Archbishop of the Catholic Patriarch: We appreciate the development work of your church and its cultural role

Dr. Samy Fawzy, Archbishop of the Episcopal/Anglican Province of Alexandria, headed the church delegation to visit Anba Ibrahim Ishaq, the Catholic Patriarch, at his headquarters in Hadayek al-Qubba

The Archbishop thanked the Catholic Patriarch for congratulating him on his inauguration as Archbishop and gifted him the “Beacon of Hope” book, which monitors the service of the Episcopal/Anglican Church for 20 years.

The Archbishop said that our churches in Alexandria are located in the areas of Mansheya, Stanley, Al-Ras and Al-Souda.

Bishop Samy added: I served in Alexandria for 21 years as a priest and then as a Bishop, stressing: We presented a project together for the sake of Egypt in which we gathered Imams and sheikhs, and the various churches participated with us and together we develop Egypt to serve Muslim and Christian youth.

On his behalf, the Catholic Patriarch said: I was born in Assiut and moved to Cairo to study. I loved to spend the summer in Upper Egypt, and when I was ordained a priest, I served in Cairo, and then I was sent to study abroad and returned to teach at the Seminary in Maadi until I became its director.

And the Patriarch continued: I got my primary certificate from Saint-Michel Catholic School in Alexandria, and I used to visit it often in camps.

The Catholic Patriarch indicated that Minya was fortunate in the development work, as it had received many social services provided by churches

He pointed to the role played by the Upper Egypt Association for Development in the governorates of Assiut and Sohag, where Father Ayrout served the Jesuit with great efficiency, who established classes to educate the children of farmers and then turned them into schools

At the end of the meeting, Archbishop Samy praised the role played by the Catholic Church in the fields of development work and educational and cultural institutions

While the Patriarch presented to the episcopal delegation books on the Catholic Church, then they inspected the church of the patriarchal headquarters

The meeting was attended by Archdeacon Emad Basilios, head of the Council of Priests of the Episcopal/Anglican Church, and Reverend Yashua Bakhit, Dean of All Saints Cathedral.