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Egypt’s Supreme Constitutional Court has overturned the ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court that would have forced the Coptic Orthodox Church to issue re-marriage permits for divorcees despite the church body’s stance on the issue.
According to reports, Bishop Armia, secretary to Egypt's Coptic pope, expressed his thanks to Egypt's Minister of Justice, the presiding judge and members of the constitutional court on behalf of the Coptic Church for overturning the administrative court’s controversial decision, saying the “historic verdict proves that we have a fair judicial system that does not interfere in Coptic religious affairs."
Coptic Pope Shenouda III had urged Egypt’s Supreme Administrative Court to reconsider its decision back in May, arguing that marriage is “not a simple administrative act” but a sacred and religious one.
In June, the pontiff revealed a document issued by 91 bishops from his denomination’s Holy Synod – the highest authority in the 15.4 million-large church body.
“The Coptic Church respects the law but it does not accept rulings that go against the Bible and our freedom of religion, which is guaranteed by the constitution,” said Shenouda, whose papacy in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria spans nearly four decades.
Though they only account for about ten percent of the largely Muslim country's 80-million population, Coptic Christians make up the Middle East's largest Christian community. They also account for around 95 percent of Egypt's Christian population.
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Presently, remarriage is forbidden within the Coptic Church except for those whose spouses were found guilty of adultery or had converted to another faith, including other branches of Christianity.
Shenouda told reporters that second marriage for divorcees is a religious issue, governed by the Bible.
Egypt’s High Administrative Court, on the other hand, had concluded that Coptic Christians should be allowed to remarry and that the country’s constitution guarantees their right to have a new family.
According to Reuters, the Supreme Constitutional Court’s verdict earlier this month effectively suspends the ruling of the Administrative Court until a final decision is reached on the claim filed by Shenouda.
Legal sources say the Constitutional Court could take years to make a final decision on the claim.
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