The Bible Society of Egypt celebrated its 140th anniversary at the newly-renovated St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in the Egyptian capital of Cairo last month. The theme of the Nov. 21 event was ‘God’s Word Brings Joy’ and Christians from...
The Bible Society of Egypt celebrated its 140th anniversary at the newly-renovated St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in the Egyptian capital of Cairo last month.
The theme of the Nov. 21 event was ‘God’s Word Brings Joy’ and Christians from all over the nation gathered to honor the Bible Society and its impact on the Egyptian Christian community.
The celebration and was organized under the auspices of the three main church leaders in Egypt that represent Orthodox, Protestant and Catholic Christians and featured speeches from top leaders, as well as modern and traditional worship music.
Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, a Coptic-Orthodox Christian, hosted the historic event St. Mark’s, which was well-attended by more than 5,000 participants, including bishops, clergy and key church leaders across Egypt, according to a written statement by Bible Society of Egypt’s Director Amir Elhamy.
“The event created long traffic jams around the Cathedral and elsewhere in the area! Whole families came from all over the country and from as far as Luxor and Aswan and the Red Sea in southern Egypt, some having to travel more than 13 hours to get to Cairo at great effort and expense on their part,” Elhamy wrote.
Amir Elhamy, the General Secretary of the Bible Society (Photo: Bible Society of Egypt)
Foreign ambassadors from 25 countries, most of the Christian parliamentarians, key Christian businessmen and women, and thousands of citizens also attended the Bible Society anniversary.
In his welcome address, Elhamy gave thanks for God’s Word and noted how profoundly the Egyptian Church is centered around the Bible, while thanking the “generations of faithful Bible Society staff and board members” since its inception in 1883.
Among the speakers at the anniversary event were leaders from the United Bible Societies, the Coptic Catholic Church, the Protestant Church and the Greek Orthodox Church, who each took the stage to speak about the impact of the Bible worldwide, as well as on families and individuals.
Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, president of the Protestant Churches in Egypt (Photo: Bible Society of Egypt)
Pope Tawadros shared about the growth of the Bible Society over the past decades, as well as the variety of Bible products introduced to meet the spiritual needs of all ages and members of the Christian community in Egypt.
The Bible Society of Egypt is considered the Bible publisher for all Christians in Egypt. Its main Bible translation, Van Dyke, is the most used Bible translation among Arabic-speaking Christians across the globe, according to Elhamy.
“The astonishing attendance at this event is proof of the centrality of God’s Word in all Egyptian churches,” he wrote, and said it also reflects how much the Bible Society is appreciated among Egypt’s Christian community regardless of denomination.
The post Largest interdenominational Christian gathering in country’s history at Bible Society of Egypt 140th anniversary celebration appeared first on All Arab News.