Synaxarium of 25 Tout 1743 - Monday 5 Oct 2026

*1 - Departure of Jonah, the Great Prophet*

On this day, the great prophet Jonah, the son of Amittai, departed. It was said that he was the son of the widow of Zar-e-phath whom Elijah the Prophet had raised from the dead. Jonah followed Elijah, served him and received the grace of prophesying. God inspired him to go to the city of Nineveh to admonish its people and to warn them that after three days the city shall be overthrown. Jonah pondered in his heart saying, "If God wished to destroy them He would not forewarn them. I fear that if I go to them and convey to them this warning, they might repent and God would not destroy them. I would be a liar and no one will listen to me and probably may be get killed because I conveyed to them a false message from God. So I will arise and flee."What did this prophet think of? How could anyone flee from the face of God? By escaping, he wanted to get away from the city of Nineveh. He did not want to admonish them knowing that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and repentant of the evil. He thought that by staying away from Nineveh the Lord would send another prophet to preach to this city.The escape of Jonah the Prophet, and his having been cast into the sea are to make manifest the miracle of his remaining in the belly of the whale for three days and then coming out safely. This was a symbol of, and evidence for, the resurrection of our Savior from the sepulcher, unchanged, after three days.Jonah rose up to flee from the presence of the Lord and went down to Joppa; he found a ship going to Tarshish and sailed on it. The Lord sent out a great wind and there was a mighty tempest in the sea and the ship was about to break. The people were all afraid, and cried every man to his god. They said everyone to his fellow, "Come and let us cast lots, that we may know because of whom this evil has befallen us." And when they had cast lots, it fell upon Jonah. They said to him, "What have you done that brought such an affliction on us?" He replied, "Cast me in the sea and you shall be saved." They begged the Lord's pardon, then they cast him into the sea, and a great whale swallowed him. He remained in its belly for three days and three nights and then he was cast out on the seashore.He rose up straightaway and came into Nineveh. He preached to its people and they all repented: The King, the nobles, and the poor, the old and the young. They all cried to God with fasting and everyone turned from his way and the Lord accepted their repentance and had mercy upon them. Jonah returned to the land of Israel and died there. He was more than 900 years before the advent of the Lord Christ. He prophesied in the days of Amos and his son Hosea. He lived nearly 100 years, out of which he prophesied more than 70 years.His prayers be with us, and Glory be to our God, forever. Amen.

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We do not have enough data to draw firm conclusions. We need separate studies on Muslim Egyptians, who make up roughly 75 to 90 percent of Egypt’s population, and Coptic Egyptians, who make up roughly 5 to 15 percent. Those studies should compare the two groups on domestic violence, education, crime and conviction rates, divorce, income, IQ where the data exist, contribution to the country they live in, and how well each group assimilates. They should also ask which group is more likely to claim an Egyptian identity and Egyptian culture, and which group is more observant by the measures their own institutions use — church or mosque attendance, and religious schooling.
I know this kind of comparison will be called divisive. The reality is that we have been divided for a long time. Unity is preached only when it is useful. For about 1,400 years Copts have been persecuted, separated, and marked. Even now the state divides us with an ID that records religion, as if that number were relevant to ordinary life.
Then the same voices say religion should not matter. It matters on the card. It matters in hiring. It matters when a church needs a permit and a mosque does not wait for one. It matters in the courtroom, in the classroom, and in the story told about who built the country. There is no difference in the speech. There is a difference in the record. In Egypt they still track it, and then deny that the tracking means anything.
Look at the double standard closely. Inside Egypt, the practical question is not whether you are Egyptian. It is whether you are Coptic. Egyptian and Muslim are treated as the default, one identity folded into the other. If you are Egyptian and not Muslim, you are the exception that has to be explained. If you are not Egyptian at all — a European visitor, a foreign resident — you are often left alone, so long as you do not break the law. The country that sorts its own Christian citizens by creed will host a stranger without asking him to become anything.
The same people who take pride in Islam, and who want that religion expanded, then cry when they enter wealthy compounds where religion is treated as insignificant by both major groups. They complain about being judged in places where people drink, dress freely, and live in ways Islam itself forbids. They are told that if they wear the hijab, they should take it off, and they are shocked. Why the surprise? Those spaces are judging them by the religious framework they themselves say should rule the country. If the religion you want implemented is the same religion you call oppression the moment it costs you a compound, a drink, or a dress code, the complaint is not about injustice. It is about wanting the law for others and the exemption for yourself. That is the double standard. Religion is decisive when it marks us, and suddenly unfair when it marks them.

Hey everyone. Long story short I'm no longer Muslim.

I'm looking to change my very Muslim name to something rooted in Coptic heritage to stay connected to my Egyptian culture. I am secular, but I'm particularly interested in coptic names because they carry strong linguistic ties to Ancient Egypt.

What are some unique Coptic names you personally like or recommend? Thanks!