Dr. Maurice Assad, former Secretary-General of the Middle-East Council of Churches,[4] wrote “Bishop Athanasius was known for his weekly Bible study meetings in Beni Suef which were always attended by hundreds of people. Whenever he went on a pastoral visit in his diocese, he did not confine himself to the rich but also visited the poorest of the poor. In fact he made it a point to visit every family at least once a year in his diocese, the poor before the rich.