Thirty members of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) attended the Divine Liturgy at the Patriarchal Monastery of St. George in Old Cairo on Sunday, September 13.
The delegation included parliamentarians from Greece, Egypt, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Jordan and other countries.
Patriarch Theodore II of Alexandria and All Africa presided over the service, while Metropolitan Nikodimos of Memphis, Metropolitan Savvas of Nubia, Metropolitan Ioannis of Zambia and Mozambique, and Bishop Damaskinos of Mareotis attended prayerfully.
Before the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch Theodore welcomed the IAO members and expressed his satisfaction at their presence at a site closely linked to the history and spiritual heritage of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
The Patriarch stressed the need for peace, reconciliation and fraternity among peoples, expressing the hope that God would enlighten world leaders and nations to work toward justice, mutual respect and peaceful coexistence.
He also thanked Metropolitan Ioannis of Zambia and Mozambique, the Patriarchate of Alexandria’s representative to the IAO, for his contribution to strengthening relations between the Alexandrian Church and the international parliamentary organization.
Patriarch Theodore thanks Egypt and Greece for their support
Addressing the Egyptian parliamentarians, Patriarch Theodore conveyed his gratitude to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi for his continued support and interest in the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, as well as for his efforts to promote peaceful coexistence and religious harmony in Egypt.
Through the Greek members of the delegation, the Patriarch also thanked the Greek government and people for their longstanding support for the Patriarchate of Alexandria and its extensive missionary work across Africa.
Patriarch Theodore also expressed his appreciation for the historic role of the Hashemite Custodianship over Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, describing it as an important safeguard for the identity of the Holy City and its spiritual and cultural heritage.
Holy Family Route and Baptism Site as “bridges of peace”
The Patriarch praised Egypt’s efforts to develop and promote the Holy Family Route (Masar Al-Aila Al-Muqaddasa), which connects sites where, according to Christian tradition, the Holy Family passed through or stayed during the Flight into Egypt.
He also thanked Egyptian businessman Mounir Ghabbour, who was present at the service, for his contribution to promoting the initiative.
Connecting Egypt’s Holy Family Route with the Baptism Site in Jordan, Patriarch Theodore described Egypt and Jordan as two biblical lands closely associated with the earthly life of Christ.
From Egypt, which received and sheltered Christ as an infant together with the Virgin Mary and Joseph, to the waters of the Jordan, where Christ was baptized and the mystery of the Holy Trinity was revealed, the Patriarch said that a spiritual axis emerges that connects places, peoples and traditions around the person of Christ.
He stressed that promoting the Holy Family Route in Egypt and the Baptism Site in Jordan should not be viewed merely as religious tourism initiatives. Rather, he described them as important testimonies to the region’s shared biblical heritage and as “bridges of peace, dialogue and mutual understanding among peoples.”
Following the Divine Liturgy, Patriarch Theodore met with members of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Their discussions focused on peace, the protection of Christian values, cooperation among peoples and the role parliamentary institutions can play in strengthening dialogue, mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence.
