SURREY - Pope Tawadros II was in Surrey Thursday on his first papal visit to Canada.
He performed the liturgy at St. George Coptic Orthodox Church in Whalley and also visited St. Mary Coptic Church before attending a special luncheon at the Sheraton hotel in Guildford.
St. George has a congregation of roughly 250 families.
The Coptic Orthodox Church is an ancient church founded on the teachings of Saint Mark, who brought Christianity to Egypt during Nero's reign in the first century A.D. There are more than 50,000 Coptic Orthodox Christians throughout Canada, with 74 priests serving some 40 churches.