New reports reveal more churches legalized in Egypt

CAIRO – 9 May 2022: The Egyptian churches have witnessed great revival in recent years, and this is seen in President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s instructions to build churches at every residential block.

President Sisi also directed the state to bear the cost of establishing churches of Christian denominations in new cities, besides mosques, schools and nurseries.

By the end of April, the Cabinet approved legalizing 238 unlicensed churches and affiliated buildings turning the total number of legalized churches into 2,401 since the year 2018.

A committee tasked with studying the status of churches, is currently preparing a report on the latest numbers of legalized churches, according to Rev. Michael Antoun, deputy head of the committee. It is expected that the number will rise by 100. 

He added that the first legalization was in May of 2018, and this was based on what was issued in the law in 2016, which gave a year deadline for the different ecclesiastical denominations to submit lists of names of churches and buildings.

He explained that the committee meets approximately every two and a half months and is represented by several ministries, including housing, local development, defense and antiquities, and the church, representatives of the three main churches, the Orthodox, the Catholic and the Evangelical.

It is worth noting that in 2016, Law No. 80 of 2016 regarding the construction and restoration of churches was issued after the approval of the House of Representatives.

Unlicensed units were given ID numbers, and owners were given the option of paying the value of reconciliation in installments over three years.