Father Boulos Halim, spokesperson for the Coptic Orthodox Church, said the Coptic Orthodox Church in Britain was separated from the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
He explained that the British church was independent but asked to join the patriarchate under Pope Shenouda III in 1994. “Now circumstances have changed in Egypt and Britain,” he said. “Still, they will continue to pray for us.”
“This decision does not affect the Coptic Orthodox community in Britain, and is not a separation from the Ethiopian Church, with which we have relations since the fifth century AD,” he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
