In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, One God Amen
 
«Christ Has Risen, Truly He Has Risen»

«Be kind to one another with a brother›s love, putting others before yourselves in honour»(Romans 10-12)

My brother in Christ, His Holiness Pope Francis
On the occasion of the Second Anniversary of «The day of brotherly love» between the Catholic Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church, May 10th. We wish this message finds You in good health and full of Divine Grace.
First of all, we would like to give Your Holiness the respectful greetings of our entire country, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the Egyptian people.
We would also like, on behalf of the Holy Synod, myself, and on behalf of the martyrs› families, 20 martyrs of Egypt and the Church, decapitated in Libyan territory last February, to extend to Your Holiness our deepest thanks for Your kind telephone call for presenting Your sincere condolences and feelings of participation with us in our sorrows. All this confirms the strengthened bonds of brotherly love between us and the unity in the body of our only Lord Jesus.
 
We are confident that God «Pantocrator» will not let our efforts against the dangerous phenomenon of terrorism go with the wind «in vain» because we trust in the wise and strong leadership of the country by H.E. President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi who is doing his best to uphold and establish the principles of citizenship.
 
In this sense, and as a great testimony of strengthening these principles, it is sufficient to recall the visit of the President to the See of the Patriarchate of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Abbasseya, on the night of our Christmas on the 6th of January. It was an unexpected and pleasant visit of great impact. In addition to the meeting of H.E. President Al Sisi with Heads and Representatives of the Christian communities in Egypt.
 It is true that since our last mutual messages in May 2014, a lot of events have taken place in Egypt and many prominent and important activities have been organized at both levels: the national and the ecclesial-pastoral.
 Among the ecclesial activities of the Church held in Egypt we mention for example:
-The opening ceremony of the oldest Christian Coptic church in the world, famous for the Hanging Church, in the framework of the revival of the Holy Family Path.

-The celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Arab translation of the Holy Bible.
 
-The visit of H.H. Patriarch of Ethiopia Rev. Father Mathias.
 
-The organization of the periodic meeting of the Patriarchs of the Syrian Orthodox Church and the Armenian Orthodox Church with the Coptic Church.
 
-The participation of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the World Week for Prayer.
 
-The celebration of the II Anniversary of the foundation of the Council of Churches in Egypt.
In the framework of strengthening the bonds of love, brotherhood, and friendship between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, our Church participated in several meetings and ceremonies of which we could mention:
-The Golden Jubilee of the «Pro-Oriente Foundation» in Vienna, last November.
-The participation of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the meeting of the International Ecumenical Committee for Dialogue held on the premises of the Vatican Office for the Unity of Churches in Rome.
 
-Our numerous meetings with the Patriarch of the Catholic Church in Egypt, Ibrahim Isak.
 Among our pastoral activities abroad, we remember with great pleasure the following visits:
 
-The pastoral visit to the United Arab Emirates
 
-The pastoral visit to Canada, through which we were honoured by the fruitful interviews with the representatives of the Catholic Church.
 -The pastoral visit to Russia during which we were honoured by the meeting with His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and all of Russia, Kirill.                            
We pray that the Lord Jesus grants us the strength and power to lead His work and His ministry with fidelity ‹and honesty› till the end.
Finally, we would like to thank the Catholic Church for supporting the Copts living in several countries of the world and we pray that our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will grant Your Holiness and the Vatican Council of Cardinals full success and assistance in your holy pastoral mission.
We raise the fervid prayers to our God and Savoir that promote and spread Christian peace and love worldwide.
We would love to conclude our second message of brotherly love with a verse from the Holy Bible, which is our guide of daily life: «Salute every saint in Christ Jesus. The brethren who are with me greet you.» (Philippians 4:21).

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