A source in the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria revealed a split among members of the Millī Council – seven members – over persons most likely to be the next patriarch of Copts in succession of Pope Shenouda III.

Some Copts in the northern Egyptian Mediterranean city now call the Millī Council the Group of Four, which supports Bishop Yū'ānnis, and the Group of Three, which supports Bishop Armīyā, to express the state of division hitting the council. [Muhammad al-Mālhī, al-Fajr, April 12, p. 19] Read original text in Arabic