Australian, New Zealand religious delegation in Cairo

CAIRO – 31 May 2017: To show solidarity with Egypt against recent anti-Coptic terrorism, a high-level delegation from prominent Australian and New Zealand churches arrived in Cairo Tuesday from Lebanon for a short visit, Sada Al-Balad news agency reported.

The delegation included Father Eli Nakhul the Secretary General of the Council of Bishops, Bishop Robert Rabbat the Melkite Catholic Bishop of Sydney, Bishop Julian Porteous the Catholic Archbishop of Hobart, Bishop Haigazoun Nagarian the Armenian Archbishop of Sydney, Bishop Antoine Tarabay of the Maronite Catholics of Sydney and other representatives from the Eastern Apostolic Churches of Australia and New Zealand.

The delegation met with Doctor Ahmed al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, in addition to a number of senior Egyptian officials and personalities.

On May 26, an armed group opened fire at a bus carrying more than 50 Christians in Minya, killing 29 and injuring many others, including children.

On April 9, a terror attack targeted Mar Girgis Church in Tanta, claiming the lives of 30 people; in the same day, St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Alexandria was also targeted by another attack, killing and injuring dozens.