Two monks charged with murdering Bishop Epiphanius

CAIRO – 19 August 2018: Two monks were referred to the criminal court on Sunday over murdering Head of the St. Macarius Monastery in Wadi El-Natroun, Bishop Epiphanius, Alexandria Court of Appeals stated.

The expelled monk Ash’eyaa, whose birth name is Wael Saad, and Monk Faltaous al-Makary, whose birth name is Raymond Rasmi Mansour, were charged with the “deliberate murder” of Bishop Epiphanius.

Bishop Epiphanius was found dead on July 29 inside the monastery and two monks, who were kept in detention pending investigation since then, confessed killing the bishop.

During the investigation, Ash’eyaa said that he was planning to murder the late bishop but failed. In the first attempt he found Epiphanius praying and in the next time he couldn’t catch him before getting to the church, but in the third attempt he could kill him in the time between midnight and dawn.

Monk Faltaous al-Makary tried to commit suicide via slitting his wrist and then jumping off a high building inside the monastery. Also, Ash’eyaa tried to commit suicide a day after the murder.

Following the death of Bishiop Epiphanius, Pope Tawadros II issued new monasticism laws, topping which is the deactivation of the social media accounts of all monks and bishops.

The death of Bishop Epiphanius revealed the struggle between the school of Pope Shenouda and the ecclesiastical school of Matthew the poor.

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CAIRO - 12 August 2018: In an official statement released Thursday, the Church explained that those who serve God know that they are protected from the first to the last day of the year, verifying that the recent murder did not shake the church or scare those serving God.