Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, headed a church delegation to visit the Catholic patriarchal cathedral in Cairo on Monday and offer congratulations to Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Ishaq on the occasion of Christmas. The pope also attended the Christmas mass at Cairo's Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Heliopolis. The Coptic Orthodox Church also sent delegates to congratulate other Christian denominations celebrating Christmas on Monday. Members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, who make up around 90 percent of all Christians in Egypt, celebrate Christmas on 7 January, according to the Julian calendar; Catholics and Protestants are among those Christian denominations which celebrate Christmas on 25 December, according to the Gregorian calendar. The Christmas masses across the country were attended by state officials, presidential delegates and representatives of Egypt's Al-Azhar Islamic Institute. Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi also delegated several presidential representatives to congratulate Christian communities who celebrate Christmas on 25 December. The representatives were sent to deliver messages of congratulation to the Coptic Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Roman Catholic and the Episcopal Churches. El-Sisi also sent delegations to the heads of the Maronite, Chaldean and Latin Catholic communities. Egypt's interior ministry is implementing a high-security plan involving 230,000 police personnel to secure the country's Christmas celebrations. The security plans includes churches, public parks, vital state institutions and touristic sites.
