CAIRO: An Egyptian Orthodox Christian filed a case at the family court demanding to certify her marriage to a foreign Christian, Al Gomhuria daily reported. The woman had tied the knot using a orfi (unofficial) contract that was not legally registered. The court has turned down the case on the basis that marriage for Egyptian Christians remains subject to specific religious rituals and procedures. But as the wife appealed she said that her orfi contract has been documented and attested by the husband’s embassy, which takes the place of the church in Egypt. She added that in spite of the fact that their wedding ceremony had taken place at a church, that church itself was not responsible for issuing legal documents. The court dismissed the case again, arguing that, had the couple been Muslim, the situation would have been completely different. But being Christian the couple had to abide by the law not try to find loopholes. The court refused to legalize the marriage claiming that despite the existence of a foreign document, this did not exclude the need for other religious rituals required to verify the marriage of Egyptian Christians.
Orfi marriage, Coptic-style
