Egypt, 13-19 September 2026. Pilgrimage visit based on “The Journey of the Holy Family in Egypt”. One-Day Conference on the collaboration between parliamentary and religious institutions.
A delegation of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO), led by the Secretary General Dr. Maximos Charakopoulos and the President of the General Assembly Mr. Ioan Vulpescu, visited the Egyptian capital to participate in a pilgrimage visit entitled “The Journey of the Holy Family in Egypt”. This pilgrimage visit traces the sacred sites that, according to tradition, the Holy Family passed through and stayed at during their flight into Egypt. The initiative for this pilgrimage and the hosting of the IAO delegation were undertaken by President of the National Egyptian Heritage Revival Association (NEHRA), Mr. Mounir Ghabbour.
In addition to the IAO leadership, the delegation included MPs Dr. Ingy Mourad and Ms. Neveen Esknder (Egypt), Mr. Vangelis Dule (Albania), Mr. Sisak Gabrielyan and Mr. Hrachya Hakobyan (Armenia), Mr. Mile Talevski (North Macedonia), Mr. Toma Lyubomirov Bikov (Bulgaria), Mr. Irakli Kadagishvili (Georgia), and Dr. Wasfi Haddad (Jordan), as well as IAO Advisor Dr. Kostas Mygdalis. Special guests included former MPs Dr. Helal Manal (Egypt), Mr. Laokratis Koranisz (Hungary), and Mr. Genc Pollo (Albania), along with the Director of “Orthphoto.net,” Mr. Aleksander Wasyluk (Poland).
Conference on the collaboration between Parliaments and Religions
In conjunction with the pilgrimage visit to Egypt, the IAO organized a one-day conference in Cairo on the topic: “Approaches to the practical implementation of Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Communiques concerning the dialogue between parliamentarism and religions”.
Participants in the conference focused on practical ways to implement the recommendations contained in the Communiques adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the Parliamentary Conferences on Interfaith Dialogue in Marrakesh (2023) and Rome (2025). In these documents, the global parliamentary community addresses recommendations to national parliaments, inter-parliamentary groups, and parliamentarians worldwide, calling upon them to strive to build a meaningful and institutionalized dialogue between parliamentary and religious institutions for the benefit of the people.
In his address, the IAO Secretary General emphasized: “At this juncture, therefore, we must consider what interventions we can make to help overcome the multiple crises we are experiencing. As members of the IAO—a vibrant organization with a 33-year history of active engagement—and as an institution representing Orthodox parliamentarians, we have made our choice. We believe that religions, as an integral part of human civilization, bearers of invaluable traditions, and a sphere for fostering relationships and interaction, should play a part in shaping the political landscape. Any attempt to completely banish them from the political sphere—confining them to a strictly private, isolated realm—does not foster freedom of relations but rather restricts them. Finally, attempts to ignore the religious factor turn a blind eye to the role religions can play—not merely at the level of the church or religious officials, but also in the purely political arena—in promoting understanding among peoples. It is a welcome development that our efforts have converged and aligned with those of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).” For this reason, we deemed it useful and beneficial to hold this Conference during our visit. The aim is—having agreed on the general direction we need to take—to translate the IPU’s recommendation into action through concrete proposals, which we will discuss and refine with a view to their implementation”.
Speakers at the conference also included the President of the IAO General Assembly and the IAO Advisor, as well as Members of Parliament belonging to the Organization. In addition to the members of the IAO delegation, Christian Members of the Egyptian Parliament attended the Conference.
Meetings with the Patriarchs
The participants had the opportunity to meet with the Primates of the Orthodox and Coptic Churches in Egypt.
During the meeting with His Beatitude the Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Theodoros II, held at the Rotunda of Saint George in Old Cairo, the IAO Secretary General stated in his address: “Continuing the work of great hierarchs—your predecessors on the Patriarchal Throne of Saint Mark—you keep the flame of Orthodoxy burning across the African continent. From this soil, which served as the cradle of Christianity—’Out of Egypt I called My Son’—and as the birthplace of monasticism; from this place where the Christian message flourished and endured despite the passage of time and the hardships of this world, you continue to stand guard at spiritual Thermopylae”. He also spoke at length about the need to resolve the issue that has arisen regarding the Holy Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai.
For his part, the Patriarch of Alexandria welcomed the IAO delegation and expressed his pleasure at their esteemed presence in a place deeply connected to the history and spiritual journey of the Patriarchate of Alexandria; he also extended warm thanks to the IAO leadership, commending their unwavering contribution to promoting the principles and values of Orthodoxy, as well as to fostering cooperation, dialogue, and peaceful coexistence among peoples.
Subsequently, the IAO delegation met with Patriarch Tawadros II at the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church. In his response to the Coptic Primate—who had warmly welcomed the Orthodox MPs—the head of the international institution emphasized that “the power of good, no matter what hardships and adversities it faces, will eventually be vindicated in the conscience of the people. This is the powerful message of optimism and hope we must take from the sacred event of the Holy Family’s salvation on Egyptian soil”. He further noted that “we draw strength from the fact that Christianity remains alive and flourishing in this cradle of the faith—at a time when, in many countries across the wider region, Christian populations are dwindling due to the relentless persecution they suffer at the hands of forces of fanaticism and intolerance. Your efforts also send a message to the international community, urging it to address the critical issue facing Christians in the Middle East with greater zeal and to safeguard their rights through concrete measures, enabling them to remain in—or return to—their ancestral homes”.
The leadership of the IAO also had the opportunity to meet with the Grand Imam of Egypt, Ahmed el-Tayeb.
Visits to Monasteries and Churches
As part of the pilgrimage visit, the IAO delegation visited churches erected at sites where the Holy Family passed during their flight into Egypt—specifically the Coptic churches of the Virgin Mary in Haret Zuweila, Zeitoun, and Mostorod, as well as those in Gebel el-Teir, Karnak, and Luxor, where they also had the opportunity to visit archaeological sites.
