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Port Said home to first church for which Pope and Governor lay foundation stone

11 March, 2019 - (10:12 AM)
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Nermine al-Zahhar

Port Said home to first church for which Pope and Governor lay foundation stone
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Port Said, the city on the northern tip of the Suez Canal, has witnessed a first in Egypt: Governor Adel al-Ghadban joined Pope Tawadros II in laying the foundation stone for a new church: the church of Anba Pola and Anba Antonios.

The event took place on a recent two-day visit by the Pope to the city. Governor Ghadban, who received Pope Tawadros once he arrived, described the visit as “historic”, since it was the Pope’s first visit to the city, and the first ever visit by a Coptic pope to the parish of Port Said since it became a diocese in 1976 under Bishop Anba Tadros.

Pope Tawadros for his part was visibly overjoyed with the event of laying the foundation stone for the new church. “This is the first time I lay a foundation stone for a church to be built under the 2016 law for building churches, the first such law to be passed in Egypt’s history,” he proudly said. He thanked Governor Ghadban for his warm reception.

The Pope explained what was inside the wooden box that was, according to tradition, laid underneath the foundation stone. “The wood,” he said, “is a reminder of our Saviour’s wooden cross. Inside the box we placed a cross, a copy of the Bible, copies of this week’s newspapers, a sample of today’s currency, photographs of the Pope and Bishop of Port Said, a copy of the official approval by the Governor to build the church, and a document signed by the Governor and the Bishop.”

Once the foundation stone was laid, Pope Tawadros led the children in singing the widely popular hymn “Keneesty, keneesty”, literally “My Church, oh my church” which goes on to say “my church is my home, my mother, the secret of my joy”. The congregation jointed with gusto.

During his visit to Port Said, Pope Tawadros anointed the altars and icons of the church of Abu-Seifein (St Mercurius) and St Dimiana. He also visited the shrine set up in the church of the Archangel Michael in Port Said for Pope Shenouda III who was patriarch from 1971 to 2012, and who is held by the congregation as a modern-day saint. “If anything,” Pope Tawadros said, “it indicates how much you loved Pope Shenouda, and how faithful you are to his memory.”

Shrine for Pope Shenouda III in Port Said

Watani International

11 March 2019

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Tags: Adel al-Ghadban Governor of Port SaidEgypt Port SaidPope Tawadros II lays foundation church for church in Port Said

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Watani started as an Egyptian weekly Sunday newspaper published in Cairo. The word Watani is Arabic for “My Homeland”. The paper was founded in 1958 by the prominent Copt Antoun Sidhom (1915 – 1995), who strove for the establishment of a civil, democratic society in Egypt, where all Egyptians would enjoy full citizenship rights regardless of their religious denomination. To this day when Watani is published as a weekly paper and an online news site, the objective remains the same. Those in charge of Watani view this role as a patriotic all-Egyptian vocation. Special attention is given to shedding light on Coptic culture and tradition as authentically Egyptian, this being a topic largely disregarded or little-understood by Egypt’s media. Watani is deeply dedicated to offer its readers high quality, extensive, objective, credible and well-researched media coverage, with special focus on Coptic issues, culture, heritage, and contribution to Egyptian society.
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