Pope Shenouda Orders Investigation into Divorce Demands

Pope Shenouda III (al-Suriani) of the Coptic Orthodox Church is having the demands of pro-divorce, pro-remarriage demonstrators in Cairo investigated to discern whether they should in fact have been allowed to divorce by the Church due to their individual situations. (Currently, only a change in faith or adultery are causes for the Church to grant a couple divorce.) More here.

Coptic Orthodox Church Seeking Unified Personal Status Law for Non-Muslim Egyptians

In response to recent protests over its ban on divorce the Coptic Orthodox Church is reported to be seeking the implementation of a unified personal status law proposed in 2009 for Egypt's non-Muslim citizens. Under the 2009 draft divorce would only be permitted for non-Muslims in the case of adultery. More here.

Egyptian Government Interferes in Church Marriage

Yesterday an Egyptian court rejected the Coptic Orthodox Church's challenge to a previous ruling requiring the Church of Alexandria to allow its members to divorce and remarry. Whereas divorce can happen quite quickly and easy in Muslim families (provided it's initiated by the husband), in Coptic Orthodoxy older, stricter customs regarding divorce are followed. The Egyptian government is currently drafting a new law regulating marriage and divorce among Egypt's non-Muslim minorities, who until now have been subject to their respective customary laws except in marriages involving members of different faiths, which fall under the jurisdiction of Islamic law. More here.