Culture
08:17, 08-Jan-2018
Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas only days after church attack
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Coptic Christians in Egypt celebrate Christmas on Jan. 7. They represent 90 percent of Christians in the country. However the festivities come just days after a man opened fire on a church killing nine, including a policeman.
As CGTN’s Yasser Hakim reports, Copts are not letting extremism ruin their celebrations.
Security was at its highest alert, especially around churches, to ensure the Coptic Christmas celebrations took place safely.
The official Christmas Eve celebration took place for the first time at the newly constructed Coptic Cathedral in the New Administrative Capital. It's the largest of its kind in the Middle East.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi visited the festivities, the first president to attend Christmas mass. El-Sisi also gave a speech on the occasion.
“I have always said: Evil will never – chaos will never – destruction will never – and killing will never – it will never overcome goodness, love and peace. Never,” he said.
The Egyptian president promised to eradicate extremism from the country. Terrorists have been targeting Copts in recent years.
Pope Tawadros the 2nd, Patriarch of the Church, led the prayers.
The main theme was standing against extremism and bringing peace and prosperity to Egypt.