Coptic Pope Tawadros II Cedes Church in Cairo, Egypt, to Russian Church; Alexandrian Patriarch Theodore Warns of Break in Relations

Coptic Pope Tawadros II decided to cede a church in Cairo belonging to his patriarchate to the Russian Orthodox Church, to serve the liturgical needs of Russian Orthodox faithful. Orthodox Times reported that Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria and All Africa responded sharply to the decision in a letter to the Coptic patriarch.

In the letter, Theodore described the move as “direct interference in the serious internal affairs of the Orthodox Church,” and said it “violates my immediate administrative and pastoral jurisdiction.” He wrote that the Russian Church had unilaterally cut ties with any Orthodox church that recognized the autocephaly granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, and that it had gone further by “illegally encroaching on our spiritual jurisdiction” in Africa. Theodore did not provide evidence in the passage reported, and the Russian Church’s position is given only as Theodore described it.

Theodore also said the Coptic Church’s decision was “a serious lapse and an act of ingratitude” toward his patriarchate, which he said had supported the Coptic Church in difficult times, including when a “Coptic pseudo-patriarch from America” appeared. He warned that the Coptic position obstructs further cooperation and directly threatens relations between the churches. Theodore’s letter, as reported, emphasized the need for mutual respect within Orthodox relations, a theme the reporting ties to the tensions described here (Romans 12:18).

The report noted that the Coptic Church had recently given a church in Cairo to Metropolitan Leonid, head of the African Exarchate of the Russian Church. Theodore, whose see is also in Cairo, was described as having taken this as a painful blow. According to representatives of the Coptic Church cited in the report, the Patriarchate of Alexandria often engages in spreading the ideology of racism instead of preaching the Gospel. The report did not provide details or documentation for that claim.

The article was written by an outlet that is not a neutral observer of this dispute. It argued that the Patriarchate of Alexandria had lost the support of the largest Christian church in Egypt, citing estimates that the Coptic Church has about 20 million believers in Egypt and the Patriarchate of Alexandria about 350,000. The commentary described Theodore’s threat to break relations as exaggerated and attributed his stance to pressure related to the Ukraine question. These are the outlet’s own assessments and are not confirmed by the other sources it cited.

The report also said that some clerics of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople believed Theodore had already announced a break in relations with the Copts as a settled matter. It added that many clergy have left the Patriarchate of Alexandria in recent times, though the report did not name them or give a number.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Russian)