Historic Meeting: Serbian Patriarch Welcomes Pope Tawadros II in Belgrade

Before the start of the Divine Liturgy, His Holiness received His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, at the doors of Saint Sava Cathedral. Pope Tawadros attended the liturgy accompanied by his esteemed delegation.

After the reading of the Gospel, which spoke of the Myrrh-bearing Women and their faith and love for the Lord, and following the sermon, His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije greeted his brother, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and the accompanying delegation.

In his welcoming speech, the Serbian Patriarch said:

“It is a great joy and honor for me to greet you on this historic visit and to welcome you to the land of Saint Sava, with the most joyful greeting that echoed throughout the universe: Christ is Risen!”

Saint Sava, our spiritual father, led our people along the path of the Gospel and laid its foundations by organizing the Church and establishing monasteries, schools, and hospitals, enlightening the Serbian people with the light of Christ’s truth.

His spiritual journeys were of special importance. On his second great pilgrimage, after visiting Constantinople, Mount Athos, and the Holy Land, Saint Sava also visited Egypt — the land sanctified by the ascetic struggles and faith of countless holy monks.

The places visited by saints are never random; holiness flows from them, perfecting the human person in Christ. The Lord says: “Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst” (John 4:14).

For twenty centuries, the rivers of faith and salvation have flowed in Egypt. Therefore, we believe that your visit brings us the blessing of that sacred land — the blessing of Christian struggle and victory over evil.

Evil is present throughout the world, and we Serbs feel its painful effects especially in Kosovo and Metohija. Yet, we know that fighting evil is the essence of Christian life.

That is why we welcome you, our beloved brothers, as fellow laborers in this same evangelical struggle — a struggle from which spiritual joy and peace in the Holy Spirit are born.

In these blessed days of the Resurrection of Christ, I wish for your stay in Serbia to be filled with light, joy, and brotherly love.”

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II delivered a speech in which he said:

“I am very happy with this visit, and I thank you for your great love. I come to you from Egypt, the land that embraced the Holy Family. I come from the land of Saint Mark the Evangelist of our homeland, the land of Saint Anthony the Great, the father of monasticism — the land where monasticism was founded and from which it spread to the world. I come from Egypt, a nation where around 15 million Copts live among 90 million Muslims. We all live together in love and peace. We live side by side with our Muslim brothers and sisters as fellow citizens. We share bread, water, joy, and sorrow, and together we build our present and our future.”

He added: “Egypt is a unique country that has brought together peoples, religions, and civilizations throughout history. It is the land of the Nile, which has been the source of our unity for thousands of years. The river gathered us around it and taught us how to live together despite our differences. That is why the Copts have remained deeply attached to their land and have rarely left it. Their bond with the Nile and the land is as deep as the roots of history. For this reason, we only started to see Copts emigrate from Egypt about 60 years ago, and mostly for economic reasons or in search of work.”

His Holiness continued: “The Coptic Church is always keen to be close to every church and every human being. We are active members of the Middle East Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches, and the Egyptian Council of Churches. We extend our hands in peace to all and participate with love in building a better future.”

He then extended an open invitation: “We invite you to visit Egypt, to witness with your own eyes our ancient heritage — our monasteries in Wadi El Natrun, the Red Sea, and elsewhere, and our churches — and to see how we carry the message of Christ in our world.”

The Divine Liturgy was presided over by His Holiness Patriarch Porfirije, Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade-Karlovci, and Patriarch of all Serbia, assisted by three auxiliary bishops: Bishop Petar of Toplica, Bishop Alexei of Hvosno, and Bishop Tikhon of Moravica. Also serving were Archimandrite Nektarije Đurić, senior priest of the Church of Saint Mark in Belgrade and General Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Archimandrite Danilo Gavranović, Director of the Patriarchal Administrative Office and senior priest of the Church of Saint Simeon the Myrrh-Streamer in New Belgrade; along with the brotherhood of Saint Sava Cathedral and other clergy of the Serbian Orthodox Church.

His Holiness the Pope was also accompanied on this visit by Mr. Nenad Popović, Minister without Portfolio in the Government of the Republic of Serbia; His Grace Bishop Giovanni, Bishop of the Diocese of Central Europe (Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, and Poland) for the Coptic Orthodox Church; His Grace Bishop Fam, Bishop of East Minya and its dependencies; and the Reverend Monk Emmanuel El-Mahrouqi, Secretary to His Holiness the Pope.

It is worth noting that Patriarch Porfirije is the 46th Patriarch on the Throne of Saint Sava and head of the Serbian Orthodox Church. This marks the first meeting between the Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark. The visit comes as part of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II’s pastoral tour of the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Central Europe, which began with his first visit to Poland, followed by Romania, and now Serbia.