Pope Tawadros leads Christmas Mass at St. Bishoy Monastery without crowds

CAIRO – 6 January 2020: Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria led the Christmas mass in the monastery of St. Anba Bishoy, in Wadi Natrun, Wednesday without any attendance of audience due to coronavirus.

A limited number of bishops and monks were allowed to attend the mass. The mass, however was broadcasted on Egyptian television and Coptic channels.

 

Coptic Christmas is celebrated on the 7th of January every year, and differs from the international Christmas celebration held on the 25th of December.

The Orthodox Church has earlier announced similar restrictions on religious gatherings until the end of January in Cairo and Alexandria.

 

Limited Christmas celebrations and masses in Egypt’s governorates were head as part of precautionary measures to prevent spread of Covid-19.

Sisi met with Pope Tawadros II over a video conference, Wedesday to wish Copts and all Egyptians a merry Christmas, which is celebrated by Orthodox Christians on Jan. 7.

 

Sisi is the first Egyptian president who made it customary to visit the Cathedral on Jan. 7 of every year since 2015, which Copts in Egypt have held high regard. The coronavirus pandemic, however, prevented such visit.

 In the video conference, the president emphasized citizenship and that no Egyptian’s rights and duties should be determined by his religion.

 

 He said Egypt has a long history of coexistence between Muslims and Christians, adding that enemies of the country think that attacking comes begins at the heart, which is the unity of its people. However, he continued, the unity of the Egyptian people is something they are very proud of.

For his part, Pope Tawadros II thanked Sisi for the “patriotic gesture,” highlighting the “signals and messages” that this personal custom of the president entrenches unity and citizenship in the society.