EGYPT: Work Begins on New Coptic Church, as Promised

Source: Barnabas Fund, February 4, 2019

Work began on January 26 to build a new church at New Alamein, one of 15 of Egypt’s new “fourth generation” cities on the country’s north coast. Church leaders thanked President al-Sisi for allocating the land, which seems in line with his promise that new towns should include churches as well as mosques.

New Alamein, about 110 km [or 68 miles] west of Alexandria, is designed to accommodate three million people and be a gateway between North Africa and southern Europe.

The president attended the opening of the cathedral in Egypt’s planned new administrative capital. At the Christmas service on January 6 (when Orthodox Christians celebrate Christmas Eve) he expressed his support for Christians, [saying,] “You are our family, you are from us, we are one and no one will divide us.”

Al-Sisi’s government has also continued the process of legalizing church buildings with 508 applications approved in 2018. However, progress is slow and more than 3,000 churches that have applied for approval since 2017 are still waiting to be registered.

» Read full story and see a more general article about the fourth-generation cities.

» See also Is Sisi Good for Egypt’s Christians? (Wall Street Journal).

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