Synod of the Coptic Church announces resumption of dialog with the Vatican

on May 22, 2026, the annual session of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church was presided over by His Holiness Patriarch Tawadros II and attended by 119 hierarchs. According to the official website of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the session resulted in the approval of important decisions in the field of church governance and dialog with the RCC.

An important diplomatic step was the decision to resume theological dialog with the Catholic Church. According to an official statement, this came after receiving assurances that there is no practice of blessing same-sex unions, which were voiced during a telephone conversation between Patriarch Tavadros II and Pope Leo XIV on May 15 of this year.

In the field of domestic legislation, the Synod considered a draft law on the personal status of the Christian family, which is soon to be approved by the Egyptian Parliament. It was also decided to extensively update the Rules of Procedure of the Holy Synod, which has not been changed for the past 41 years, to bring it in line with the current conditions of the Church’s expansion around the world.

Recall, earlier we reported that Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who has headed the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising since 2008, officially ordered the introduction of the practice of blessing same-sex couples and divorced Catholics who have remarried.