December 2023

THE LARGEST INTERDENOMINATIONAL CHRISTIAN GATHERING IN EGYPT’S HISTORY

Tuesday, November 21, 2023, was a historic day for the Bible Society of Egypt as we celebrated our 140^th anniversary at the newly renovated St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Cairo.

It was a bold step for the Bible Society staff to ask Pope Tawadros if he could host us in his Cathedral for this event.  The Cathedral accommodates 5,000 people and gathering such a large group seemed daunting.  At best we thought 1,000 to 1,500 would come.

To our utter surprise and amazement, by 6 pm the Cathedral was completely full with many standing in the aisles and more than 1,500 frustrated that they were not allowed to enter because it was so full.  The event created long traffic jams around the Cathedral and elsewhere in the area!  Whole families came from all over the country and from as far as Luxor and Aswan and the Red Sea in southern Egypt, some having to travel more than 13 hours to get to Cairo at great effort and expense on their part!

Bishops, clergy, and other key Church leaders and lay people from all the Churches in Egypt were in attendance, along with ambassadors from 25 countries, most of the Christian parliamentarians, key Christian businessmen and women, and thousands of ordinary citizens.

The invitation came from the Bible Society under the auspices of the three main Church leaders in Egypt representing Orthodox, Protestant, and Catholic Christians. The theme of the event was “God’s Word brings Joy,” and it truly was a joyful event with lovely choirs singing modern worship songs as well as traditional Coptic chants. 

Amir Elhamy, the General Secretary of the Bible Society welcomed the attendees and gave thanks for God’s Word, for how profoundly the Egyptian Church is Bible-centered, and for the generations of faithful Bible Society staff and board members who preceded us.  He was followed by Rev. Dirk Gevers, the General Secretary of the United Bible Societies, who talked about the impact of the Bible worldwide. Patriarch Ibrahim Ishak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch spoke about the impact of the Bible on society, while Rev. Dr. Andrea Zaki, president of the Protestant Churches in Egypt focused on the impact of the Bible on individuals and families. Metropolitan Nikodimos of Memphis for the Greek Orthodox Church talked about the trust in the Bible translations released by the United Bible Societies.

His Holiness Pope Tawadros II then shared about the growth of the Bible Society during his lifetime and the great variety of attractive and creative products produced to meet the Bible needs of people of all ages and needs, listing and promoting many examples and formats.

The Bible Society of Egypt is clearly considered the Bible publisher for all Christians in Egypt and our main Bible (Van Dyke translation) is the most used Bible by Arabic-speaking Christians worldwide.

The astonishing attendance at this event is proof of the centrality of God’s Word in all Egyptian churches.  It also reflects the Churches of Egypt’s appreciation of the Bible Society of Egypt.  And it is also a tribute to Bible Society staff across the Nation who made known this event and invited everyone they knew!

We are incredibly honored, humbled, and inspired by the support demonstrated, and we want to thank each one of you for your faithful prayers and partnership throughout the years which helped to make this possible.  Thank you!

Sincerely,

Amir Elhamy
General Director