Because of his insult to Islam and the Prophet The Egyptian Church disavows a former priest

The Egyptian Orthodox Church repudiated the former priest Zakaria Boutros for insulting Islam and the Prophet Muhammad - may God bless him and grant him peace - years ago, and confirmed the complete severance of his connection with the church more than 18 years ago.

The Egyptian Church disavows a former priest who made statements offensive to Islam and his prophet Muhammad

On Saturday, the Egyptian Church repudiated a former priest who made statements offensive to Islam and its Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him, and said that her relationship with him was cut off 18 years ago.

Earlier, activists on social media circulated a video clip of the controversial Christian cleric Zakaria Boutros, which included insults to Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

The clip, which activists said dates back to years, sparked widespread anger on the communication sites, as it issued the hashtag “Except the Messenger of God” and “Punish Zakaria Boutros” the top trend in Egypt until 21:55 GMT.

The Egyptian Orthodox Church, which is the largest Christian denomination in Egypt, said in a statement that Peter "has been cut off from the church for more than 18 years."

She explained that "he was a priest in Egypt, who gave an education that was not in accordance with the Orthodox faith and was suspended for a while, then he was transferred to Australia after an apology, then to the United Kingdom, and he returned to providing a non-Orthodox education as well, and the church worked hard to correct his thought."

She added: "The former priest applied to settle his pension from working in the priesthood, and it was accepted on January 11, 2003."

She added that Zakaria "from that time no longer belongs to the Egyptian Orthodox Church, and he does not practice any work in it from near or far."

She revealed that Boutros "then went to the United States, and some hosted his meetings in homes and hotels, and the Diocese of Los Angeles warned its people not to host him at the time."

Hours after what was raised during the past hours because of the video clip, the Egyptian Church said: "For our part, we reject the methods of abuse and defamation because they do not correspond to the true Christian spirit, and we preserve our love and full respect for all our Muslim brothers."

The Egyptian Church disavows a former priest who made statements offensive to Islam and his prophet Muhammad (local newspapers)

The number of Christians in Egypt is about 15 million, according to church estimates, out of the country's total population of about 104 million inside and outside the country.