Changes

During the early years of his enthronement, His Holiness Pope Shenouda had an amicable relationship with the late Egyptian President Anwar El-Sadat. However, during his presidency, violent Islamic fundamentalist groups increased all over Egypt, especially in the Universities. They started to attack the Copts, vandalize their businesses, and burn their churches, which led Pope Shenouda to protest to the government against this repeated violence. In spring 1981, Pope Shenouda refused to hold any public Church celebrations of Easter and didn't receive that year the President's delegates who are regularly sent to greet the Church and Coptic Christians on such occasions (this particular move by Pope Shenouda III was very embarassing to President Sadat, both nationally and internationally). Sadat reacted by issuing a presidential decree to exile His Holiness to the Monastery of St. Bishoy, imprison eight bishops, twenty-four priest, leading Coptic lay figures, and ban “El-Keraza" magazine and “Watany" newspaper.