Divorce

His Holiness Defends Coptic Position on Divorce, Remarriage

Fr. Moses Samaan
| Tuesday, June 8, 2010 | No comments.

Coptic Pope Shenouda III held a press conference today in which he announced a decision by the Coptic Holy Synod vis-a-vis an administrative court ruling issued last month obliging the church to allow divorced Copts to remarry.

“The Coptic Church is announcing its respect for Egyptian law,” [His Holiness] said at the press conference, held at the papal residence. “But it doesn’t accept rules that contravene biblical teachings and violate our freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by law.”

Marriage within the Coptic Church, the pope declared, “is a sacrament and a religious duty, not merely an administrative action.”

The pope’s position was supported by 82 attending priests in addition to nine others that were not in attendance.

Pastoral Message on the Recent Egyptian Court Ruling on Divorce

His Grace Bishop Serapion
| Thursday, June 3, 2010 | No comments.

On Sunday, May 30, the Supreme Administrative Court in Egypt issued a final decision in the case of a Copt who sued the Church for denying him authorization to remarry in the Church after divorcing his wife. The court decreed that the Egyptian constitution guarantees his right to remarry in the Church.

This decision, however, is contrary to the teachings of the Holy Scriptures and the Orthodox Church. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III respectfully rejected the Egyptian court’s verdict, saying, “…this is a strictly religious matter for which the Bible serves as our only reference.”

His Grace Bishop Serapion recorded a pastoral message to all parishioners in the diocese expressing his support and solidarity with His Holiness in this matter. The message may be heard and downloaded here: