He was interviewed by MCN in the Austrian capital, Vienna, where he was on a pastoral visit.
The metropolitan said the attacks on churches following the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi have strengthened the Coptic Church and increased its steadfast.
He stressed that the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church is strong, rooted and historical, and based on love, closeness and understanding.
He added that he felt very happy when he learned the news of the nomination of the Coptic Church for the Nobel Peace Prize, in recognition of its religious and humane position towards the violence of revenge that took place after the revolution of June 30 and the dispersal of the pro-Morsi sit-ins in Rabaa el-Adawiya and Nahda squares on August 14.
“The burning of churches has strengthened the Coptic Church, and the world was astonished by the civilized reaction of Copts, who did not repay violence for violence, but prayed under the ruins of their burned churches. They did not engage in violence and revenge, but practically fulfilled the commandments of Lord Jesus Christ,” Anba Pakhomious said.
“The humanitarian and spiritual message delivered by the church in this experience is unmatched, because the church has sent a message of peace and practical application of religion to the world,” he said.
Anba Pakhomious expressed happiness that the church could bear witness to Christ during these events. He spoke about the special experience of Beheira Diocese, where the diocese’s charitable hospital was opened to receive dozens of Muslim Brotherhood supporters and treated them free of charge during the outbreak of violence.
He pointed out that the hospital’s management asked him to shut down the hospital during these events, like government hospitals, but he refused and ordered to treat all injured people for free.
Speaking about the migration of Christians out of the country, he said he was saddened at certain times by the increasing migration of Copts, but that Heaven has assured us that the presence of Copts abroad is for a divine purpose, to spread the message of the Gospel and Christ in countries where people’s interest in religious life has declined tragically.
“The Coptic Church is now present in more than 67 countries worldwide, and I have recently learned of the growing number of Copts in new countries, such as Ukraine, Lithuania and Estonia,” Anba Pakhomious said.
“The church in Egypt will certainly seek to provide religious care through churches and priests for those Copts,” added the metropolitan who said that evangelism is a fundamental and important role for the Coptic Church, and that this role has declined for decades because of pressure on the church, and urging its children to isolate themselves.
“The church now, especially in the Diaspora, has to exercise this missionary role, and not just speak to its children. We should seek to extend the church and attract new members from all nationalities. We encourage mixed marriages between Copts and Diaspora citizens and educate them about the Coptic Church, its mission and its historical role in protecting the true faith,” the metropolitan added.
He said he feels great pain when he sees churches in Europe sold and turned into administrative buildings or houses of worship for non-Christians. He added that he wept when he saw a cross lowered from the top of a church in London in preparation for transferring it to another function.
He further called for preserving churches in Europe, and urged believers to interfere to protect these churches through buying them if necessary to keep them as churches.
With regard to the dialogue between the Orthodox and Catholic churches, especially as he accompanied Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria during his historic visit to the Vatican last May, Anba Pakhomious reiterated, “Our relationship with the Catholic Church is strong, deep and historic. It is based on love, closeness and understanding in pursuant to Christ’s teaching.”
He noted that “no agreement has been reached yet with regard to the mutual recognition of baptism and other issues that were reported in the media. What has been agreed upon is the continuation of constructive dialogue on the basis of areas agreed upon in doctrine and faith.”
Anba Pakhomious explained that Catholic religious leaders said they are proud of the Orthodox Church and consider it the ‘protector of faith’, because it kept it as it has received from the Apostles, while other churches changed some ritual and doctrinal heritage under pressure from people or governments. Those leaders added that the Christian world is in need for orthodox Christian evangelism represented in the Coptic Orthodox Church due to spread of deviations. He asserted that these words made him very happy.
Commenting on the relationship between Pope Tawadros II and the dismissed President Mohamed Morsi, metropolitan Pakhomious said that Pope Tawadros respected the former president and listened to him carefully, but he was shocked by the president’s reactions and neglect of the Coptic problems.
He pointed out that when the deposed president talked in one of his speeches about the unfriendly formal relations with Copts, he was referring to Pope Tawadros, who showed dissatisfaction when he found the president neglectful to the troubles of Copts and their rights as citizens.
The archbishop added that President Morsi phoned him during the attack on the cathedral early April, and when he told the president that security is completely absent and that the attacks lasted for more than four hours, the president was surprised and asserted that he gave orders for security to protect the cathedral.
This situation revealed the president’s weak grip on the governance of the country or perhaps he was politically dodging, as the metropolitan put it.
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Edited from http://www.mcndirect.com/showsubject.aspx?id=50066