VOA标准英语2011-Virginia Coptic Church Marks Christmas Ev

Coptic Christians¹ in the United States began their Christmas holiday Thursday night with an extra measure of police protection, following new anti-Christian threats by Mideast Islamist groups. At the St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Fairfax, Virginia, American-Egyptian Copts took part in the traditional Christmas Eve mass with reserved joy, mindful of the New Year's Day church bombing in Egypt and the growing specter of anti-Christian violence.

Hundreds of the faithful gathered - as they do every Christmas Eve - to begin the January 7 Coptic observance of Christ's birth. But there was nothing normal about the extra security around and inside the St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church Thursday night.

Adel Miseeha, the church spokesman, said, "In coordination² with local police we're watching all events and we're having additional security people as well as adding our own security people to monitor anybody coming in or leaving."

The Coptic community is on high alert worldwide after a bomb killed 23 people outside a Coptic church in Egypt on New Year's Day. The attack followed messages on websites maintained by Islamic extremists calling for attacks on Coptic churches everywhere. The terrorist act in Egypt and subsequent anti-Christian threats have dampened the joy in this year's Christmas celebration.

Short Video of the Christmas Mass at St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church in Fairfax, Virginia:

Haleem Meawad is a member of the board of Coptic Solidarity³, a private, American-based organization that works to support the Coptic minority in Egypt. "As you might guess it, we are celebrating this year with heavy hearts of sadness. Not because of our own loss, the loss of our Coptic community, but also sadness of what's happening in our mother country. All the indications are not very promising⁴ right now," he said.

U.S. law enforcement agencies took the threats against American Coptic churches very seriously and directed local police departments to provide extra protection to churches in their jurisdictions⁵. Meawad says Egyptian American Copts attending services Thursday night in Virginia appreciated those precautions.

 

VOA - M. Elshinnawi
Senior Coptic Priest conducting Christmas mass in Virginia
"The website of al Qaeda, they posted so many threats and they said plainly that all Copts are legitimate⁶ - of course, that's their terminology⁷ - legitimate targets wherever they are, whether they're in Egypt or outside of Egypt. So yes, this church is no exception. It is one of the targets. If they have a way to do any damage or to hurt us anywhere, they will do it. We know that for sure," he said.

Against this backdrop of fear and anxiety, the Coptic Church sermon conducted by Father Anthony Meseeh focused on reassuring⁸ the congregation, and urging them to remain calm and joyful⁹. "Your joy no one will take from you, no one can take your joy because no one can touch you inside. Is it possible to have sorrow and joy? Yes. Is it possible to have hatred¹⁰ all around you and you still be full of love? Yes, that is what is our mission in life," he said.

Church-goer Mona Mikhail said she felt sad to pray under the protection of security forces, because she would rather pray under the protection of God. "We celebrate Christmas with great sadness of course today. We are not happy because what happened. We wished that the start of the New Year was much peaceful and brings joy to all of us. But I am sure that this church and all of us are in God's hands protecting us so I really didn't have any fear," she said.

Members of the Egyptian-American Coptic community have called on the Egyptian government to be more diligent¹¹ in protecting the civil rights of the nation's Coptic minority.

Some Muslim and Coptic Egyptian-Americans are joining a candlelight vigil Friday in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Washington. They plan to show solidarity with Egyptians holding similar vigils all over Egypt Friday to honor the victims of the New Year's Day church attack.

1 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

2 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

3 solidarity   

n.团结；休戚相关

参考例句：

• They must preserve their solidarity.他们必须维护他们的团结。
• The solidarity among China's various nationalities is as firm as a rock.中国各族人民之间的团结坚如磐石。

4 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

5 jurisdictions   

司法权( jurisdiction的名词复数 )； 裁判权； 管辖区域； 管辖范围

参考例句：

• Butler entreated him to remember the act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions. 巴特勒提醒他注意废除世袭审判权的国会法令。
• James I personally adjudicated between the two jurisdictions. 詹姆士一世亲自裁定双方纠纷。

6 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

7 terminology   

n.术语；专有名词

参考例句：

• He particularly criticized the terminology in the document.他特别批评了文件中使用的术语。
• The article uses rather specialized musical terminology.这篇文章用了相当专业的音乐术语。

8 reassuring   

a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的

参考例句：

• He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
• With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

9 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

10 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

11 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。