Bp. Mouneer Anis: Anglican Church In Egypt 'Under Heavy Attack'

27 October 2016
by Mark Woods

A long-running legal battle between Anglicans in Egypt and a separate denomination, the Evangelical Church Association (ECA), has culminated with a court decision that could see the Anglicans' separate legal identity vanish.

The Anglican Episcopal Diocese of Egypt is appealing the decision, reached after 14 years of legal struggle. According to ACNS, the Bishop of Egypt, Dr Mouneer Anis, has called on Anglicans to pray and advocate with their local Egyptian consulates and embassies to get the ruling reversed.

A judge has ruled that the Anglican Church in Egypt and its buildings belong to the ECA. Anis, who is also the Archbishop of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, told ACNS: "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."

He said that earlier this month the diocese had applied for a visa for one of its workers and had been told it needed a recommendation from the ECA. "This has never happened before, at least in my time as a Bishop from 2000," Anis said... the rest image

"There is a very long tradition of Anglicanism in Egypt," he said. "We simply cannot lose our identity as Anglicans there. We hope and pray that the Egyptian government and the legal authorities will recognise that we are an independent denomination."