In a press conference at St Mark’s cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo, today, Bishop of Tanta and spokesperson for the Coptic Orthodox Church Anba Pola announced that President
Mohamed Mursi will send a representative to attend the enthronement ceremony of the new pope next Sunday.
Anba Pola reminded that Egypt’s presidents had never before attended the enthronement ceremonies of patriarchs, but had always sent their representatives to attend, and stressed that Mursi’s decision should not be misunderstood.
According to Anba Pola, the president’s aide Samir Morcos, the Prime Minister Hisham Qandil and Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt Farouq al-Uqda—will all attend. Seven current and former governors; 16 current and former cabinet members, and a large number of public figures, politicians, and intellectuals will attend. The foreign ministers of Canada, Cyprus, and Hungary; and some 52 ambassadors of various countries will also attend.
An official invitation, Anba Pola said, was sent to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia through the Egyptian Foreign Affairs Ministry to attend the ceremony. This, he said, was in view of the special relation between Egypt and Ethiopia as Nile Basin countries, and between the Egyptian and Ethiopian sister Churches.
Some 35 Churches, including the Ethiopian Church will participate in the enthronement ceremony of the 118th pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, Anba Pola said.
Watani International
16 November 2012