Egyptian writer defends story of early Christians

Daily Nation

Egyptian novelist and scholar Youssef Ziedan has angered the Egyptian Coptic Church with his best-selling novel Azazeel, the story of a 5th-century Egyptian-born monk who witnesses early Christian disputes.

Bishop Bishoy, the secretary of the church’s Holy Synod, said Ziedan “intended to destroy authentic Christian doctrine” and accused him of interfering in internal Christian matters.

But in an interview with Reuters, Ziedan said church elders were upset he had challenged their authority as the heirs of St Mark the Apostle and their exclusive claim to Egyptian history between the end of paganism and the arrival of Islam.