Head of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church Pope Tawadros II led the Easter Monday (Sham El-Nassim) massat the Monastery of Saint Bishoy in Wadi El-Natrun, northwest of Egypt earlier today.

The Church allowed a limited attendance of three archbishops and 26 bishops amid strict precautionary measures against the coronavirus.

Easter Monday, or Sham El-Nassim, is marked the day after the Eastern Christian Easter.

The occasion witnessed the preparation of the holy chrism oil, and the Ghalilawn oil.

The chrism oil (also known as Myron oil) is composed of 27 components extracted from aromatic substances and are found in plants, as inspired by the Bible, Pope Tawadros II explained.

Chrismation is one of the seven sacraments of the Coptic Orthodox Church, four of which are known as the secrets of salvation and which every Christian is expected to perform.

These four secrets are baptism, chrismation (confirmation), communion, and confession. The other three secrets are marriage, priesthood, and anointing the sick.

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On Saturday, the pope led Easter mass at St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo’s Abbasiya district, with limited attendance.

He had also headed the Good Friday prayers at the cathedral, with limited attendance.

The Christian Holy Week, which marks the breaking of the 55-day fast, has been disrupted due to the pandemic for a second year now, with attendance limited to Church officials in order to curb the spread of the virus in the country.

Several Egyptian Coptic monasteries banned visits up until Easter due to the coronavirus spike.

Several dioceses in 13 Egyptian governorates also decided to halt masses and congregational services during the Holy Week and Easter over the same concerns.

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Egypt is seeing a third wave of the pandemic, with daily tolls recording over 1,000 since Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the health ministry has stepped up readiness at all hospitals nationwide ahead of the Sham El-Nassim celebrations.

Environment Minister Yasmine Fouad ordered the closure of central nature reserves on Sham El-Nassim.

Likewise, several governors instructed shutting down public parks and beaches, which are traditionally frequented by millions of Egyptians on Sham El-Nassim, as a precautionary measure against the coronavirus.

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