Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II holds the Christmas Eve Mass at the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Egypt’s administrative capital, on Jan. 6, 2023, in Cairo, Egypt. / Islam Safwat/Getty Images
Rome Newsroom, Apr 21, 2023 / 09:25 am (CNA).
The head of the Coptic Church is scheduled to offer the Orthodox Divine Liturgy in the Catholic Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome on May 14.
According to Father Martin Browne, an official at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, this liturgy will take place in the context of an official visit of Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria to the Vatican and “has been arranged following appropriate consultation.”
In comments to the National Catholic Register on April 21, Browne drew a distinction between the Orthodox liturgy scheduled for May and the unapproved Anglican service that took place this week in the same basilica.
The Catholic Church recognizes the Orthodox Church’s sacraments as valid, even if still in schism, while the Church does not recognize Anglican orders as valid, which means they cannot validly celebrate Mass.
“Pope Tawadros will celebrate at a specially constructed altar and not the main altar of the basilica,” Browne said, noting that the Anglican service also did not take place at the main altar.
“The liturgy will be for the Coptic faithful in Italy, which again gives it a different character to one involving solely pilgrim clergy,” he added.
Pope Tawadros II, who has led the Coptic Church since 2012, will visit Rome from May 9–14 and will appear beside Pope Francis at the general audience on Wednesday, May 10, where he will speak, according to a report by Aleteia.
Browne underlined that “the context of his visit is very particular — the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the heads of the Churches of Rome and Alexandria after a millennium and a half of estrangement.”
The Coptic Orthodox Church based in Egypt is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers were historically considered monophysites — those who believe Christ has only one nature — by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.
In 1973, Pope Paul VI made history when he invited Coptic Patriarch Shenouda to Rome and the two signed a joint declaration acknowledging their shared faith in Jesus Christ, “perfect God with respect to his divinity, perfect man with respect to his humanity.”
Pope Francis’ meeting with Tawadros II in 2013 marked the first visit of a Coptic Orthodox patriarch to Rome in 40 years. Francis also met with Tawadros II during a visit to Cairo in 2017.
“The visit of their patriarch is a very important event for Coptic Christians in Italy and very many of the faithful are expected to come to the liturgy,” Browne told the Register.
“Up to 3,000 are expected to come, which is far more than could be accommodated in Pope Tawadros’ own church in Rome. Thus, the opportunity to celebrate in the Lateran Basilica is precisely the kind of practical sharing of ‘Resources for Spiritual Life and Activity’ provided for in the Directory for the Application of Principles and Norms on Ecumenism.”
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I will consider nothing that Leo writes until he apologizes to the entire Catholic Church for backing Cupich’s move to bestow honors on a politician who did everything in his power to advance the cause of abortion in the USA.
I feel your hate.
Unlike that duplicitous footnote to chapter 8 to Amoris Laetitia, might we hope that the possible papal ghostwriter notes a real compass point? Not morally subversive (nor an alleged evasion from temporal desperation), but recalling theological and personal hope in the whole Christ, such as:
“Evangelization will also contain—as the foundation, center and at the same time summit of its dynamism—a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man, who died and rose from the dead, salvation is offered to all men, as a gift of God’s grace and mercy [fn—Cf. Eph 2:8, Rom 1:16]. And not an immanent salvation, meeting material or even spiritual needs, restricted to the framework of temporal existence and completely identified with temporal desires, hopes, affairs and struggles, but a salvation which exceeds all these limits in order to reach fulfillment in a communion with the one and only divine Absolute: a transcendent and eschatological salvation, which indeed has its beginning in this life but is fulfilled in eternity” (Paul VI, the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Nuntiandi,” on the 1975 Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, n. 27).
I will consider everything Leo writes because he is my Pope, the Vicar of Christ.
“Vicar of Christ” Wasn’t that the papal appellation that Bergoglio rejected for himself?
That would be a good first start, followed by a second apology for meeting, encouraging, and supporting James Martin, SCH. We probably shouldn’t hold our breath waiting.
Dilexi te. If indeed you love me, keep my commandments (Jesus in Jn 14:15).
As reported by Pew Research only 9% of Roman Catholics believe in the Most Blessed Trinity. On the face of it that means 91% of those describing themselves as Roman Catholics aren’t.
Emergency for Pope Leo. There are many many who can deal with the poverty issue besides the Pope. The Pope, on the other hand, is perhaps the only voice who can call attention to the tragedy that 91% of self-identified Roman Catholics are deprived of the truths of the Faith.
What will the Pope do? If the current pontificate — which resembles more the Cupich-by-proxy pontificate — it would appear this disaster will be overlooked. Not quite relevant?
Are you referring to this March 2025 Barna Research poll? It’s apparently a “research report from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University [that] shows that only 11% of American adults, and only 16% of self-proclaimed Christians, believe in the trinity.” I’ve looked at it, and have questions. The methodology is not clear at all. The language is a bit strange; for example: “How Demographic Segments Perceive the Trinity (Percentage who believe in the existence and human influence of each Person of the Trinity)”. What does “human influence” refer to here? The Second Person of the Trinity, who is fully human and fully divine by virtue of the Incarnation, has “human influence”, but how does this apply to the Father and the Holy Spirit. In addition, we read: “Less than half as many Catholics (9%) are trinitarians.” Well, most Catholics don’t use the term “trinitarian” to describe themselves, even though it’s accurate. My guess is that some respondents were confused by the questions, which don’t appear to be available. Bottom line: as poor as catechesis often is, I have a really hard time believing that only 9% of Catholics say they believe in the Trinity.
And reportedly, some seventy-five percent of Catholics deny the Real Presence.
Dilexi te.
Tough love or empathy?
The Way of the Cross or cheap grace?
Is there anything new to say about the poor? – if that is what the
exhortation is about. Perhaps we should get back to the basics of
the faith, to the commandments, to basic morality. Many people are
searching for meaning and purpose in life. Another sermon about
the poor doesn’t address the deepest questions humans have.