wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Christians in Egypt "made to feel aliens in their own country"

["WCC Media" <Media@wcc-coe.org>]

>World Council of Churches - News release
>For immediate release: 26 February 2010
>Contact: + 41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363

WCC MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY TO CHRISTIANS IN EGYPT

Concerned about the security of Christians in Egypt, the World Council of  Churches (WCC) has encouraged the churches in the country to continue  their involvement in Muslim-Christian dialogue."

It is a matter of regret that in Egypt today Christians can easily fall  victim to violence and hatred, and that their security is not fully  guaranteed. Many Copts, in particular, are made to feel like aliens in  their own country."

This statement is part of a message to the member churches of the WCC in  Egypt issued by the Council's executive committee at the end of its 23-26  February meeting in Bossey, near Geneva, Switzerland.

In one of the latest attacks targeting Christians in Egypt, six Christians  and one Muslim were shot down by gunmen at the conclusion of the celebratio n of a Coptic Christmas midnight mass in Nag Hammadi on 7 January.

The WCC message conveys "the concern of the entire ecumenical family" and  affirms "unequivocal support to the churches in Egypt in these troubled  times".

The message also encourages the churches in Egypt "to continue to counter  negative trends with a pro-active engagement in dialogue and partnership  for life and for Christian-Muslim coexistence".

Full text of the WCC executive message to member churches in Egypt http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=19 63&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=1

WCC member churches in Egypt

http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=2267&rid=f_15592&mid=19 63&aC=c416b25e&jumpurl=2

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness  and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of  churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant,  Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million  Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman  Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit,  from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.