Today (Monday), H.H. Pope Tawadros II received at the Papal Residence in Cairo, H.H. Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Mathews lll, Catholicos of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church of India, together with the accompanying delegation.

During the reception, Pope Tawadros welcomed His Holiness the Catholicos and his companions, then accompanied him on a tour of the Papal Residence. The visit included the Church of Archangel Michael and the Gift Museum, before a joint session was held, presided over by both H.H. Pope Tawadros and His Holiness the Catholicos, and attended by the delegations of both Churches.

At the beginning of the session, Pope Tawadros once again expressed his warm welcome to the guests, conveying his joy at their visit and his hope that the meeting would be fruitful and effective. His Holiness pointed out that our responsibility is not only to make peace but, more importantly, to build peace. He emphasized that the solution to any problem comes through love and wisdom.

His Holiness also noted that God expects purity from us — that our hearts, our words, our relationships, and our dialogue all be pure. He concluded by asking for prayers, that Christ may grant us more love and wisdom.

Following the meeting, His Holiness the Catholicos and his delegation toured Saint Mark’s Cathedral, the Church of St. Peter (El-Botroseya), the Shrine of Saint Mark the Apostle, and the Shrine of Saint Athanasius the Apostolic, where they were given an explanation of the history of these places.

The delegation of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church included H.E. Metropolitan Abraham Mor Stephanos, Metropolitan of London, Rev. Fr. Aswin Zephrin Fernandez, Rev. Fr Baiju Johnson, and Mr. Jacob Mathew.

The delegation of the Coptic Orthodox Church included H.E. Metropolitan Thomas, Metropolitan of El-Qussia and Mir, H.G. Bishop Angaelos, Bishop of London, H.G. Bishop Angelos, General Bishop of Northern Shoubra Churches, Hegumen Mousa Ibrahim, Spokesman of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Monk Fr. Kyrillos El-Maqari, Dr. Girgis Saleh, Honorary Secretary-General of the Middle East Council of Churches and Deacon Joseph Reda from the Secretariat of His Holiness the Pope.

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