This Thursday evening, The Papal Residence in Cairo hosted a ceremony for signing the book “Pope Tawadros II… Years of Love for God and Homeland”, in the presence of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II.
The book is issued by the Egyptian-Lebanese bookstore and it is from several interviews with His Holiness that were conducted by the presenter Sherine Abdel Khalek with the aim of documenting the past years since His Holiness was seated on the seat of St. Mark.
His Holiness welcomed the guests in his opening speech and he commended President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly during the economic conference that was held and the future vision that was presented by the Egyptian Government during the global economic crisis.
About the book, His Holiness mentioned that it includes an important part of the history of Egypt. He also added that history is life as it is the story of man, so we have to preserve it. His Holiness explained that that word “human” in Arabic comes from a similar word which is “forgetting” as it is a virtue to forget all pain experienced and to get over it. His Holiness also stressed that the homeland is precious in our lives and the land of Egypt is special because the fact that Our Lord visited it.
About the Coptic Orthodox Church, His Holiness said that it is unique among the churches in the world, as it is the oldest in Egypt and that its roots are Egyptian and has always been serving the country. He also stressed that the church is not involved in any political role.
His Holiness explained that even meetings and dealings with politicians are based on basis of patriotism. His Holiness continued saying that the pillars of the Egyptian society are the army, the police, the judiciary, Al-Azhar and the Church, in addition of cultural and economic institutions.
Later on, the book’s edition, the presenter Sherine Abdel Khalek conducted an interview with His Holiness about the most prominent topics in the book, which includes persona, social and historical questions that are linked to some events that occurred during the past 10 years.
The interview was followed by some discussions with the guests.
The book, presented to him by the Former President, Adly Mansour, topped the famous phrase by His Holiness Pope Tawadros, “A homeland without churches is better than churches without a homeland”. This phrase was said during 2013 where there were attacks on the church and burning of many churches.
The book also contains some information that is published for the first time about the life of His Holiness before he becomes the Patriarch and the different circumstances hr had experienced during the past 10 years and his meetings with religious and political leaders in different countries. Moreover, it talks about the relationship of love and brotherhood between His Holiness and President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi since he was chosen to be Minister of Defence and until his election to be the President and how it grew and agreed on dedication to serve the country and people.
The book also contains a QR code for a speech by His Holiness.
https://copticorthodox.church/years-of-love-book/
Public figures have attended the Ceremony, including Dr. Ghada Waly, Executive Director of the United Nations on Drugs and Crime, Engineer Tarek El Mala, Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Major General Hisham Amna, Minister of Local Development, Ambassador Suha El Gendy, Minister of State for Immigration and Egyptians Abroad Affairs, Dr. Maya Morsy, President of the National Council for Women and a number of bishops, priests and writers.
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