics of the region.”
“When all else
fails, faith, hope and love remain. It is these qualities that give Christian
communities everywhere their resilience. So as the modern world increasingly
turns to the history and heritage for its clarity, the rich resilience of the
Coptic Church is back in focus. Many of the things we have held to be sacred
are indeed fallible, and there is a renewed longing for something that lasts.
The West has a lot to learn from the Coptic Church.”
Kevin Bonavia MP, Member for Stevenage, who has visited The Coptic
Orthodox Church Centre in Hertfordshire on a number of occasions, spoke fondly
of his visits, and said the following in his address:
“What I believe
the Coptic Orthodox Church in Stevenage does is that it brings us together. It
has a message of togetherness, as we have heard today, and this church, this
Coptic Church, not just in Stevenage, but in our country, is a force for good
because it speaks to that sense that we will survive no matter how tough the
world may be, we will survive. We have heard my colleague talk about resilience
and how true that is.”
“The Church
needs its people to live by example, and we have no better example than Your
Eminence [Archbishop Angaelos]. I know that in ‘That Place’ across the road, I
have seen him so many times, speaking up for the freedom of faith, the freedom
to believe, to believe in a faith and not to believe in anything, and that
really, really matters. I am personally grateful for what Archbishop Angaelos
does as a leader of this Church in this country, and for what he has done, but
I am also very grateful for all those people in this church who give so much to
the community to bring us all together. So on this Festival of Nayrouz, I add
my own personal greetings and wish you all a very peaceful and happy New Year.”
The Lord Alton of Liverpool, Member of the House of Lords, and staunch advocate for Freedom of Religion or Belief for all, said the following in his address:
“I'm grateful
to Archbishop Angelos for using this gathering to continue to raise awareness
of the plight of so many around the world whose voice is not heard in their
struggle for freedom of religion or belief. How appropriate that we meet in a
church, Parliament's parish church, which is dedicated to St Margaret of
Antioch, a young woman aged around 15 who was tortured and beheaded when she
refused in the fourth century to renounce her Christian faith or to give her
virginity to a Roman official.”
“Like the
canary in the mine, early indications of abuses of freedom of religion or
belief are a harbinger of far worse that may come. Conversely, societies that
make Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which has been
referred to this evening, those societies that make Article 18 the right to
believe, the right not to believe, the right to change your belief, they are
the most stable and the most prosperous societies in the world.”
“And closer to
home, we do, as the Archbishop has said to us, urgently need a persuasive new
narrative which respects difference. and embraces coexistence, forestalling the
unceasing incitements to hatred which pour forth over the Internet, capturing
unformed minds and manifesting themselves in hate crimes, discrimination,
persecution and worse. In doing this, we should listen far more attentively,
far more carefully to communities like the Copts, the Chaldeans, the Armenians
and the Assyrians. who have so much wisdom, have so much to teach us, and who
have suffered so much. We must listen, but we must also speak and act in
solidarity.”
Rebecca Hawkins, Sculptor, said the following in her address which focused on the resilience of women of faith:
“Last year, I
completed the Petrified Survivors Memorial: the worlds first global memorial
dedicated to survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. The memorial was
created over four years, in collaboration with survivor organisations
representing women, children and men from more than thirty countries. Different
faiths, languages and histories. But across those differences, I encountered
something deeply shared. A determination to survive, A determination to be
heard and, the courage to hope.”
“The women whose words are inscribed on the memorial reminded me
that courage is not the absence of fear. And nor are they words that deny pain.
They do not pretend that recovery is simple, or that anyone should be expected
to forget. They are words that insist that a person’s life cannot be reduced to
what has been done to them.”
“What I have seen is the extraordinary capacity within human beings
to reach towards life again... to grow toward the light. The Greeks had a word
for it: physis. I have seen it in the women whose stories I have been
privileged to hear. And I have come to believe that our role, as communities,
is not to ask people to be endlessly resilient alone, but to create the
conditions in which that impulse towards life can grow.”
His Excellency Ambassador Ashraf Swelam, Ambassador of the United Arab Republic of Egypt to the Court of Saint James, said the following in his address:
“When some of the horrific incidents that were mentioned today
happened, Egypt's government, Egypt's President did not wait for anyone, did
not take permission from anyone. He acted to avenge those who lost their lives.
Not because they were Copts, but because they were Egyptians, and that is where
our country is. That is my first message. The second message is that as an
Egyptian ambassador, I have learned over the course of the last year that I am
not the best ambassador, and that the best ambassadors are the Egyptians, Copts
and Muslims, Christians and non-Christians who are sitting in this room who
contribute to this society immensely, but also to their country, and that our
unity, Christians and Muslims, is the only guarantee that we continue to move
forward with strength, with confidence, with courage, and with hope.”
As is custom, reflecting the tapestry of cultural heritage in the United Kingdom, attendees to this year’s Nayrouz service included Members of the House of Lords and House of Commons, the Diplomatic Corps, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Home Office, humanitarian and advocacy organisations, ecumenical and interreligious guests, and artists and musicians, as well as members of the Coptic Orthodox community and clergy in the United Kingdom.
*Ends*
Resources
Photographs from the event are available on the Gallery via www.ServingLondon.com
Refcemi, Coptic Orthodox Office for Advocacy and Public
Policy www.Refcemi.org
Archbishop Angaelos on X @BishopAngaelos
Press Releases and Statements can be found via www.CopticMediaUK.com
