The Center Is a Beacon of Interfaith Dialogue and an Embodiment of Common Life

Cairo, July 14, 2024

The Rt. Reverend Archimandrite Jack Khalil, Dean of the Saint John of Damascus Institute at the University of Balamand, Lebanon, and President of the Association of Theological Institutes in the Middle East A.T.I.M.E., Dr. Michel Abs, the Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), the Rt. Reverend Archimandrite Damaskinos Alazrai, Head of the Patriarchal Monastery of St. George affiliated to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, and the Journalist Lea Adel Maamary, the MECC Media Church Relations Coordinator, visited the Greek Orthodox Center for Studies and Dialogue in Cairo, located in the Patriarchal Monastery of St. George.

The delegation had a look at the center, which aims to embody the Church’s Holy message, its love, and openness to our era and its requirements. Hence, Archimandrite Damaskinos Alazrai confirmed to the MECC media that: “The idea of establishing the Patriarchal Center for Dialogue and Studies for the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa came with the aim to have a center for dialogue that is consistent with its extended role through the ages.

Stemming from his belief that common life always needs constructive dialogue, the Greek Orthodox Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa His Beatitude Theodoros II, initiated the establishment of the Center for Studies and Dialogue in the Patriarchal Monastery of St. George in Old Egypt, which is the first project of its kind in the Arab Republic of Egypt, affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate. This center was inaugurated on Saturday 7 November 2021, in the presence of a representative of Al Azhar Al Sharif and representatives of all the Churches that represent the Egypt Council of Churches, which I had the great honor to be its Secretary General until last February.”

He continued: “In ancient Egypt and in the Religions Complex specifically, in this region with ancient history and civilization, and rich with a deeply rooted history, a center for dialogue was created. It provides the facilities and technologies of the current century, in order to serve dialogue between religions and between Churches, as well as to host meetings for the Egypt Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC), and the committees emanating from them, youth conferences, all stages of life ceremonies and gatherings for those who need someone to meet them, listen to them, and provide them with a pure environment that motivates them to highlight their creative talents and use their energies in order to serve humanity, society, and the nation.

Hence, everyone in this center seeks today the spirit of love, cooperation and convergence with all brothers and sisters to embody the common Christian-Islamic coexistence that has extended for many centuries in the blessed land of Canaan, and embodied in word and deed.”

He concluded: “It is worth noting that the services of this center are not only implemented with the people locally, but also include brothers and sisters from neighboring countries and friends from the whole world. So that this center will be a beacon and destination for wisdom and constructive thinking. It will be a bright place for discussion, a gateway to the meeting of civilizations, and a bridge between the East and West which is appropriate to our culture.

This center also includes a meeting room equipped with the latest advanced technologies and means, which facilitate the procedures of holding conferences for official delegations, and for the Church and the Patriarchate, as well as lectures and meetings, aiming at exchanging experiences. It also includes a small Church named St. Mark the Evangelist, Founder of the Church of Alexandria, in addition to a library and multi-purpose halls. Thus, any visitor who comes to the Monastery can witness the honorable spirit of coexistence in Egypt, especially when people from different religions visit the Monastery and pray to God with believing hearts. Inside the Monastery and in the Shrine of St. Stephen, you can also find hundreds of marble plaques of Muslim and Christian people thanking the Almighty God for the miracles that happened to them in this Holy Place.

In the same Shrine, one of the crutches of Pope Cyril VI, the 116th Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, is also displayed, along with his icon, as a memorial to his historic visit to the Monastery made in the 1960s. This Shrine has become a destination for thousands of brothers and sisters from the Coptic Church to seek blessings from their spiritual father’s crutch. So, before the establishment of the Dialogue Center, the Monastery was, is and will remain, by God’s grace, a living testimony to the Christian presence in Egypt and a meeting place for religions and various Christian Churches.

In the end, we feel an internal need to pray with deep feelings of love and hope on the intention of the blessed Egypt, the great Egypt, which presents and embodies every day the most wonderful examples of love and coexistence for the entire world. In addition, we pray for this country that embraced the Holy Family, as well as for the sake of its leadership, army, and all people. May God protect them and grant them determination and strength.”