Coptic Leader Criticizes Egypt’s Building Restrictions on Churches After Deadly Fire
The patriarch of Egypt’s 10 million Coptic Orthodox Christians said his community has been squeezed by decades of government regulations on the number and size of churches. In Sunday’s blaze, 41 people died.
CAIRO — After an electrical fire raced through a tiny Coptic Orthodox Church in central Cairo on Sunday and killed 41 worshipers, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt ordered the army to renovate the building immediately.
Under the watch of soldiers, dozens of laborers worked throughout the night, dragging out charred beams and broken pipes, and repainting the walls and the iron cross atop the narrow four-story building wedged between shops and apartments. By Monday evening, the exterior of the Abu Sefein Church, at least, looked newly built.
The government also offered condolence payments.
But that quick action did not stop the patriarch of Egypt’s 10 million Coptic Orthodox Christians from venting frustration on Tuesday that the Middle East’s largest Christian community has been squeezed by decades of government regulations restricting the number and size of churches in this predominantly Muslim country.
“The restrictions led to the construction of small churches that do not correspond to the Christians’ needs,” Pope Tawadros II said Tuesday in an unusual statement of implicit criticism. He called on the authorities to either move the 12,000-square-foot Abu Sefein Church to a larger space or allow it to expand to accommodate the large numbers of Christians in the neighborhood.
His statement was softened by praise for the response by Mr. el-Sisi and civil defense forces and noted that the restrictions began under previous governments. But in a country where any criticism of government by Christian officials is exceedingly rare, it still spoke volumes.
Among the 41 dead were 18 children and the bishop who was conducting the Divine Liturgy when the blaze broke out at the church in the working-class neighborhood of Imbaba. Most died from smoke inhalation or were trampled while trying to make their way from the fourth floor, where the service was held, to the ground floor exit, a spokesman for the Coptic Orthodox Church, the Rev. Moussa Ibrahim, said Tuesday.
Some of those who survived escaped through the windows or rooftop.
Father Ibrahim said that about 100 people were gathered for the Sunday service when the fire started, meaning nearly half of all those in attendance had perished. Church officials had originally said up to 500 were present at the time of the fire.
The interior ministry is still investigating the cause of the fire. But church officials said it began shortly after a generator there kicked in during a power outage. The generator exploded when the power came back on during the Sunday service.