The Deacon's Bench
A Coptic cathedral has been restored and reopened eight months after a suicide bombing there on Palm Sunday killed 28 and injured 74 others.
St. George’s Cathedral in Tanta, the capital of the Gharbia governorate north of Cairo, has been renamed the Cathedral of St. George and the Martyrs, and its blood-splattered pillars have been left untouched as a reminder of what happened.
The cathedral was one of two hit on the same day by suicide bombers targeting Copts celebrating Palm Sunday. Between the two churches – the other was in Alexandria, 130km northwest of Tanta – 46 people were killed and over 100 injured.
“Everyone is amazed to see the church rise from the ashes, and the ruins metamorphose into a lofty, exceptionally beautiful building,” the local bishop, Anba Pola, told DMC TV. “Screams of horror at the martyrs’ spilt blood have now turned into joyful ululations.”
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