File Photo: Coptic Pope Tawadros II, head of the Coptic Orthodox church, carries a censer of burning incense as he takes part in a ritual as part of a Coptic Orthodox Easter mass at the main cathedral in Cairo (Photo: Reuters)
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II will lead this evening the Coptic Christmas mass in the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital.
Egyptian ministers, MPs and top state officials will be attending the mass.
The Coptic Orthodox Church published earlier today Pope Tawadros' Message for the Feast of Nativity 2020. The Papal message was translated into 19 languages.
The mass will be broadcast on Egyptian terrestrial and satellite TV channels and on the radio.
The Nativity of Christ Cathedral is the largest church in the Middle East, with a capacity to accommodate 8,200 worshipers.
In 2018, Pope Tawadros led the first Christmas mass in the newly inaugurated New Administrative Capital's Nativity of Christ Cathedral. President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi attended the mass.
Coptic Orthodox Egyptians, who make up around 90 percent of all Christians in the country, celebrate Christmas on 7 January. A minority of non-Orthodox Christians observed the holiday on 25 December.
Egypt's interior ministry has intensified security measures nationwide ahead of Christmas, deploying security in main streets, axes and squares, and around vital institutions and houses of worship.
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