Minister of Housing Mustafa Madbouly has announced that the government is allocating a 30-feddan piece of land in New Cairo for the erection of a branch for the St Mark’s Cathedral, the headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church and its papal seat, in response to an application by the Coptic Orthodox Church. Dr Madbouly explained, however, that the Church has to obtain a presidential decree to license the building of the new church. New Cairo is a satellite town in the east of Cairo.
Dr Madbouly said that a 1500 square metre piece of land was allocated for another Coptic Orthodox church in the eastern district of al-Obour on the outskirts of Cairo. The Church had applied for the allocation of the land owing to the mounting number of Coptic Orthodox families in al-Obour.
The Evangelical Church in Sohag, some 450km south of Cairo, was also allocated a 873 sq.m. plot of land for a new church, as was the Coptic Catholic Church which was allotted 2000 sq.m. in New Cairo.
In the absence of a law for the building of churches, however, all these projected new churches await presidential decrees to license their building.
Watani International
1 February 2015