مطران جنوبي الولايات المتحدة " تحتفل الكنيسة القبطية بعيد جميع القديسين " و الهالوين تكريم للشيطان

وجه نيافة الحبر الجليل الأنبا يوسف مطران تكساس ، فلوريدا وجنوبي الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ، رسالة الى شعب الايبارشية باللغة الإنجليزية حول الاحتفال بعيد الهالوين الذى تحتفل به الدول الغربية لهذا العام ، والذى يوافق غد الجمعة الموافق 31 أكتوبر ، وجاء مضمون الرسالة إلى أبناء الإيبارشية الذين غير مطلعين على بعض التقاليد التي تحتفل بها الولايات المتحدة في هذا اليوم ، احتفالية "الهالوين" وفيها يكرم الشيطان ، وأن كل فعل يدور حول الهالوين هو تكريم الآلهة الزائفة والأرواح في مملكة الشيطان .

 

وتسأل الأنبا يوسف عن تبرير البعض الاحتفال بالهالوين من باب المرح  الذى اعتبره الشياطين " يوم مقدس " ، يتنكر فيه الأطفال كساحرات وأشباح وشياطين صغار ، أضافة إلى العاب مهرجانات الهالوين والتي تشجع الخوف لدى الأطفال ، وهناك من يبث الرعب بالمنازل من خلال الغرف المزينة بالهياكل العظمية والقطط السوداء والخفافيش ، كما تحدث الحبر الجليل عن الأضرار التى تتسبب نتيجة الأحتفال بهذا اليوم منها عبادة وتقديس قوى الظلام التابعة للشيطان ، مستشهدا ببعض الآيات من الكتاب المقدس وما جاء بكتاب السنكسار القبطي ، ‎وأن الكتاب المقدس يحذرنا بوضوح من الابتعاد عن ممارسات السحر . 

وجاء نص الرسالة باللغة الإنجليزية كما يلي ، 

 

From Metropolitan Bishop Youssef:- My Dear Brethren,The peace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.As October 31st draws near, I want to make all uninformed Christians in our Diocese aware of certain traditions celebrated in the United States on this day. The "Halloween" celebration pays tribute to Satan. Every act revolving around Halloween is in honor of false gods. False gods are spirits in the Satanic realm."We only do this for fun", some say. "We do not actually practice witchcraft", others repeat. I often wonder how one justifies the celebration of Halloween, the day Satanists have set aside as their "holy day". I am told that children "dress up" as witches, goblins, ghosts and little devils. Let me think about this for a moment, a small child dressed to resemble Satans darkness. Also, I am told of games played at Halloween festivals that promote fear in children as they are ushered through horror houses and rooms decorated with skeletons, black cats, and bats. Does this representation of death and darkness seem like fun? Certainly not to me, I am told that pumpkins designed with faces are "cute ways" to denote the present day meaning of Halloweenthe literature purports that pumpkin faces are symbolic of skulls. Also around Halloween I am told of theatre movies which celebrate the cult of death...Somehow I still have not found fun within all of this...Have you? Have your children? To me, this sounds more like fixation with death and mental illness to me...Many attempt to compromise on the celebrating of Halloween. Many think the meaning behind Halloween has become obscure today. The fact of the matter is, the actual methodology of witchcraft survives until today. When our children are taught it is "alright" to celebrate heathen practices such as "Halloween" it does not give them the repulsion and resistance they need to stand against greater Satanic involvement. When celebrations such as these are taken lightly, it sets a precedence for our children to accept evil rather than resist it.Many have asked me, "What is the harm?" My answer to this question is that occultism can be seen as a threatening storm brewing on the religious horizon gredually becoming very strong. More specifically, lets contemplate a moment on the origin of "Halloween," begun as a day to give tribute and praise to the dark forces of Satan. "Halloween" is derived from the word "Samhain (Sa-ween)." Samhain, the lord of the dead, called together all the wicked souls who had died within the past year and were destined to inhabit animals. The celebration of the dead honored the god of the dead on this particular night, October 31st. Bonfires were lit high on mountaintops so the spirits of the dead could find their way. Suitable food and shelter were provided for these evil spirits or they would inflict havoc, cast spells, steal infants, destroy crops, kill farm animals, and instill terror as they haunted the living. This is where "trick or treat" is derived. To worship evil spirits and false gods is against scripture.If one knows the Lord Jesus Christ before death, their spirit will be with the Lord. St Paul tells us that to be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord Christ. If one is an unbeliever at death, the scripture says there is no second chance as "it is appointed unto man once to die and after that judgment". Therefore, prayer for the satanic is in opposition to Gods Word and a pagan practice cannot become "Christianized." We must make a decision to be for or against Christ. Our Christian practices must display our beliefs and be an example to the others.Furthermore, Ephesians 5:6-12 states, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do