RocketJSquirell
Member
The Coptic Pope is a brave man. I am glad he has decided to visit the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.
If you were he, would you have decided to go?
Coptic Pope Tawadros’s Jerusalem visit ‘will create huge firestorm in Egypt’
Egypt's s Coptic Pope, Tawardos II departed for a controversial visit to Israel on Thursday to attend the funeral of a senior church official, a church spokesman said.
“The decision by Pope Tawadros to travel to Jerusalem at the head of a distinguished delegation of bishops to participate in the funeral of Archbishop Anba Abraham will create a huge firestorm in Egypt,” Samuel Tadros, an Egypt expert and research fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told The Jerusalem Post.
Abraham died on Wednesday and the funeral is set to take place on Saturday.
“Jerusalem has always held a special place in Copts’ hearts, with people wishing to make the pilgrimage before they died,” said Tadros, adding that following the 1967 war the journey became unfeasible.
This is the first Coptic papal visit to Jerusalem since 1832, noted Tadros.
. . .
The Copts in Egypt, who constitute about 10 percent of the population, are under pressure from their Muslim compatriots to oppose “normalization” with Israel.
However, conditions have changed since the Copts supported Sisi’s coming to power, and “have a new confidence to act according to their feelings,” he added.
A church statement said: “The pope headed a delegation of Egyptian clerics to al-Quds [Jerusalem] to pay tribute to the oldest among the church archbishops and most reputable after the pope in the Coptic Holy Synod,” Daily News Egypt reported.
. ..
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Co...it-will-create-huge-firestorm-in-Egypt-435541
If you were he, would you have decided to go?
Coptic Pope Tawadros’s Jerusalem visit ‘will create huge firestorm in Egypt’
Egypt's s Coptic Pope, Tawardos II departed for a controversial visit to Israel on Thursday to attend the funeral of a senior church official, a church spokesman said.
“The decision by Pope Tawadros to travel to Jerusalem at the head of a distinguished delegation of bishops to participate in the funeral of Archbishop Anba Abraham will create a huge firestorm in Egypt,” Samuel Tadros, an Egypt expert and research fellow at the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, told The Jerusalem Post.
Abraham died on Wednesday and the funeral is set to take place on Saturday.
“Jerusalem has always held a special place in Copts’ hearts, with people wishing to make the pilgrimage before they died,” said Tadros, adding that following the 1967 war the journey became unfeasible.
This is the first Coptic papal visit to Jerusalem since 1832, noted Tadros.
. . .
The Copts in Egypt, who constitute about 10 percent of the population, are under pressure from their Muslim compatriots to oppose “normalization” with Israel.
However, conditions have changed since the Copts supported Sisi’s coming to power, and “have a new confidence to act according to their feelings,” he added.
A church statement said: “The pope headed a delegation of Egyptian clerics to al-Quds [Jerusalem] to pay tribute to the oldest among the church archbishops and most reputable after the pope in the Coptic Holy Synod,” Daily News Egypt reported.
. ..
http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Co...it-will-create-huge-firestorm-in-Egypt-435541