Friday March 29th, 2024
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Egyptian Priests Get into Knife Fight

The building of a road close to the ancient Anba Macarius monastery in Wadi Al-Rayan has the priests of the ancient church up in arms.

Staff Writer

Priest. When the word comes up we tend to think of peace, religion, sanctity... you know that sort of thing. It’s about time those holy people mixed things up a bit and got a little rowdy.

These twelve priests who fled a monastery southwest of Cairo after an argument, surely decided to feed the beast that day. After an altercation caused by a disagreement over the authorities blueprints to construct a road near the ancient Anba Macarius monastery in Wadi Al-Rayan, two priests were left hospitalised. According to reports, what started out as an argument turned into a violent bladed weapon fight.

The twelve priests who left the monastery happened to side with authorities on building the road. Maged Wady on the other hand, an activist who leads an association for the preservation of Egyptian heritage, said he will submit a report about the “crisis” to UNESCO and try and put a stop to the construction plans.

But the government, which is backed by the church, has rejected the idea of stopping the plans, even claiming that some of the priests who fled were impersonators. This isn't the first time that members of the Anba Macarius monastery have been involved in clashes over the building of the new road, as several monks stood in the way of bulldozers earlier this year.