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Gathering under the theme “O Lord, look at the workmanship of your hands,” the prayer was hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, Diocese of South Sinai, and Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of the Heavenly Hosts Sharm el-Sheikh.
“Gathered together in an ecumenical prayer, we raise it together for the sake of the world and all creatures and every living soul on the face of the earth,” read the opening to the prayer. “O Creator of all, I thank you because from the abundance of your love you left the universe to be a refuge for all.”
The people also prayed: “You acknowledge, O Lord, that our love for authority and power has pushed the planet beyond its limits.”
Metropolitan Seraphim Kykkotis of Zimbabwe; World Council of Churches consultant for climate Rev. Dr Henrik Grape (Church of Sweden); Bishop Marc Handley Andrus, bishop of California for the Episcopal Church; and Bishop Arnold Temple from Sierra Leone, among others, were present and invited to pray at the podium. The host was Giurgis Ibrahim Saleh, ecumenical relations and dialogue director at the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Centre of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate.
The Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the most ancient churches in the world, was founded in the first century in Alexandria, Egypt by Saint Mark the Apostle.
Historians have named the Coptic Church the "Church of Martyrs" because of the great number of people who died for their faith.
Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church has the largest Christian presence in the Middle East, with approximately 10-15 million members in Egypt, representing about 15% of the population.
The foundation stone of the Heavenly Cathedral was laid on 21 March 2002. Built over a period of eight years, the cathedral was consecrated by the late Pope Shenouda II on 5 December 2010.
