Egypt’s Evangelical Church has firmly rejected any association with Christian Zionism, stressing that all Evangelical denominations operating in the country are independent of the political-religious movement and do not support it in any form.
In televised remarks this week, Rev. André Zaki, head of Egypt’s Evangelical community and president of the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Cairo, said on 25 December that none of the 19 Evangelical denominations in Egypt have links to Christian Zionism, describing it as a political current rather than a genuine theological doctrine.
Speaking on the programme Nazra (A Look) on Sada El-Balad TV with Hamdy Rizk, Zaki explained that Evangelical churches globally generally fall within two theological traditions: Covenant Theology and Dispensational Theology. He noted that the majority of Evangelical churches worldwide, alongside Catholic and Orthodox churches, adhere to Covenant Theology, which holds that Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.
According to this view, Zaki said, the modern State of Israel is regarded as a political entity with no theological connection to biblical prophecy.
By contrast, Dispensational Theology believes in distinct divine plans for the Church and Israel, including future prophetic timelines. However, Zaki stressed that even churches influenced by this theological school in Egypt reject Christian Zionism, which he said emerged when a faction within dispensational thought merged theology with political agendas.
“We are not connected in any way to this political current,” said Zaki.
The remarks followed an official statement issued by the Evangelical Church of Egypt earlier this week, in which it “unequivocally rejected” attempts to link it to Christian Zionism. The statement emphasized that the Evangelical community has served Egypt for nearly two centuries through churches, schools, hospitals, and social institutions as part of a purely national mission.
The church also reaffirmed its commitment to defending the legitimate rights of all peoples and expressed prayers for peace in Palestine, the region, and the world.
The clarification comes amid heightened media discussion of Christian Zionist movements in the United States, particularly following television coverage detailing the role of some US Evangelical groups in supporting Israel during the ongoing war on Gaza. Church leaders said such coverage risked misleadingly conflating Egyptian Evangelicals with foreign political movements.
Representing around 1–2 percent of Egypt’s Christian population, the Evangelical Church has repeatedly condemned Israel’s war and blockade on Gaza, denounced the targeting of churches, and contributed to national humanitarian aid efforts for the besieged strip.
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