News

Tuesday June 1, 2010


Egyptian Court Orders Coptic Orthodox Church To Allow Divorce and Remarriage

By Thaddeus M. Baklinski

CAIRO, June 1, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled May 29 that the Coptic Orthodox Church must allow its members to divorce and remarry.

The court, headed by Justice Mohammed Husseini, based its ruling on constitutional law which holds that the “right to family formation is a constitutional right, which is above all other considerations.” The ruling effectively quashed an appeal by Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III against a lower court ruling that approved the request of litigant Hani Wasfi Naguib to remarry.

In his judgment, Justice Husseini said that “By law, a Christian can remarry and the constitution guarantees his rights to have a (new) family. The appeal by Pope Shenouda III to prevent Copts from remarrying is rejected.” The verdict of the Supreme Administrative Court is final and no further appeals are possible.

Bishop Armia, secretary to Pope Shenouda, said in a statement that while the Coptic Orthodox Church respects the Egyptian judiciary and its rulings, “there is no force on earth that can force the Church to violate the teachings of the Bible and Church laws, based on ‘What God has joined together let no man separate.'”

Armia added that Islamic law grants the right to Copts, who make up 10% of Egypt’s 78 million people, to follow their own laws free from state interference in their internal affairs.

“We will take legal measures to challenge the recent court ruling that allows Copts to remarry,” Armia stated, He referred to the possibility of church officials petitioning the Constitutional Court to overturn the ruling on the grounds that it violated the right of the Coptic Church to conduct its affairs according to its own constitution.

Coptic MP Ibtessam Habib told the media that the Bible represents the Coptic constitution and is firm on the sanctity of marriage. “This ruling will only serve to increase the number of divorces among Copts,” she cautioned.

Coptic lawyer Mamdouh Ramzi said that divorce and remarriage is allowed in the Coptic tradition only in certain cases, such as where adultery is involved. But he explained that marital matters are under the sole jurisdiction of the church because civil marriage without a religious ceremony is not recognized in Egypt.

Dr. Naguib Gobraeel, President of the Egyptian Union of Human Rights and legal adviser to the Coptic Church, told the Assyrian International News Agency that “the ruling is non-binding, because a license to marry lies within the core jurisdiction of the religious authority based on the Bible. There is no control or supervision on this purely religious aspect by any authority.”

Contact information:

Embassy of Egypt in Ottawa, Canada

454 Laurier Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario KIN 6R3

Phone: (613) 234 4958, 234 4935, 234 4931

Fax: (613) 234 9347

Email: [email protected]

Embassy of Egypt – Washington, DC

3521 International Court, NW Washington, DC 20008

Phone: (202) 895-5400

Fax: 202.244.4319

Email: [email protected]

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