According to local media outlets, the New Administrative Capital’s cathedral will finally be inaugurated in time for Coptic Christmas mass on Sunday. The opening of the cathedral, officially called the ‘Cathedral of the birth of Christ’ and set to be the largest church in the Middle East, will be attended by Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and Pope Tawadros II. Both figures led the first mass celebration of Coptic Orthodox Christmas at the Cathedral, which can hold up to 8,200 worshippers, last year. The edifice, sprawled over a surface of 7,500 square meters, will be home to several features including papal headquarters, administrative offices, a main square, papal headquarters, and a reception hall. According to the Church instructions, registration would be required to the public to the attend the mass. The Coptic Church, which brought Christianity to Egypt in the first century AD, celebrates Christmas on January 7 every year. It follows the old system that the Roman Catholic Church abandoned when it adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582. It is estimated that about 10 percent of Egypt’s population are Copts. The new adminisrative capital was announced in March of 2015, and…
Biggest Cathedral in the Middle East to be Inaugurated in New Administrative Capital
January 4, 2019
