A cabinet committee tasked with legalising the status of unlicensed Christian places of worship approved on Monday the legalisation of 82 churches and service buildings that had been operating without a permit, the cabinet said in a statement.

This brings the total number of Christian places of worship and service buildings that have been granted legal status so far to 1,882, Cabinet Spokesman Nader Saad said.

In 2016, Egypt’s parliament approved a long-awaited law regulating the building and renovation of churches.

The committee to legalise the status of unlicensed churches was established in 2017 by the prime minister.

The 10-member committee comprises one Christian representative, six government officials from several ministries, and representatives from the national security apparatus, the intelligence apparatus, and the administrative control body.