WATANI International 20 September 2009
The Copts in the Delta town of Shibeen al-Koum were preparing to herald in the new Coptic year with the traditional celebrations at the church of the Saints on the eve of 11 September. They never got the chance to do so, however. At 3:00pm on the afternoon of Wednesday 9 September screams were heard as heavy smoke was seen to rush out of the church windows. The fire fighters were called but by the time they arrived the church was already in ruins.
It was a sad day for the congregation who had gone to so much expense and effort to purchase the church, which had earlier belonged to the Catholic Church, three years ago. After obtaining the necessary permits to renovate it—an arduous process in its own right—the church was completely renovated and adapted to the Coptic Orthodox tradition.
The fire
Anba Benyamin, Bishop of Menoufiya, told Watani that the fire fighters did their best to control the fires. They broke the windows to put out the fire, but the raging fire damaged the fans, the closed circuit TV monitors, the air conditioners, and the icons. The altar alone escaped the fire. The loss is initially estimated at EGP100,000, Anba Benyamin said.
It is not yet clear what started the fire. Anba Benjamin does not believe it could have been a wiring defect or a burning candle, because the church had been closed and all its electricity switched off following Holy Mass that morning. “It stands to reason that the fire was intentional,” Anba Benjamin said, “A vicious hand must have started it. We do not accuse any of our Muslim neighbours since our relations with most of them are good. Only a few sometimes complained of the din caused by the children who frequently play in the church courtyard. We are waiting for the report of the criminal laboratory.”
No calls
Anba Benjamin told Watani that the 700 sq.m. church lies in a ground 1,250sq.m. wide which includes, beside the church, two small halls and a courtyard garden for children. “We would like the governor of Menoufiya to issue a decision for us to restore the damaged church,” he said. “But the governor did not even give us a call of reassurance following the fire. The only official who called was Mohamed Ezz al-Arab, president of Menoufiya University.”
Father Antonius, the church pastor, said that the fires began at the church door on the west side. “Someone may have thrown a fireball through one of the windows which was left open,” he said. Fr Antonius expressed a wish that the police investigations would soon solve the mystery, so that the case would not be shelved off.
Government support
The members of the congregation expressed genuine grief over the fire. An eyewitness told Watani that there had been skirmishes with the Muslims of the region since the Copts bought the church.
The congregation hopes for a prompt response by the governor to restore the church. They recall the huge fire which destroyed the church of the Holy Virgin in Sakha in the North Delta some three years ago, and the consequent prompt decision by Kafr al-Sheikh governor to have it restored at the expenses of the governorate.