Egypt detains monk linked to religious leader’s death
CAIRO (AP) – Egyptian authorities have detained another monk as part of their investigation into the death of an abbot in a monastery north of Cairo last month.
The state-run MENA news agency identified the 33-year-old monk by his monastic name, Valtos, and said Sunday that he is under police guard after an attempted suicide.
Word of the arrest came a day after prosecutors said a detained and recently defrocked monk, identified as Isaiah, confessed to collaborating with others to kill Bishop Epiphanius, abbot of St. Macarius Monastery. The bishop was found dead on July 29.
His funeral was attended by Pope Tawadros II, the spiritual leader of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Christians, one the world’s oldest Christian communities.
