The murder of a prominent bishop in a Coptic monastery in the Egyptian desert has been solved after a monk confessed to the crime.
The body of Bishop Epiphanius was found on 29 July at the entrance to his monastic cell in the Saint Macarius monastery, which lies on a desert road north-west of Cairo. The head of the monastery was found in a pool of blood and had received blows to the back of his skull.
The accused monk, Isaiah al-Makari, was defrocked by the church days later, prompting a statement that did not mention the murder but which declared that al-Makari had been under investigation since the beginning of the year.
A group of monks had previously requested that al-Makari remain in the church by signing a petition, which was delivered to Bishop Epiphanius and Pope Tawadros II, the head of the Coptic church, prior to the murder.
The mystery of Epiphanius’ death deepened after a second monk, Faltaous al-Makary, attempted to kill himself by cutting his arteries and throwing himself from the roof a monastery building, before Isaiah al-Makari confessed to killing the bishop.
Bishop Epiphanius’ death prompted 12 new decrees regulating monks’ behaviour from Pope Tawadros II, including a temporary freeze in new recruits, a ban on monks leaving monastery grounds without permission, as well as restrictions on monks’ use of social networks and media appearances. The pope also shut down his Facebook page, which one local news report attributed to a Facebook page set up set up by Faltaous.
Al-Makari’s lawyer, Amir Nossif, declined to defend him after his confession. Nossif told the DMC television channel: “It’s impossible for me to participate in the killing of Bishop Epiphanius.”
The precise motive that drove the monk to carry out the killing remains a matter of speculation. “The devil controlled the monk,” said Nossif, who later added: “According to some monks, there were conflicts between the bishop and the other monks.”
Father Mercurius of the Saint Macarius monastery told the Guardian that the incident had caused great sadness inside the monastery, but that he was unable to discuss the alleged conflict between the monks and the bishop.
He added: “The situation is suffering and agony – we are not able to talk about such things. We still don’t have a motive announced, though those of us who follow the church affairs closely have become aware of that motive.”
Samuel Tadros, an analyst at the Hudson Institute’s Centre for Religious Freedom in Washington DC said suspicions remain about the motive for the killing: “As I have suspected it is personal and scandalous and if ever made public will shock Copts.”
Tadros added that the murder has prompted a profound change in Pope Tawadros II’s leadership. “Since the murder of Bishop Epiphanius, the Pope has been acting differently. He seems to have taken the murder personally. There is no doubt he viewed the bishop positively, looked up to him, and took his advice.”