Egypt’s Catholic and Evangelical churches urged the government to unify paid Christian holidays after a labor ministry decree split leave days by denomination.
The decision, issued by Labor Minister Mohamed Gobran last Tuesday under the new Labor Law, has drawn criticism from church leaders, lawmakers, and rights advocates who say it discriminates among Christians, entrenches sectarianism, and undermines equal citizenship.
“We are all Egyptians, and the president calls for citizenship and equality,” Gamil Halim, the Catholic Church’s legal adviser, who joined a delegation that met Gobran, told Al Manassa. “Our objection was that it also divided Egyptian Christian citizens into Catholics and Orthodox.”
Under the ministerial decision, “Orthodox Coptic brothers” receive fully paid leave for Christmas, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and Easter. “Catholic and Protestant brothers” receive paid leave for New Year’s Day, Christmas, and Easter only, with permission to arrive as late as 10 am on some occasions.
Both churches sent representatives to meet Gobran on Monday in separate meetings. A Catholic delegation led by Bishop Georges Chehata, head of the Maronite Diocese of Cairo, Egypt, and Sudan, submitted a formal proposal to revise the leave schedule. The Evangelical community sent MP Freddy Elbayadi with a similar proposal calling for unified holidays.
The minister welcomed the proposal and ordered it reviewed in coordination with relevant authorities, a statement by the Evangelical community said. The meeting also stressed the need to avoid scheduling school exams on Christian feast days, it added.
The Catholic Church said its delegation discussed the proposal’s details with the minister, seeking a formula that guarantees equality, strengthens citizenship, and serves the public interest.
The Ministry of Labor said Gobran instructed officials to study the proposal immediately and reiterated the state’s commitment to national unity.
According to Halim, the minister said the decision relied on a 1953 text used to activate provisions in the new Labor Law. Halim said the church argued the regulation reflected a different era, when foreign Christian communities were larger, that no longer matches Egypt’s present-day reality.
The Catholic proposal also calls for revising the decree’s language to refer to “all Christian citizens” instead of “Christian brothers,” Halim told Al Manassa. It recommends adopting a unified list of paid holidays that includes Christmas, New Year’s Day, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Easter.
“We should be equal in all holidays as Christians,” Halim said. “Otherwise, we will be forced to say this one should write Catholic on their ID card and that one Orthodox. We are demanding equality. We do not want to fragment our nation.”
Halim said Gobran promised to review the proposal and raise it with the prime minister after the holiday period, with the aim of issuing a new decision. He said the church’s move is not about sect-specific gains but a principled effort to entrench citizenship and equality, which he said are guaranteed by the constitution.
