H.H. Pope Tawadros II spoke to his Coptic children after the end of the Vesper prayers in the Cathedral of St. Mark the Apostle in Venice, which His Holiness inaugurated today, (Saturday).
His Holiness said: “We thank God for where we are now. It is common knowledge that if there is a gathering of church members in a place, they will have one or more priests. When the number of people and churches increases in a region, they are led by a bishop, and the region is called a diocese.”

He added: “And if we want to know the grace which God has given us, at the beginning of the time of Pope Kyrillos VI (May 10, 1959) the number of Coptic Orthodox bishops in the world was 11. Today, as we celebrate with the relics of Saint Anianus; the second patriarch, we have 15 bishops in the dioceses of Europe alone! This shows that evangelism is transmitted from one generation to the next, beginning with the first patriarch, Saint Mark, and the generations continue in succession, reaching the 118th Patriarch in myself, through a long series of the preserving of faith. The Church is strong with her people, deacons and priests.”

He continued: “With the presence of the diocese, which is a geographical area over which a bishop is in charge, and with the multiplicity of dioceses, God wanted them to have a cathedral that would become the headquarters for the Pope and Copts.
Since there is a patriarchate in Egypt, today there is one here in Venice; the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Venice, named after Saint Mark.”

He concluded his speech with some advice: “As Copts, it is your responsibility to raise your children in the Church, so that they become role models in society.”

This page is also available in: العربية