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Copts' Pope Shenouda III meets Jordan's King Abdullah II
The Associated Press
06/02/05 11:20 EDT
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II received the head of
the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, Thursday on his first official
visit to Jordan, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
Shenouda's visit comes in conjunction with the annual meetings of the
Middle East Council of Churches, held this year on the Jordanian side
of the Dead Sea.
The council represents some 35 Christian churches from the Orthodox,
Catholic and Protestant denominations of the region.
King Abdullah praised the role of the Coptic Church in "consolidating
Islamic-Christian understanding and dialogue," Petra said.
The Coptic Church was founded in Egypt in the first century after
the birth of Christ and derives its name from the Greek word for
"Egyptian." It traces its roots to St. Mark, the gospel author who
brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor
Nero.
It is part of the family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches of Syria,
Ethiopia and Armenia. Orthodox Christians are similar to Roman
Catholics in their liturgy, but the two groups split in 1054 over
the authority of the pope.
It is unclear exactly how many Coptic Christians there are in the
world; some estimates put their numbers as high as 10 million, most
of whom live in Egypt, where Shenouda is based.
During his visit, Shenouda will inaugurate a Coptic church in the Amman
district of Abdali and lay the cornerstone for a Coptic convent in
the predominantly Christian town of Madaba, 20 miles (33 kilometers)
southwest of Amman. There are some 8,000 Coptic Orthodox adherents
in Jordan.
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The Associated Press
06/02/05 11:20 EDT
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II received the head of
the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, Thursday on his first official
visit to Jordan, the state-run Petra news agency reported.
Shenouda's visit comes in conjunction with the annual meetings of the
Middle East Council of Churches, held this year on the Jordanian side
of the Dead Sea.
The council represents some 35 Christian churches from the Orthodox,
Catholic and Protestant denominations of the region.
King Abdullah praised the role of the Coptic Church in "consolidating
Islamic-Christian understanding and dialogue," Petra said.
The Coptic Church was founded in Egypt in the first century after
the birth of Christ and derives its name from the Greek word for
"Egyptian." It traces its roots to St. Mark, the gospel author who
brought Christianity to Egypt during the reign of the Roman emperor
Nero.
It is part of the family of the Oriental Orthodox Churches of Syria,
Ethiopia and Armenia. Orthodox Christians are similar to Roman
Catholics in their liturgy, but the two groups split in 1054 over
the authority of the pope.
It is unclear exactly how many Coptic Christians there are in the
world; some estimates put their numbers as high as 10 million, most
of whom live in Egypt, where Shenouda is based.
During his visit, Shenouda will inaugurate a Coptic church in the Amman
district of Abdali and lay the cornerstone for a Coptic convent in
the predominantly Christian town of Madaba, 20 miles (33 kilometers)
southwest of Amman. There are some 8,000 Coptic Orthodox adherents
in Jordan.
dg-snm/jl>