CAIRO — Harmony prevailed between Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic Church and Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria during Francis' visit to Egypt April 28-29, but their like-mindedness on baptism has ignited a debate between the Egyptian Orthodox Church and its adherents.

Denominational differences over baptism date back centuries. One point of contention concerns whether Christians who switch churches are required to be rebaptized according to their new denomination or whether a baptism is irrevocable. Egyptian media reported that during a papal meeting at St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo's Abbasiya district, Francis and Tawadros signed a “document ending the dispute over the sacrament of baptism or rebaptism.” During a general audience back at the Vatican on May 3, Francis announced that he and Tawadros had signed a “common declaration to journey together, and not to duplicate baptisms already received in the respective Churches.”

Their agreement angered many Egyptian Orthodox Christians, some of whom had earlier expressed reservations about the issue based on information leaked before Francis arrived in Cairo. According to the leaks, the document to be signed represented a final agreement on baptismal unity, which many Orthodox Christians view as contrary to their Orthodox faith.

In an attempt to head off trouble, the Orthodox Church Holy Synod Secretariat issued a statement 24 hours before Francis' arrival explaining that the document in question was a common declaration, not a final agreement, and would read as follows: