Pope Francis to meet with Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros
(Vatican Radio) On Friday morning Pope Francis is due to hold an audience in the Vatican
with the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt, Pope Tawadros II, who is currently
making a five day visit to Rome. Philippa Hitchen takes a closer look at this important
ecumenical encounter…
Exactly 40 years ago, in May 1973, another Coptic Pope
Shenouda III came to Rome for a week to meet with Pope Paul VI. In the Vatican gardens,
together with the top ecumenist of the day, Dutch Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, the
two leaders signed a joint declaration affirming their shared faith in Christ and
His Church, founded on the Apostles and celebrated through the seven sacraments.
This
historic event will be recalled by Shenouda’s successor, Pope Tawadros who arrived
in the Vatican on Thursday with his delegation and was greeted at the entrance to
the Domus Sanctae Marthae by Pope Francis, also living in the same guesthouse. The
two men will have an official meeting on Friday, followed by a shared lunch, after
which the Coptic leader will meet with Rome’s mayor and then visit the various Coptic
Orthodox communities scattered around the city.
The Coptic Orthodox Church
in Egypt numbers over ten million faithful, plus several million other members living
in the diaspora, making it the largest and one of the most significant Christian
Churches in the Middle East. Given the extreme political instability and the violence
suffered by Christians in Egypt recently, issues of promoting peace and reconciliation
in the region are likely to be high on the agenda during the papal audience.
Since
the election of Tawadros II as the new Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria last
November, there has been a growing rapprochement between the Christian communities
in Egypt, leading to the establishment of the first Council of Christian Churches
in the country.