"The Christian faith denounces violence. Strangers infiltrated the demonstration and committed the crimes for which the Copts have been blamed," the church said in a statement issued after Shenuda held a meeting with 70 church leaders.
"Copts have suffered repeated problems without accountability for the aggressors," the statement said, calling on the authorities to "solve the root causes of the problems."
Shenuda has called on the Copts to begin a three-day fast on Tuesday "to bring back peace to Egypt."
Since the fall of president Hosni Mubarak in February, tensions have also mounted between the ruling military "initially hailed for not siding with Mubarak " and groups which spearheaded the revolt.
