On Tuesday evening, the Presidential Palace in the Serbian capital, Belgrade, hosted His Holiness Pope Tawadros II as part of an event organized by the Department for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities in Serbia, on the occasion of His Holiness’s visit to Serbia. During the event, Pope Tawadros delivered a lecture titled “Bridges of Love.”

The event was attended by Serbian Prime Minister Mr. Goran Matić, His Beatitude Patriarch Porfirije, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Dr. Vladimir Roganović, Director General of the Department for Cooperation with Churches and Religious Communities, and the Ministers of Justice, Trade, and European Integration.

Also present were Ambassador Basil Salah, Egypt’s Ambassador to Serbia; Apostolic Nuncio Santo Rocco Gangemi, the Vatican’s Ambassador to Belgrade; a number of senior Serbian officials; ambassadors from Arab and foreign countries; clergy; intellectuals; academics; and public figures.

The event began with the national anthems of both Serbia and Egypt. Dr. Vladimir Roganović then gave a speech expressing his deep joy at hosting His Holiness, stating that this visit marks a historic moment in strengthening the spiritual and cultural ties between Serbia and Egypt, as well as between the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Coptic Orthodox Church, the oldest church of the East. He said: “Tonight, we are united in the same emotions, in the richness and diversity of our ethnicities and faiths. It is a sense of pride, symbolically arising from both riverbanks, like the stone arches of a permanent bridge. One of these arches is reflected in the lecture of His Holiness, titled ‘Bridges of Love,’ which we eagerly await. The other arch arises from the depth of the Serbian spirit—as our great poet Njegoš said: ‘The whole nation comes from the spirit.’”

He continued: “We are here to celebrate bridges—those that unite people, connect hearts, and serve as one of the noblest missions of churches and religious communities: to build bridges between heaven and earth, between people and their fellow humans, between the present and the future.”

Quoting Nobel Prize-winning Serbian author Ivo Andrić, he added: “Of all that man builds, nothing is nobler than a bridge—it connects, it does not divide; it serves all, and belongs to no one. It crosses over water, just as love crosses over differences.”

He stressed: “In a world plagued by crises and growing divisions, we cannot afford to retreat. We need spiritual voices and moral figures like His Holiness Pope Tawadros to remind us of the power of love, and that dialogue, coexistence, and mutual respect are not luxuries, but existential necessities.”

Pope Tawadros II then delivered his lecture, opening with: “Over the past few days, I saw a bridge connecting the two banks of the Sava River, and I reflected on its meaning. Bridges are not built merely to cross, but to connect people—to bring a person closer to the other, to know and embrace them with love.”

He explained: “The first bridge humanity ever knew was the spiritual bridge between heaven and earth, when ‘God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life’ (John 3:16). This is the foundation of divine love, and true love is what the Church builds and instills among people.”

His Holiness then shared examples of bridges that Egypt has built throughout history—starting with the Holy Family’s visit, the founding of the Coptic Orthodox Church by Saint Mark in the first century, the establishment of the Theological School of Alexandria, and the birth of Christian monasticism in Egypt by Saint Anthony the Great. He noted that the Monastery of Saint Anthony remains a spiritual destination visited by thousands today.

Pope Tawadros also referenced the Coptic Church’s patriotic stances, citing his famous words following the church burnings in 2013: “A homeland without churches is better than churches without a homeland.”

He stressed that this phrase reflects a love that extends beyond the church walls to the entire nation, embodying the concept of sacrifice for societal peace.

His Holiness also discussed modern examples of bridge-building after conflict, such as Nelson Mandela’s leadership in South Africa and Rwanda’s recovery after its genocide. He emphasized: “Love builds a better time, a better place, and a better human being.”

He gave examples of individuals who made a difference through love, such as Mother Teresa and Professor Magdi Yacoub, saying “These figures built bridges of love—not with words, but with actions—and each changed the face of humanity in their own way.”

Pope Tawadros concluded his lecture with an open invitation: “Let us build bridges, not walls. Let us love, not judge. Let us listen, not just speak. As St. John says in his epistle: ‘Let us not love in word or speech but in action and in truth’ (1 John 3:18). Let us make this love a light that brightens the darkness of the world and a bridge that carries us all toward a better future.”

He affirmed that: “True love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:8), and building a better future requires putting humanity at the heart of every project, using our technological and cultural achievements to build peace—not barriers.

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