His Holiness Pope Tawadros II Receives His Holiness Abouna Kirolos, Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, received at the Papal Residence in Cairo today, Saturday, His Holiness Abouna Kirolos, Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, and his accompanying delegation.

The choir of deacons received His Holiness the Pope and His Holiness the Patriarch, with the melody of “Ephlogiminos” and the melody of “Ekizmarout”.
His Holiness delivered a speech welcoming his guest and the accompanying delegation, especially as it is his first visit as a patriarch to the Eritrean Church. He expressed his happiness to open a new page with the Eritrean Church, wishing that the relations between the two sister churches would strengthen under the umbrella of St. Mark the Apostle, who founded the Coptic Church in the first century AD. His Holiness stressed that we look to the future with a broad vision and that the Coptic Church is ready to help its sister, the Eritrean Church, at all levels. His Holiness also wished that the children of the Eritrean Church around the world would unite under the umbrella of their church under the leadership of His Holiness the Patriarch Abouna Kirolos.
He concluded that his message to all the children of the Eritrean Church is to forget what is behind and extend to what is ahead.

For his part, His Holiness the Patriarch Abouna Kirolos expressed his thanks to His Holiness Pope Tawadros II for his love and warm reception, and his happiness at visiting the Coptic Church, noting that the Eritrean Church went through a difficult period and was able to overcome it in peace.
Bishop Abouna Basilios, a member of the Eritrean delegation, gave a loving speech.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros gave his guest a “Hand Cross” made in the Coptic style by the Coptic monks’ fathers, as well as a Coptic icon “Theotokos” made by one of the Coptic nuns. He gave a Coptic icon to each member of the Eritrean delegation.

His Holiness the Eritrean Patriarch presented to His Holiness a wooden sickle containing a copy of the Bible, in addition to the biography of Saint Frumentius “Father Salama”, the first bishop of Abyssinia.

Then a memorial photo was taken of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, His Holiness Abouna Kirolos and members of the Coptic and Eritrean delegations.

After the meeting with His Holiness Pope Tawadros, “Abouna Kirolos” and the Eritrean delegation were keen to visit the shrine of St. Mark the Apostle, St. Athanasius the Apostolic and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Abbasia. After that, a session of talks was held between the Coptic and Eritrean delegations to discuss several arrangements for joint work and the relations between the two churches.