Two monks were injured in a fight on Monday due to a disagreement over the Macarius Monastery in Wadi al-Rayan.
Some of the monks had signed and sent a statement to the Coptic Orthodox Church, said Bishop Abram of Fayoum and a member of the committee formed by the Coptic Orthodox Church to follow up on the crisis at the Macarius Monastery.
A few of the monks said in the statement they would not submit to the church's orders.
The illegal construction of a monastery wall west of Cairo has stirred up conflict between the priests and the authorities who are planning to take it down in order to construct a new road in the area.
Chairing a papal meeting last Wednesday, Pope Tawadros II admitted that the priests at the Macarius Monastery occupied the monastery illegally. He went on to stress that the ancient monastery does not follow the Coptic Orthodox Church.
The church will take legal action against the monks if they do not leave the monastery, Abram told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Establishing monasteries require specific conditions, including the need for monastic communities, legally owning the land on which the monastery is located and being recognized by the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Abram added. He pointed out that these conditions were not met with regards to the monastery in question.
The Abshway prosecutor has released two monks after a fight between those who support the construction of the road and those who refuse to demolish the wall occurred on Monday. Four other monks have been summoned for questioning for assaulting their colleagues.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
