Mar Eusebius Visited H.H. Pope Tawadros II in Houston

Houston: His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of the See of St. Mark, and the leader of the 16 million-member Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt visited Houston on Monday during his tight pastoral tour that will take him from Florida to California to see and bless around1 million believers in the United States. Members of Houston’s three Coptic Orthodox churches welcomed the Pope.

The 62-year-old Tawadros, born Wagih Subhi Baqi Sulayman in the Egyptian city of Mansoura, was installed as the church’s 118th pope in 2012. Tracing its founding to the apostle St. Mark in the first century, the church split from the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in 450 AD .In 2013, Tawadros became the second Coptic pope to visit a sitting Roman Catholic pope in the Vatican.

The Coptic pontiff offered a sermon and prayer service at Bellaire’s St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church.  While in Houston, Representing the Malankara Orthodox Church, His Grace Alexios Mar Eusebius Metropolitan of the Diocese of South-West America, Houston area Clergies and lay leaders attended the meeting in order to express our solidarity with the Coptic Church and to show our respect to the Coptic Pope. The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church are sister churches, belonging to the family of Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Coptic pontiff and His Grace exchanged gift and talk about ecumenical cooperation among locals parishes of the ancient churches. V .Rev. Geevarghese Aroopala, Rev. Fr. Varghese Thomas, Rev. Fr. Mathews George Diocesan Council member, Diocesan PRO Yeldho Peter and other lay leaders joined His Grace during the visit.