With the blessing of Serbian Patriarch Porfirije, Bishop Petar of Toplica, Vicar Bishop of the Serbian Patriarch, met today at the Parish Hall of Saint Sava Cathedral in Belgrade with Bishop Giovanni of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Central Europe and Mr. Basel Salah, Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Serbia.
The meeting focused on preparations for the upcoming official visit of Patriarch Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, to Serbia in early May. The visit will take place at the invitation and under the auspices of the Serbian government.
Bishop Giovanni and Ambassador Salah conveyed Patriarch Tawadros’s heartfelt desire to venerate the holy sites of the Serbian capital and to meet with Patriarch Porfirije during his stay. The Coptic Orthodox Church, a non-Chalcedonian church, consists of approximately twelve million faithful, the vast majority of whom reside in Egypt.
It is worth recalling that, guided by the timeless principles of Christian love, Patriarch Porfirije last year gave his blessing for the first Coptic Orthodox liturgical service to be held in Serbia. The service took place on the Feast of the Annunciation at the Patriarchal Chapel of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-streaming in Belgrade, for Coptic faithful who have found refuge in the Serbian capital.
Also present at the meeting were Archimandrite Nektarios, Secretary-General of the Holy Synod of Bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church; Protopresbyter Djordje Stojisavljević, Chief of the Cabinet of the Serbian Patriarch; Fr. Youssef Khalil, Coptic priest; Mr. Ibrahim Hamza, Counselor at the Embassy of Egypt; Ms. Marija Radosavljević, Public Diplomacy Coordinator at the Embassy of Egypt; and Mr. Mladen Andrejić, staff member of the Cabinet of the Serbian Patriarch.
Source: Patriarchate of Serbia
