“Pope Tawadros will celebrate at a specially constructed altar and not the main altar of the basilica,” Browne said, noting that the Anglican service also did not take place at the main altar.
“The liturgy will be for the Coptic faithful in Italy, which again gives it a different character to one involving solely pilgrim clergy,” he added.
Pope Tawadros II, who has led the Coptic Church since 2012, will visit Rome from May 9–14 and will appear beside Pope Francis at the general audience on Wednesday, May 10, where he will speak, according to a report by Aleteia.
Browne underlined that “the context of his visit is very particular — the 50th anniversary of the first meeting of the heads of the Churches of Rome and Alexandria after a millennium and a half of estrangement.”
The Coptic Orthodox Church based in Egypt is an Oriental Orthodox Church, meaning it rejected the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers were historically considered monophysites — those who believe Christ has only one nature — by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.
In 1973, Pope Paul VI made history when he invited Coptic Patriarch Shenouda to Rome and the two signed a joint declaration acknowledging their shared faith in Jesus Christ, “perfect God with respect to his divinity, perfect man with respect to his humanity.”
