Egypt's amb. to Ethiopia, Orthodox Patriarch discuss ties

CAIRO – 18 February 2018: Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, H.H. Abune Matthias, met on Friday with Egyptian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Abou Bakr Hefny, at the Ethiopian Church premises in Addis Ababa.

During their meeting, Mattias and Hefny discussed enhancing the historical relations between the Egyptian and Ethiopian Orthodox Churches and reviewed ways to further boost interactions between citizens of the two countries.


Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, H.H. Abune Matthias with Egyptian Ambassador to Addis Ababa Abou Bakr Hefny - Press photo

Hefny stressed his appreciation of the remarkable relations between the Orthodox Churches in both Egypt and Ethiopia, which are almost 1,500 years old, affirming that these relations have played an important role to fortify and strengthen the tie between the Egyptian and Ethiopian citizens throughout history.

On his part, Matthias also expressed his appreciation of the firm relations between the two churches, hailing the visit of Pope Tawadros II to Ethiopia in September 2015.

He further highlighted that the participation of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi in the celebrations of Christian feasts reflects the unity between the Egyptian people and their political leadership. Abune Matthias had last paid a visit to Egypt in January.