Bishop Chafik Describes Coptic Lent and Fasting Practices on Radio Notre Dame

Bishop Chafik was the Great Witness on Radio Notre Dame on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010. The broadcast focused on the Coptic Church’s observance of Lent, which he said holds a very important place among the Copts.

He told listeners that the “Wednesday of Ashes,” the day that opens Lent in many Western churches, does not exist in his community. Lent among the Copts lasts seven weeks before Easter. He also described monasticism among the Copts of Egypt and said the Coptic Church of Egypt observes 250 days of fasting a year. Keeping the faith through a long, shared discipline is a practice that stretches back through many generations (Deuteronomy 32:7).

Chafik compared the Lenten fast with Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. He said that for Ramadan, Muslims have been inspired by the fasting of Egyptian monks. He stated that the Copts keep abstinence after sunset, and that this is not the case for Muslims. The source does not provide further detail on these practices.

Chafik also addressed how the French might understand the Copts. He asked his listeners what they knew about Copts, and said that Egyptian Muslims are not Arabs, but they are part of Arab culture.

The broadcast was a companion to an earlier item cited by the source, a “Catholic France” piece of January 14, 2010, titled in the source as the long martyrdom of the Copts of Egypt, which was also linked to Chafik. The source does not provide the contents of that piece.

Source: Read the original report (translated from French)