"We need to live by Christ's example and teach it to everyone. Your faith is able to stand against all challenges."
These are the words of His Grace Bishop Thomas of El Qussia and Mair
Diocese (Upper Egypt).
He was the headline speaker at the annual Embrace
the Middle East lecture which took place at St James'
Church, Piccadilly, in central London.
'The transformation of a nation' was the title of the lecture in
which His Grace highlighted three social and political areas Egypt needs
to alter in order to see transformation - a hierarchal society to
become democratic, gender equality and a "transformation from religious
rigidity to spiritual openness".
"I want this society to respect spirituality and be open to
spirituality. I want us to take the example of Christ who actually was a
revolutionist in his time. He was able to break the chains of rigidity
in society and he was against the Pharisees," he said.
He continued: "When people ask me 'what do you think of the future of
Egypt?' I want to tell them according to the Christian faith or the
morals of Christ every person in the world is in the circle of love and
this is the power of Christianity. We are able with love to conquer any
challenge that is facing Christians all over the world."
Also present at the lecture was His Grace Bishop Angaelos of the
Coptic Orthodox Church in the UK, Reverend Ruth Scott who chaired the
talk, and Jeremy Moodey, chief executive of Embrace the Middle East.
"Our special calling for many years is to support Christian social
witness in the Middle East," he said. "We support Christian led social
witness in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Egypt. One of our distinctive features is that we have people of all
denominations involved in the charity here in the UK. It is our
privilege to partner with many different traditions in the Middle East."
Formerly known as BibleLands, Embrace the Middle East is a Christian
charity that was set up in 1854 with a mission to improve the lives of
the vulnerable people in the Middle East.
They have been active in Egypt for many years working with schools,
refugee projects, with healthcare projects, disability projects and also
increasing in community development in some of the poorest parts of
Egypt.
Moodey added: "In the last few years, it has been a special privilege
to build a closer relationship with the Coptic Orthodox Church both
here in the UK and Egypt."