Egypt legalises more Christian churches
Egypt legalised another eighty-two church buildings, which had not yet received the official approval of the state authorities. This was decided by a special commission chaired by Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbli, the Egyptian media reported.
According to the Egyptian-Coptic news website “Watani”, churches in Egypt submitted legalisation applications for a total of 3,730 temples. The condition for obtaining such a permit is compliance with civil protection regulations, the stability of the building and the payment of the appropriate tax.
The basis for this is the 2016 act on the construction and renovation of churches. In connection with art. 64 of Egypt’s constitution on religious freedom and worship, it is intended to make it easier for Christians of the three Abrahamic religions to obtain permits to build new temples.
According to estimates, Christians make up ten to fourteen per cent of Egypt’s approximately 101 million inhabitants. Most of them belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church, which dates back to St. Mark the Evangelist. Information on the number of the faithful of this Church of the East ranges from eight to twelve million.
Source: pch24.pl
