The 12th General Assembly of the Council of Churches of the Middle East was concluded this week in Cairo, the first time the assembly has taken place in Egypt since its establishment in 1968.
The president of Egypt, Abdel al-Sisi, on Tuesday warmly welcomed the Prelates of the Middle East’s Christian Churches at the presidential mansion, including the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, His Beatitude Theodoros II, and the Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, His Beatitude John X.
The influential Egyptian head of state, in his address, noted that Christian brothers in all Arab countries are an integral part of the fabric of the entire Arab world.
He also stressed that citizenship and equal rights for all are standing values that represent the Egyptian state’s approach to its citizens, without exception.
In his response, the Patriarch of Alexandria expressed heartfelt thanks for the honor, as he said, of being received by the Egyptian president, and for Church leaders’ visit to “…God-blessed and hospitable Egypt”.