Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile)
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'Evangelical Church of Egypt (Synod of the Nile), (in Arabic El-Kanisah El-Injiliyah), and sometimes referred to as the Coptic Evangelical Church of Egypt, is a Protesant Christian church that started as a mission of the United Presbyterian Church of North America among Muslim and Coptic Egyptians in the late nineteenth century. The Evangelical Church of Egypt became autonomous in 1957 and officially independent in 1958. It has eight presbyteries, 300 congregations and about 300,000 members.
Emile Zaki, is a pastor and general secretary of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Egypt, a.k.a. Synod of the Nile. The denomination has about 250 congregations plus 150 worshiping groups without their own building. The Synod of the Nile is the Egypt's oldest and largest Protestant denomination. It runs hospitals, clinics, social service and employment agencies, retreat centers, day schools, and a seminary.
These Christians operate in a context far different from North America. Between 80 and 90 percent of Egyptians are Muslim. Of the 10-20 % who are Christian, over 90 percent are Coptic Orthodox. The single percent of non-Orthodox Christians includes Catholics (0.03 percent) and several Protestant groups (0.07 percent).
