On *Sunday, November 5, 2023*, corresponding to *25 Baba 1740 AM*, the graduation ceremony for those who completed the Institute's basic study courses commenced, attended by His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. His Holiness witnessed the celebration by the **Coptic Institute for Church Management and Development (COPTICAD)** for the graduation of those who completed the Institute's basic training courses from **2019 to the end of 2022**, including bishops and priests. The ceremony was held this evening at Anba Roweis Theater in St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbassia.
Dr. Magdy Latif El-Sindy, Dean of the Institute, delivered a welcoming speech, expressing thanks and appreciation to His Holiness the Pope for his continuous support for "COPTICAD" and his keenness to establish an institutional work approach in the Church. He emphasized that instilling the vision of institutional work requires patience, effort, and self-emptying, noting that the basic courses from the end of 2019 until 2022 were completed by 17 newly consecrated bishops, 9 Coptic monastery stewards, and 500 priests, church council members, and service secretaries from 26 dioceses and pastoral sectors.
In her speech, Dr. Iman Nasri, a member of the Institute’s Research and Studies Committee, presented the applied projects for institutional development in the Church, which were presented by diocesan trainees. On behalf of the Institute, she extended special thanks to the following dioceses and churches for implementing the following projects, which there was not enough time at the ceremony to present all of them:
+ Project to establish the Sons of Light Youth Service, Diocese of Aswan, Kom Ombo, Edfu and its dependencies.
+ Talent Discovery Project for the Served, Diocese of Esna and Armant, Church of the Great Martyr Mar Girgis Armant El-Hayt.
+ Project to develop a vision and internal communication plan for the church, the Diocese of Peace and Crafts.
+ Church without Addicts Project, Diocese of El-Mahalla El-Kubra and its dependencies.
+ Sons of Light Center Project for Preparing Servants, both Male and Female, Luxor Diocese, Saints Monastery, El Tod.
+ A project to deepen the Coptic identity in childhood, as well as a project to establish a specialized servant preparation institute, Diocese of Banha and Qawisna.
+ Draft organizational structure for service hospitals in the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Port Said and its affiliates, Diocese of Port Said.
+ Project to develop the vision and organizational structure of the Servants Preparation Department, Diocese of Al-Muharraq Monastery, St. Mark the Apostle Cathedral, Barzaqa Al-Deir.
+ Service Preparation Curriculum Development Project, Diocese of Dishna.
+ General Servants Meeting Project, Diocese of Tanta, Cathedral of the Great Martyr St. George and the Righteous Martyrs of Tanta.
+ Accounting program project to develop church committees, Diocese of Manfalut.
+ Church Membership Program Usage Project, St. Mark's Church, Shubra Gardens.
+ Applying one of the development and management approaches for the church, St. George's Church, Sidi Bishr, Alexandria.
Then, six models of graduation projects were presented at the ceremony for the dioceses of Mit Ghamr, Qus and Naqada, Luxor, Manshiyat al-Tahrir, Assiut, and the Central Alexandria Sector. :Click here To view the submitted projects.
Then a dialogue meeting was held in which some metropolitans and bishops participated, namely: His Grace Bishop Daniel Bishop of Maadi, Basateen, Dar El Salam and its dependencies, Cairo, His Grace Bishop Thomas, Bishop of Qusiya and Mir, His Grace Bishop Pavly, General Bishop of the Churches of the Montazah Sector, and His Grace Bishop Michael, Bishop of Hadayek El-Qobba, El-Waili and Manshiyet El-Sadr, discussed in the dialogue the concepts of “the Church as a purposeful, fruitful and growing spiritual institution.”
His Holiness the Pope delivered a speech in which he began by saying: “This is a day of joy and rejoicing, and it has important connotations in the history of our Church.”
He then welcomed the attendees and the team of the Institute of Church Management and Development. In his speech, he addressed three points that included guidance and advice on pastoral management:
1. *Beware of Personal Whim:* He commented: "It is very difficult for a shepherd to do as he pleases in managing his church or diocese." He supported this with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24), indicating that these words emphasize there is no room for self in pastoral work. He affirmed that self-denial must be a method and a way of life, through which saints and the righteous walked and succeeded, stressing that we must have unified standards in selecting those who are called to priestly service.
2. Our work must be perfect: What we offer to Christ must be the best we can. He cited the advice of our teacher, the Apostle Paul, to his disciple Timothy: “Fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). He added: “Our service must have substance and a vision to be complete and comprehensive,” emphasizing the importance of planning in ministry.
3- The importance of systematic work and vision in ministry: Organized ministry is successful and brings joy to God and people, and Christ was meticulous and organized in his public ministry. He concluded: "I reiterate my thanks, appreciation, and pride in the institute and its staff."
