(Diocesan photo from diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa)
The Bishop of Egypt, Dr Mouneer Anis, has called on Anglicans to pray and advocate with their local Egyptian consulates and embassies after a court ruling effectively subsumed the diocese into a separate denominational body. Dr Anis, who is also the Archbishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, told ACNS that the Evangelical Church Association (ECA) has been laying claim to the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Egypt for several years. Now, after a 14-year legal battle, a court has ruled that the Anglican Church in Egypt belongs to the ECA and can only be represented by the ECA President.
“This preposterous claim did not just stop there,” Dr Anis said. “They further claimed that they can take possession of all of the Episcopal/Anglican Church properties as their own. They are now forcing us to take their approval before we notarise any document in the government. Moreover, we need to receive the approval of the ECA before we ask immigration to grant or renew visas to our workers. This is causing us a great deal of trouble.”
The diocese is appealing against the court’s decision and a new hearing will be held on Tuesday (1 November).
I just looked up the Egyptian Embassy and found several offices and departments here in the US. Any recommendations as to whom to address any correspondence here?
There are somethings that need to be fleshed out here. First, I can’t find any reference online, outside of the report in ACNS and one in Christian Today which seems to mostly use the same sources, that refer to an Evangelical Church Association in Egypt. The article makes reference to the fact that this is Presbyterian denomination, but the name of the Presbyterian denomination in Egypt is The Evangelical Church in Egypt, Synod of the Nile. They appear to be the largest protestant denomination in Egypt. I know that politics, including ecclesiastical politics is local, but the Evangelical Church in Egypt is listed as a partner church of the Church of Scotland and as a member of the World Council of Reformed Churches. That seems to me to make it less likely they would pull something like this.
So all of this makes me wonder: was the reference to presbyterianism misplaced? Is the Evangelical Church Association of Egypt some sort of move by government forces or others to push protestants into a single structure, akin to the Three-self Patriotic Movement? This needs a good religion reporter to parse this before I think much good can be done: who is the Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem actually up against (besides, of course, the Egyptian government).
Prayers by all means but I do not understand. Gavin Drake’s report is not clear at all and much of the information seems to have come from left of field without explanation. The Anglican presence in Egypt dates back to at least the 19th Century, so on what basis has this claim been brought?
I can see nothing from Bishop Mouneer on the Diocesan English language site, nor on the Egypt Diocesan Association site. The ACNS report is contained on the JMECA site.
Please may we have some more information? George?
All I can tell you, Pageantmaster, is that, as a member of the Board of the US charity which supports the Diocese of Egypt, I saw this prayer appeal as it came through from Bishop Mouneer. I presume this to be a very serious problem and ask that all of us join in the requested prayers.
Thank you Katherine.
Katherine, reading around this story is only being covered in TEC publications and even there is eliciting confusion as it is based on Gavin Drake’s article. That confusion may be why it is not being picked up by other outlets or on the blogs.
From what you say it really is important that prayers and action are forthcoming immediately which means that more information as to exactly who is suing for the Diocese of Egypt’s property, whether they are a state-sponsored or approved organisation, and why they assume sovereignty over other denominations and their assets is clarified as soon as possible. If the action has been going on for 14 years with a judgment given this June this has clearly been going on under the radar for a considerable time and with it being publicised just a few days before the appeal, action needs to be mobilised as quickly as possible. If clear information is forthcoming that will enable people and organisations to take action with confidence if they understand what they are approaching Egyptian authorities to request.
One other avenue which occured to me is who is the ECA and is it known to say the World Council of Churches? Does it have links with churches or denominations which the Anglican denomination as the third largest in the world has links with to whom representations and protests may be made?
An obvious body to protest would be the Global South Primates Standing Committee together with their new chums, apparently, the GAFCON Primates Standing Committee.
Prayers for the Diocese of Egypt today.
Pageantmaster, all, I have an update by email, which I am told can be public. See this ACNS article. The ECA’s lawyer appeared in court today in Egypt and asked the judge to refuse the Diocese’s request for a hearing. The judge declined to comply, and a hearing has been scheduled for December 13. The Diocese was previously not sure if this initiative came from the Egyptian government or from the ECA; the lawyer’s appearance makes it clear that it is the ECA which is trying to take control of the Anglican Diocese. The ECA, Bishop Mouneer’s statement says, is dominated by Presbyterians in Egypt. Therefore, if anyone has connections with Presbyterians in Egypt, it would be good to let them know that they should ask their colleagues there to desist from this effort to make a hostile takeover of another Christian church.
It’s real. One of the faculty at TSM has had personal conversations with Archbishop Mouneer about this in the last several days.
I should probably have made clear that by “personal conversations” I meant face to face. In Egypt.
Katherine, thanks for the update. Praying here on the other side of Africa…
Thanks Katherine that is helpful. Thinking about it, any Presbyterians in Egypt are historically likely to have come from and be supported from these isles, in particular by the Church of Scotland or one of its offshoots. Be interesting to know what they have to say about all this.
Prayers continuing.
If this has been going on for 14 years, you would think we would have better background information. Whatever the underlying issues are, we need to pray for Bishop Anis and his ministry.