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Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk sends the following letter to His Holiness Shenouda III, Patriarch of the Coptic Church, expressing condolences over the explosion at a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt:

His Holiness Shenouda III

Pope of Alexandria

Patriarch of the Throne of St. Mark in All Africa and the Middle East

Your Holiness,

With deep sorrow I have learnt about the explosion in Alexandria which killed parishioners who were coming out of the Coptic church after the night service.

Without any doubt this atrocity is aimed at further fomentation of interreligious enmity. The confrontation that the terrorists mean to enkindle by their actions brings nothing but grief, tears and suffering and threatens the human race with self-destruction.

I hope that the Egyptian authorities will do all that is possible to find and punish the perpetrators of this action. It is my conviction that Your Holiness together with the Islamic religious leaders in Egypt are making all the efforts necessary to prevent an escalation of the conflict and further clashes in which innocent people may suffer again.

I would like to extend to Your Holiness sincere condolences over what has happened and pray to the Lord of peace for the salvation of Egyptian Christians and for an end to the enmity and violence.

With love in the Lord,

+ Hilarion

Metropolitan of Volokolamsk

Chairman

Department for External Church Relations

Moscow Patriarchate