Egypt's el-Sissi attends Christmas Mass amid tight security
In a show of solidarity with Egypt's embattled Christians, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi Saturday made a symbolic appearance at an Orthodox Christmas Mass in a new cathedral as tens of thousands of soldiers and police deployed outside churches across the country in anticipation of possible attacks by Islamic militants.
"We, with the grace of God, are offering a message of peace and love from here, not just to Egyptians or to the region, but to the entire world," el-Sissi told a jubilant congregation while standing next to Pope Tawadros II, the Coptic pontiff.
Orthodox Christians are the overwhelming majority of Egypt's Christians, who account for about 10 percent of the population, or nearly 10 million. They celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7.
The new cathedral, named Christ's Nativity, is located in Egypt's new Administrative Capital, a 45-billion-dollar, under-construction project some 45 kilometers (28 miles) east of Cairo. The Christmas Eve Mass will consecrate the new cathedral and mark the first time in living memory that the liturgy is not held at St. Mark's Cathedral, the seat of the orthodox church in central Cairo.
