Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received Coptic Pope

On Tuesday in the Carmelite Monastery, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church Tawadros II, the supreme church leader of Christians in Egypt, Bertalan Havasi, the Prime Minister’s press chief informed the Hungarian news agency MTI.

At the meeting, the parties spoke about the unity and brotherhood of eastern and western Christians; Mr Orbán also highlighted that Hungary lays much emphasis on defending Christian communities worldwide.

Tawadros II thanked Hungary for its assistance, including the scholarship grants provided for Egyptian students. He also stressed the importance of the fact that Hungary stands up for family values.

Tawadros II is in Hungary on a four-day visit at the invitation of the Hungarian government.

The Coptic Orthodox Church is Egypt’s largest Christian church, the most ancient organisation of Christianity. Tradition has it that it was founded by St. Mark the Evangelist in Alexandria in North Egypt at the beginning of the 1^st century; he was the city’s first bishop.

According to estimates, Copts account for around 10 per cent of Egypt’s mostly Muslim population of 93 million.