In January 2017 , following twin terrorist attacks that killed at least 27 Coptic Egyptians at St. Peter and St. Paul ’s Church in Cairo in December 2016 , the President of Egypt Abdel Fattah el-Sisi commissioned the construction of the country ’s largest mosque and church in the new administrative capital to become symbols of coexistence and national unity . For decades , the building of churches in Egypt was restricted to avoid offending Islam . The Cathedral of the Nativity in Cairo was inaugurated on 6 January 2019 by President el-Sisi and Pope Tawadros II . On the same day of the inauguration , Divine Liturgy was celebrated in the chapel of the cathedral with the participation of some 3,000 people that included representatives from all over the country
twin terrorist attacks
Botroseya Church bombing
Christianity in the 21st century