Coptic Christians Threaten to Leave Denomination Over Divorce, Remarriage Laws

A group of Egyptian Copts is protesting the country’s Coptic Orthodox Church for its refusal to change current divorce and marriage laws and are declaring its intent to leave the denomination.

On Thursday, the four-month-old Coptic group "Right to Live" organized a protest outside Cairo’s Justice Ministry, demanding that Copts be given the right to divorce and remarry, the Al Masry Al Youm newspaper reported.

Unlike in the United States, where local governments carry out the legal divorce process, the Coptic Orthodox Church has Egypt's approval to enforce its marriage and divorce standards as law.

There is no civil marriage in Egypt, so marriages get registered with the government through a priest. In order to get a divorce, couples must go through the church first. If the church refuses, a couple can turn to the civil courts, but are often deferred back to the church.

Where there is a difference in denominations or sects, Egyptian law states that Islamic Sharia applies, and the right to divorce is granted.

Followers of the Coptic Orthodox Church are estimated at about 10 percent of Egypt's 80 million people. Centered in Egypt, the denomination is one of the oldest in the world. To read more, click here.