The Synod of the Nile, which includes the General Congregation Council for the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, postponed a decision on ordaining women as priests after the committee tasked to conduct a poll among church leaders on the subject demanded a year to conclude its work.
The Evangelist presence in Egypt is constant throughout the 1,200 churches, said church head Andrea Zaki. He then called for establishing a vision for the development of the church in providing hymnal and theological education studies.
In an exclusive statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm last week, Zaki said, "The ordination of women will be one of the major topics up for discussion. The outcome of this controversial issue is hard to predict."
Refaat Fekry, the pastor of the Evangelical Church in Shubra said, "The priesthood of women was under discussion and polling by an ad-hoc committee of congregates last year. Studies around the issue have thus far been inconclusive. Work is expected to continue for another year to enable a deeper study and wider survey of opinions around the issue."
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
