On 4th September 2013, His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, accompanied by His Eminence Nicholas, Metropolitan of Ermopolis, met with the Primate of the Coptic Church Theodoros II, in Abbasiya, Cairo, where the See of the Coptic Patriarchate is situated. The meeting of the Primates took place within the framework of the collaboration of the Christian communities of Egypt, as it is reflected in the monthly scheduled meetings of the Council of Churches of Egypt, for the resolution of the nascent problems of the Christians in the country.
Driven by the recording in clarity and distinctness of the positions and the rights of the Christians of Egypt, within the changing constitutional charter of the country, common views were found regarding on the one hand the rebuilding of a culture of co-existence, based on mutual respect of religious differences, and on the other the avoidance of the phenomenon of religionized politics and politicized religion, which in turn nurture manifestations of religious intolerance and fanaticism. Both Primates agreed to the undertaking of every necessary action in order to hasten the country’s return to social stability, as well as the restitution of the international image of Egypt.
It is worth noting that the Coptic Primate responded favourably to the request of His Beatitude to undertake an official pilgrimage to the ancient monasteries of Nitria and the Thebaid, the historic places where the monastic ideal of Christianity was forged.
