Coptic Church & Ecumenical Movement - Saint Mina Coptic ...

PREAMBLE
CHAPTER 4
COPTIC ORTHODOX AND
CATHOLIC CHURCH
DIALOGUE
The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church split at the council of Chalcedon in
451 AD. From the fifth Century to the middle of the twentieth century both churches
remained apart making very infrequent and brief contacts. The first break through came
in 1963, when the Coptic Church accepted an invitation from the Catholic Church to
attend (as observers) the second Vatican council in Rome.
In 1965, Pope Kyrillos VI sent a delegation to meet Pope Paul VI in an attempt to return
the relics of St. Mark from Venice. In June 1968 the Holy relics of St. Mark were
returned to Egypt and in the following year a Coptic delegation visited Rome to
strengthen ties between the two churches. In November 1971, the Catholic Church
attended the Enthronement ceremony of Pope Shenouda to the Apostolic See of St. Mark.
Through such exchange visits, bridges of communication were constructed, opening the
way for cordial relations between the Church of Alexandria and the Church of Rome.
THE HISTORIC MEETING
Accompanied by eight Egyptian and two Ethiopian Metropolitans, Pope Shenouda III
visited Pope Paul VI in the Vatican from May 4 th -10 th , 1973. This was the first time
since 451 that an Egyptian Pope had visited the Holy See of Rome. The historic visit
marked the celebrations in commemoration of the 1,600 th anniversary of the death of St.
Athanasius the Great. Pope Paul VI presented Pope Shenouda III with the relics of the
great Church father. We publish the speeches of the two Popes and the Common
Declaration signed at the conclusion of their historic meeting. The first official meeting
between the two Popes was on May 5 th , 1973.
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