Egyptian church suspends isolation after bishop’s death

By Rabie Abu Zamil

CAIRO

Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church on Thursday suspended the practice of “aetikaf” (self-imposed isolation) for a one-year period after a clergyman died under suspicious circumstances in a monastery earlier this week.

“Aetikaf” is an orthodox Christian practice in which priests or monks spend prolonged periods in isolation from the outside world -- usually in a remote monastery -- for the purposes of worship and contemplation.

The church issued the decision shortly after Coptic Bishop Epiphanius, head of the Anba Makar Monastery in Egypt’s Beheira province, was found dead inside the monastery.

An investigation has since been launched into the churchman’s death for which the authorities have not ruled out a possible criminal motive.

The number of Coptic Christians in Egypt is estimated at about 15 million out of the country’s 104-million-strong population.