Pope Tawadros III, the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, offered an unapologetic defense of the all-male priesthood in an interview broadcast in Egypt on January 7, as the Coptic faithful celebrated Christmas.

The Egyptian prelate, who leads the largest Christian denomination in the Arab world, said that Jesus chose only men as priests, and the Church is bound by the Lord’s choice. He said that Christianity does not abide by secular norms of equal rights, recognizing complementary roles, and noted that the Virgin Mary, the most revered of all creatures, never “wanted to be a priestess.”