The Egyptian church decided Thursday to stop accepting new seminarians for one year starting this month and warned monks against making media appearances “in any form.” The church also gave its members one month to deactivate and close any social media pages or accounts. Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria Tawadros II said Thursday that Coptic monasteries would stop accepting seminarians for one year. The decision came after a Coptic Orthodox bishop was found dead last Sunday. The body of Bishop Epiphanius, an abbot of Saint Macarius monastery in Wadi el-Natrun, was found with head injuries. A source from the church told Asharq Al-Awsat Thursday that the Coptic Church was waiting for the results of investigations conducted by the Public Prosecution. “However, it is difficult to speculate the reasons behind the incident,” he said. Accordingly, a meeting headed by Tawadoros II in the presence of 20 church officials was held Thursday to discuss monastic order in light of the incident and murder of Bishop Epiphanius. It said the number of monks at each monastery would be limited “to ensure monastic order” and they would be restricted from going outside without the abbot’s permission. Monks were also given one month “to deactivate and close any social media pages or accounts and voluntarily renounce these behaviors that are not true to monastic life.” The church also warned monks from being involved in unauthorized financial transactions. Coptic Orthodox Church spokesperson Boulos Halim said projects to build unauthorized monasteries would be stopped. “The church would only allow projects of restoring old monasteries, under the patronage of a recognized convent,” he said. The Egyptian church also called on monks not to offer any in-kind or financial contributions without the authorization of the convent.