Prosecutors in Egypt have charged a former monk with the murder of a Coptic Orthodox bishop, Vatican News reports.
Bishop Epiphanius was found dead in a pool of blood on 29th July at the desert-based Monastery of San Macario, about 100 kilometres outside of Cairo.
Police reportedly concluded the bishop had been struck with a sharp instrument which fractured the back of his skull.
Vatican News says prosecutors allege Wael Saad a former monk – defrocked last week, confessed to using an iron bar to bludgeon the bishop.
The former monk was formally charged last Friday and is now in custody. The motive for the attack remains unclear.
The BBC reports that in the wake of the bishop’s death, the Coptic Church has announced a range of new measures governing clergy behaviour, freezing temporarily the recruitment of new monks and ordering existing monks to close social media accounts. Coptic Orthodox Pope Tawadros II has recently closed his own official Facebook page.
