The Coptic Orthodox Church in Geneva, Switzerland, held a dinner banquet to welcome His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, on Tuesday evening, to which were invited Mr. Saher Hamza, the Egyptian Ambassador in Switzerland and Mr. Omar Ramadan, and the Consul-General Ahmed Shaheen, along with religious leaders, elders of the Coptic Church in Switzerland and some of the priests of Switzerland and France
His Holiness Pope Tawadros II delivered a speech, in which he said:
“Thank you so much, and I extend gratitude to all attendees who have delivered speeches, and to the entire audience. This is my first visit to Geneva, Switzerland. Last December, I visited Zurich, but this is my first visit to Geneva. These visits I pay as an Egyptian responsible for spreading the spirit of peace and presenting Egypt as a refined example in peaceful co-existence and joint living. For in Egypt, we lead this joint life as Christians and Muslims. As we are gathered here today, Christians from varied locations, so are we and our fellow Muslims leading such a life on a daily basis, enjoying it, and wishing that our entire region enjoys such a spirit in the Middle East. Egypt is the mother of civilization, and they say that civilization dwells under Egyptians’ skin, as Egypt indeed has taught the world, and when you examine the map of Egypt, you find it right in the center of the world. Egypt has an ancient history, a decent present, and a promising future.
Egypt has commenced a new era around a year ago, and it started very seriously via a new constitution, and a new president, and shortly, there will be a new parliament. The movement in Egypt is now gliding along with firm new steps, firstly through the New Suez Canal project, one of the vast national projects, a gift from Egypt to the entire world, because it will multiply international trade in the East and West. Egypt always gives to everybody in the world, as it is the only country in the world visited by the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, its land enjoys a special blessing. We call it, along with Palestine, the “Holy Land”. We truly sense God’s hand preserving Egypt. I am glad to see you all, and will be very glad when I see you in Egypt, visiting our beautiful land, with its civilization and history, and all its culture and in the Christian arena, you can visit the ancient abbeys, dating back to the fourth century. I would be delighted to see you in Egypt. Thank you.”
