The funeral of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, who was
killed in a weekend helicopter crash off the coast of Greece, will
be held in Egypt on Wednesday, church officials said.
Peter VII, the spiritual leader of Greek Orthodox Christians in
Africa and the second most senior figure in the Greek Orthodox
Church, was among 17 people killed when a Greek army aircraft
plunged into the Aegean Sea on Saturday.
The patriachate in Egypt said the funeral for Peter VII would take
place on Wednesday at Mar Guirguis church in old Cairo following a
national memorial ceremony in Athens.
Peter VII, 55, was second in line in the Orthodox Church hierarchy
after ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul.