Christian Churches in Egypt Will Not Celebrate Easter

In honour of the 44 Coptic Christians that were killed in the two church bombings on Sunday, several Christian churches in Egypt’s southern city of Minya have announced that they will not be celebrating Easter this year.

Two churches in Alexandria and Tanta were attacked on Palm Sunday – the first day of the Holy Week leading up to Easter – killing 44 and injuring several others.

Shortly after the attacks, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Minya Coptic Orthodox Diocese church in the Minya province said that they would not have any ‘festive celebrations’ this Easter, instead just limiting their Easter services to liturgical prayers.

Several other churches in the city will follow suit, instead using Easter as a time of mourning for those who lost their lives in the vicious attacks.

The Minya province has the highest Christian population in the whole of Egypt.

ISIS recently vowed to step up attacks on Christians and Christian places of worship in Egypt as part of their plan to turn the entire country into an Islamic state.

In response to Sunday’s attacks, Egyptian president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, declared a three-month state of emergency in the country.

In a speech he delivered on Monday at the presidential palace, he also vowed to step up the country’s fighting efforts against ISIS.