Under the auspices of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center, headed by His Grace Bishop Ermia [Jeremiah] the General Bishop, held a vast celebration on the evening of Monday, 17th March, 2014, in memory of the second commemoration of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III.
The celebration commenced with the words of His Grace Bishop Ermia [Jeremiah] the General Bishop and President of the Center, as he extended his gratitude to all the audience, Metropolitans, Bishops, public figures, including Dr. Samir Ghattas as deputy of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas “Abu Mazen” and the Ambassador Abd Al-Fattah Mousa, as deputy of the Sheikh of Al-Azhar and the Major Khaled Fouda governor of South Sinai, along with Ambassadors of the countries of Portugal, Hungary and Greece.
In his speech, Pope Tawadros II pointed out that in Egypt today there are many pyramids of which we know the three in Giza, but on this night we celebrate three human pyramids, namely His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, who spent many long years of his tenure till he became a symbol of Egypt, and who toiled and offered Egypt many, many things, till he was dubbed “Pope of the Arabs and Africa”.
The pope resumed his speech saying the second human pyramid is the engineer Mr. Ibrahim Samak, who’s being honored tonight by the Center, for his science, inventions and activities, clarifying that he is a son of the Southern Valley [Ganoub Al-Wadi], who’s become a star in Europe, due to his inventions that served Germany and humanity as a whole, as a solar power scientist, a commodity that would be a source of riches if applied at a widespread level in Egypt.
Then Pope Tawadros referred to the third human pyramid, the engineer Hany Azer, tunnel expert in Germany, whose name also became renowned in Europe, pointing out his achievements, like establishing a vast underground station in Berlin.
Then Pope Tawadros and Bishop Ermia [Jeremiah] presented the two scientists Ibrahim Samak and Hany Azer the Pope Shenouda Award for “Wisdom & Compassion”.
