The St. Mark Cathedral in the Cairo district of al-‘Abbāssīyah on Tuesday (April 24) hosted a huge ceremonial gathering on the occasion of commemorating Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III on the 40th day of his departure.

Leading a Mass was acting patriarch Bishop Pachomius and members of the Holy Synod. The commemoration was attended by members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) Major General Muhammad al-‘Assār, representing SCAF Chairman Field Marshal Muhammad Husayn Tantāwī, and Major General Sāmī Dīyāb, representing SCAF Vice Chairman Lt. General Sāmī ‘Anān, as well as ministers, Speaker of the Shūrá Council, ambassadors, foreign delegations and about 10,000 citizens.

Dr. ‘Alī al-Sammān, the former chairman of the Azhar’s Interfaith Dialogue Committee and the current Vice Chairman of the Paris-based International Union for Intercultural and Interfaith Dialogue and Peace Education (ADIC), said Pope Shenouda was a genius of amity, commending the example he has set for relations of endearment and tolerance with Muslims. [Husnī Mīlād and Marco ‘Ādil, al-Akhbār, April 25, p. 9] Read text in Arabic