Since the president assumed office, he has established a tradition of personally attending and congratulating the Coptic community at Christmas during the mass on the eve of 7 January.
“It is a blessed year, and a year, by God’s grace, better than the previous ones,” the president told attendees at the mass led by Pope Tawadros II, the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark.
“Although there have been concerns in past years, everything has passed peacefully,” he said. “Nothing happens in the world except by God’s will,” the president said, adding that “this does not mean that as Egyptians we do not take the necessary steps to protect our country. The first protection is our love for one another.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 January, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
Short link: