THE PATRIARCH OF ALEXANDRIA AT THE HISTORIC CHURCH OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD IN TANTA

On 31st January 2020, after five years, the Holy Church of the Presentation of the Lord opened its doors in Tanta. His Beatitude Theodoros II, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa celebrated the Divine Liturgy, together with His Eminence Nikolaos of Ermopolis (Tanta) and the Patriarchal Vicar of Cairo His Eminence Nicodemus Metropolitan of Memphis.

Between the cities of Cairo and Alexandria is the city of Tanta, the fifth most populated area of Egypt.

Famous for its husking works and workshops with traditional oriental sweets, it attracted thousands of workers from around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among them Greeks who were looking for a hospitable place to build their new home.

Today the economic activity of the city is declining. But it is well known around the world for the pilgrimage of Sayyed El Badaoui, which attracts about 3 million pilgrims each year and is as popular and well-established in Muslim religious consciousness as the Virgin of Tinos for Christians.

Nearby is another pilgrimage, not so well known to the general public, the Orthodox Theotokos of the Presentation of Christ, the undisputed evidence of the ancient presence of Hellenism in this industrial city of Egypt.

This church, which was built in the early years of the founding of the Greek Community of Tanta, is being restored by the Greek Community of Cairo. A project that is being cared for by the Trustees of Churches and Merged Communities, which works tirelessly under the auspices of the General Secretary Chrysanthe Skoufaridou, who is also its head.