This evening, H.H. Pope Tawadros II participated in the celebration of the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the Council of Churches of Egypt which was hosted by the Episcopal Church at its residence in All Saints Cathedral in Zamalek district.
The program of the celebration included the presentation of the Secretary-General of the Council, Archimandrite Damaskinos Al-Azrai (the Greek Orthodox Church), his report on the elapsed period, as well as speeches by the heads of the churches.
The ceremony witnessed the handing over of the general secretariat of the Council by Archimandrite Damaskinos Al-Azrai to the Dean, Fr Joshua (Episcopal Church).
In conclusion, the heads of churches, the Secretary General of the Council and the participating secretaries were honoured.
In his speech, H.H. congratulated the attendees on the tenth anniversary since the beginning of the Council’s work, then he addressed the verse “He shall be like the tree which is planted by the streams of water, which shall yield fruit in its due season” (Psalm 1:3).
H.H. pointed out that the Council has grown over the past ten years, like a tree planted by the streams of water. He said: We planted the seed ten years ago, and now it is growing with time, and we all hope that it will yield many gifts. This tree is covered with grace, always green, and bears fruit that we see in the activities of the Council committees.
His Holiness mentioned that God’s work in our lives takes place through three meanings, namely that God: the lover of people, the doer of good things , the ruler of all.
H.H. expressed his aspiration for everyone to have this request, which is that God grants us: an open mind, a big heart, and a humble spirit, pointing out that it is necessary for a person to possess these three, so that his life and deeds may be according to the thought of Christ.
H.H. used the analogy with which the Armenian Church teaches about love, which is like the pomegranate, whose grains are admirably compact, while a thin white shell binds them together, and it represents the purity of the heart, which is what we should have.

His Holiness asked everyone to pray for the peace and stability of the situation in the Ethiopian Church, and for the countries that were hit by waves of earthquakes, especially Syria and Turkey, which were severely affected by the earthquake.
H.H. also asked for prayers for the end of the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the end of the global economic crisis, calling on the members of the Council for cooperation and integration so that we can help the needy and affected.

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