Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Diocese has hailed as "strong" the relationship between Al Azhar and the church in Egypt.

The pope's remark came in a speech he gave during a reception organized by the association of the Egyptian church's friends in the Netherlands.

The event was attended by Egyptian Ambassador to the Netherlands Taher Farahat.

" I and Al Azhar Grand Imam Sheikh Ahmed el Tayyeb established strong ties via joint work and we try to build Egypt after," the pope underscored during the reception.

"We have balanced approaches," he said.

The pope further said that it is the first time for him to visit Amsterdam, adding that Egypt was visited by the holy family for three years during the first century which made the country holy as well.

Pope Tawadros II underlined that the relation between the East and West is complementary. The East is the heart and soul of the world, while the West is its brain.

He touched upon bridges of communication between the Egyptian church and most of the world's churches.

There is, for example, dialogue between the Egyptian church and the Russian and Evangelical churches, the pope said.
Source: MENA