Coptic
Orthodox Church UK
Media and
Communications Office
His Grace Bishop Angaelos, General Bishop of the Coptic Orthodox
Church in the United Kingdom offers condolences and prayers to the Syrian
Orthodox Church on behalf of the Coptic Orthodox Church in the United Kingdom
upon the departure of Patriarch Mor Ignatius Zakka Iwas I of Antioch, 122nd
patriarch of Antioch and All the East on the Apostolic Throne of St Peter.
Expressing his condolences, Bishop Angaelos said:
“Upon hearing of the departure of
His Holiness, the late Mor Ignatius Zakka, I spoke to Archbishop Athanasius to
assure him and our sister Orthodox Church of our prayers. The historic and
fraternal relationship between our two Churches means that we have also lost a
beloved father.
I fondly remember the visit of
His Holiness to The Coptic Orthodox Church Centre here in the United Kingdom,
and the numerous occasions in which I, along with members of the Coptic Clergy
and community received His Holiness both in Cairo and London.
We pray repose for the soul of
His Holiness and that God reward him for his many years of faithful ministry to
his children who have undergone and continue to undergo huge struggles and
pressures in Iraq, Syria and throughout the Middle East.”
Mor Ignatius Zakka departed on 21 March 2014 after a long and
courageous battle against illness.