Pope Tawadros II, the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, inaugurated on Sunday a 44-storey skyscraper in the heart of Melbourne developed by the Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia.
The new skyscraper, named the Eporo Tower, includes a large and impeccably decorated church, a bookstore, a dining hall, conference rooms, facilities for a theological college, and residential apartments.
During the inauguration of the $90 million development, Pope Tawadros II praised the efforts of the Coptic community in Australia and expressed great admiration for the new tower.
“This is a new page in the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Australia,” said Pope Tawadros II at the new church in the Eporo Tower, which was developed as part of a collaboration between the Church in Australia and Singaporean investment company Ho Bee.
“This is our joy and our happiness. This new page is a page for love, peace, and joy.”
The opening of the Eporo Tower, which means King of Peace, comes 50 years after the Coptic Orthodox Church was founded in Australia. Today, the Coptic community in Australia is the third largest in the world – after Egypt and the United States of America – with more than 120,000 members.
Pope Tawadros II was joined by a number of high-level Egyptian and Australian officials at the opening of the Eporo Tower. Representatives from both the ruling Australian political party and the opposition attended, expressing their gratitude for the efforts of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the community in Australia.
Nabila Makram, the Egyptian Minister of Emigration and Expatriate Affairs, and a number of Egyptian representatives also attended the opening. The representatives included Mohamed Khairat, the Ambassador of Egypt to Australia, Mohamed Fakhry, Consul-General of Egypt to Melbourne, Mohamed El-Sewedy, Member of the Egyptian Parliament and leader of Egypt’s Support Coalition, Anissa Hassouna, Member of the Egyptian Parliament, and Marianne Azer, member of the Egyptian Parliament.
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