Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians attend Mass to celebrate Christmas Eve

By Rédaction Africanews with AP

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, who celebrate Christmas on January 7, flocked to churches on Tuesday night for Christmas Eve Mass.

Worshippers in Cairo came to Archangel Michael church, where they prayed for world peace and economic stability.

“We hope that the conflicts around us in the Arab region and globally pass and are solved in a peaceful way,” said Emad Sarkis, a Cairo resident.

For Egypt’s Coptic Christians, festivities traditionally bring family members together to celebrate.

Worshippers leaving Christmas Eve Mass typically gather afterwards with family members over a lavish feast, which ends a weekslong period of fasting.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who is a practicing Muslim, also attended a Coptic Christmas Eve Mass in the New Administrative Capital, east of Cairo. He was welcomed by Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic pontiff, on the doorstep before greeting churchgoers inside.

El-Sissi has attended several previous Christmas Eve services held by the country’s Coptic Orthodox minority.

This year, the Egyptian government declared January 7 a paid public holiday in observance of Christmas.

The Copts in Egypt, a predominantly Muslim country, are one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.

Orthodox Christians are the overwhelming majority of Egypt’s Christians, who account for about 10% of the country’s 108 million population.