Sisi wishes Egypt’s Christians happy Easter

CAIRO 12 April 2020: President Abdel Fattah El Sisi wished all Egyptian Christian denominations a happy Easter on Sunday, the state-owned news agency MENA reported.

The president sent congratulatory cables on this occasion to head of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Cairo Bishop Ashod Caron, and to head of the Armenian Catholic Church in Cairo Bishop Kriakour Kusa, the agency added.

On Saturday evening, Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark led the Palm Sunday Mass at the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi El Natrun in Beheira, north of Cairo, without attendants and worshipper as Egypt's churches and mosques suspended the mass prayers to prevent the outbreak of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease.

Palm Sunday, symbolized by the palm frond, commemorates Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Holy Week, the lead up to Easter, is the final week of the great fast that lasts for 55 days. It begins with Palm Sunday, seven days before Easter, commemorating Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem, a week before his crucifixion.