19th January, 2011

A day of prayer for Christians living in Egypt will be held in London later this month.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide, in association with United Action for Egyptian Christians, will hold the day on 29th January. Among the speakers will be Bishop Angaelos, head of the Coptic Church in the UK, Dr Raafat Girgis, a leading expert on the history of Christianity in Egypt, Pastor Wagih Abdelmassih of the Arab evangelical church and Pastor Ian McCormack of the Assemblies of God.

The decision to hold the day comes after a series of incidents in Egypt in which Christians have been attacked. They include the bombing of a Coptic church in Alexandria on New Year's Eve in which 21 people were killed and 80 injured. On 11th January a 71-year old Christian man was killed and five others injured when a gunman opened fire on a train destined for Cairo.

CSW’s chief executive Mervyn Thomas, who spoke at a service of remembrance for victims of the Alexandrian bombings on 9 January said he was "delighted" with the decision to hold the day.

"We look forward to welcoming church leaders and experts on Egypt to pray with us and to stand in solidarity with the church of Egypt at this time.”

The Egypt Day of Prayer will be held from10am-4pm on 29th January at St Marys Church, Bryanston Square, Wyndham Place, London W1H 1PQ. For more information, see www.csw.org.uk/prayforegypt.

- DAVID ADAMS