Coptic Orthodox celebrate Christmas under tight security but without violence
Cairo ( AsiaNews)
- The Egyptian Coptic Orthodox celebrated Christmas in the hope of a "new
life" brought by the birth of Jesus and in fear of attacks by Islamic extremists.
Last
night, thousands of people attended the traditional vigil in the cathedral of Abasseya
(Cairo ) , presided over by Patriarch Tawadros II.
After
yesterday's clashes between police and the Muslim Brotherhood claimed the lives
of 13 people and the arrest of some terrorists who were preparing a series of
attacks against Christian churches, the army stepped up security measures compared
to previous years. In
Cairo, the streets around the religious buildings were closed and the police
checked the influx of faithful with checkpoints and metal detectors.
According
to many of the faithful the authorities' commitment to the safety of Christians
has created a different climate than in years past . "Last
year we were afraid - Monica explains to Ahram
Online - I'm not saying that we could not pray or anything like that. But
we fear for the future of Christians. The President [ Morsi ] was turning into
a dictator and was only interested in
serving his group and Muslims". The
woman describes the December 5 visit to the Abasseya Cathedral of the President
Mansour Adly as a great gesture. Adly is
the first President to do so since the days of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel
Nasser , who visited the cathedral in 1960.
In
his Christmas message, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church pointed to the
significance of the visit of the Magi from the east, who offered gifts to the
Infant King . For
the patriarch these gifts represent human life "characterized by gold,
incense and myrrh". "This
- he said - means that everyone in his life has golden days, days, days of
incense and of myrrh ." Thanking
bishops, priests, deacons and lay people for their commitment to the Church,
Tawadros said that "the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ gives us hope,
courage and a new life".
The vigilant calm of Cairo and the rest of the country, however, was obscured by some attacks against Christians in Upper Egypt . Yesterday at Ezbet Treks in the province of Qena (Upper Egypt), a group of extremists threw stones at Coptic homes and burned one of their stores . The assault was triggered by an argument over the renting of a room. Bishop Kyrillos of Nag Hammadi stresses that the security forces were able to contain the tensions and the Nag Hammadi Police Commissioner Mahmoud Moawad convened a meeting with Muslim villagers to gather information on the facts and arrest the culprits.
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