This morning (Sunday), H.H. Pope Tawadros II consecrated the Cathedral of St. Mark the Apostle in Venice, which His Holiness inaugurated yesterday, declaring that it had become the residence of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate in Europe.

His Eminence Metropolitan Daniel, Metropolitan of Maadi and Secretary of the Holy Synod, and 13 bishops of the Holy Synod participated in the consecration prayers and the Liturgy that followed. Priests from Egypt, Central Europe, London, Austria and Milan also participated in the prayers.

The main altar was consecrated in the name of Saint Mark the Apostle, the northern altar in the name of Saint Shenouda the Archimandrite, and the southern altar in the name of Saint Abraam, Bishop of Fayoum and Giza.
The Pantocrator icon, the icon of Christ’s baptism, the icons in the iconistasis, and the icons in the nave of the church were also consecrated.

After the end of the consecration prayers, His Holiness explained the stages of the consecration rites and the significance of each stage, adding: “Today is the cathedral’s birthday; 15th of October 2023, which is to be celebrated every year. As I said yesterday, today coincides with the birthday of its departed founder, Metropolitan Kyrillos. His Grace Bishop Antonio, Bishop of Milan, and Bishop Giovanni, Bishop of five Central European countries and supervisor of the cathedral, are an extension of his pure soul.

During the Liturgy, His Holiness baptized three children from Coptic families residing in Venice.

In his sermon, His Holiness spoke about the Gospel reading of the first Sunday of Baba; “Healing the Paralytic.” Pope Tawadros focused on “God’s work in a person’s life” as follows:

1- The work of faith in a person’s life:
It influences the upbringing of children so they become good.
It affects the honesty of a person’s work, so God blesses his life.
He demonstrated this by saying: “The main thing in this miracle is faith, and through it a person fulfills his wishes, as we have experienced today. The sacred desire in the heart of the departed Metropolitan Kyrillos was fulfilled through faith, planning and work.”

It makes a person rise from his sin, repent, and start again.
The four friends of the paralytic refer to the categories of the Church: bishops, priests, deacons, and the people. Through their work together, they bring everyone to Christ to be healed of their burdens and sins.

2- The work of the Church in a person’s life:
The white color that covers the church from the outside invites us to light and pure life.
The breadth of the church calls us to breadth of heart.
The iconistasis has a cloud of witnesses encouraging us to walk the path towards the Kingdom.

He concluded: “I remember this morning with great joy the departed Metropolitan Kyrillos, and his happiness today with the fulfillment of his heart’s desire and the completion of the cathedral. I thank His Grace Bishop Giovanni, who despite his great efforts between five countries, has cared about the completion of the cathedral. I invite my fathers, the bishops of Europe, to visit the cathedral for a day or two, to develop its activities and the innovation of more services. We thank our Lord and ask Him to take care of His people here and in our beloved Egypt.”

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