Egypt grants legal registration to another 191 churches

Licences have been approved by the Egyptian government for another 191 churches and church-affiliated buildings.

The go-ahead for the 30th batch of applications was given on 16 April by the licensing committee, headed by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly.

It brings the number of registrations approved to 3,804 out of a new total of 5,415 applications.

Of these applications, 3,730 had been submitted before September 2017, the deadline set by the 2016 Law for Building and Restoring Churches, which abolished Ottoman-era restrictions on houses of worship.

The remaining 1,685 applications were submitted more recently when the deadline was extended.

The committee previously sat in October 2025 when 160 churches and church-affiliated buildings were registered.

Read more:  What is it like to live as a Christian in Egypt?

To secure governmental approval, churches must prove ownership of land and meet structural and safety standards.

It was extremely difficult for churches to obtain registration in Egypt before 2017, when the licensing committee began work.

A year later, in 2018, the government allowed Christians to worship in unlicensed buildings pending the completion of the registration process. In some areas, however, congregations risk having their churches sealed or demolished by local authorities under the pretext of lacking permits, even when they have applied.

Tens of thousands of churches still await legal recognition. Some have applied, but it is not clear whether their applications are under consideration; others have been unable to apply due to various bureaucratic reasons.

Small house churches, especially those attended by converts from Islam, often operate in secret, vulnerable to raids and community backlash.