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Welby Passes On Condolence To Egypt's Copts

Welby Passes On Condolence To Egypt's Copts

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has handed letters of condolence to the leader of a largest Christian minority in the Middle East.

The head of the Anglican Church presented the notes from the families of British terror victims in person to Bishop Tawadros, the Pope of Egypt's Coptic Christians.

The Copts are an ancient sect who worship Jesus Christ but became distinct from the Catholic Church in the early years of Christianity.

Twenty-one Egyptian Coptic Christians were kidnapped and beheaded by Islamic State militants in Libya in February. They were in the country as migrant workers.

And on Sunday IS released a video apparently showing the executions of some 30 Ethiopian Christians captured in Libya .

The Archbishop was on a two-day visit to Egypt, described as a "visit of condolence".

The letters are believed to include one from the family of British aid worker David Haines, who was murdered by IS last year.

Mr Welby's spokesman said he carried the messages after a grieving British relative "came to see him a few weeks ago and asked him to take these letters with him".

"He personally took 21 letters with him and has handed them over," the spokesman added.

"The essence of the visit is to show solidarity following the murder of the Coptic Christians.

"It is also reminding people of what has happened.

"The people he has met so far have been genuinely delighted that he has made this very brief visit here to pledge his support and stand by them."

The Archbishop has previously condemned the beheading of Mr Haines by IS militants in September as a "brutal, cruel murder" and an "act of absolute evil".

He has called on churches to pray for the family of Mr Haines, a 44-year-old aid worker was captured in Syria in 2013.

Mr Welby also met the key authority on Sunni Islam, the Grand Imam of Al Azar, during his stay in Cairo.

He was expected to meet religious and political leaders so he could personally show his "love and concern" but also so he could hear about the suffering of Christians in the region.

He is expected to leave Egypt on Monday.