Bishop Tawadros becomes new Pope of Egypt’s Copts
Sunday, 04 November 2012
The three final candidates vying to become Egypt's new
Coptic pope (L-R) Father Rafael Ava Mina, 70, Bishop Tawadros of the
Nile Delta province of Beheira, 60 and Bishop Rafael of central Cairo,
54, in Cairo on Oct.17, 2012. (AFP)
Bishop Tawadros of the Nile Delta province of Beheira, 60, was
named on Sunday as the new Pope of Egypt’s Coptic Christians to succeed
Pope Shenuda III, who died in March leaving behind a community anxious
about its future under an Islamist-led government.
The new Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa in the Holy See of St Mark the Apostle was chosen among two other candidates by a blindfolded altar boy, believed to be directed by God, chooses one of three names out of a box.
The new Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa in the Holy See of St Mark the Apostle was chosen among two other candidates by a blindfolded altar boy, believed to be directed by God, chooses one of three names out of a box.
He is the 118th pope in a line
dating back to the origins of Christianity and to Saint Mark, the
apostle and author of one of the four Gospels, who brought the new faith
to Egypt.
Nearly 2,500 Coptic public officials, MPs, journalists and local councilors voted to select three finalists from an original group of five to succeed Shenuda, who died at the age of 88 after four decades on the papal throne.
The other two finalists were Bishop Rafael, 54, a medical doctor and current assistant bishop for central Cairo, and Father Rafael Ava Mina, the oldest of the five original candidates at 70.
Their names were placed in a transparent box on the altar of Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral for Sunday’s ceremony.
On Saturday, the interim head of the Church, Bishop Pachomius, chose 12 altar boys between the ages of five and eight, one of whom was ordered to be blindfolded during the ceremony.
The rites, and the use of an altar boy to choose the next pope, “gives a special blessing to the chosen one,” he said.
Strict measures are taken to ensure there is no foul play during the entire process, before a large congregation and televised. The three pieces of paper are all the same size, tied up the same way and placed in the box.
Shenuda, a careful, pragmatic leader, died at a critical time for the increasingly beleaguered minority, which has faced a surge in sectarian attacks after an uprising overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
The pope serves as the spiritual leader of the country’s Coptic Christians, who make up between six and 10 percent of Egypt’s 83-million population.
Amid increased fears about the community’s future after Mubarak’s overthrow, the new pope will be its main contact with Egypt’s first Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi.
The rise of Islamists after the revolution has sparked fears among Copts of further persecution at home, despite Mursi’s repeated promises to be a president “for all Egyptians”.
In the latest incident, five Copts were injured in clashes with Muslims at a church in a village south of Cairo on October 28, security sources said.
The violence broke out when Muslim villagers tried to block access to the church as the Coptic faithful arrived for Sunday mass.
Nearly 2,500 Coptic public officials, MPs, journalists and local councilors voted to select three finalists from an original group of five to succeed Shenuda, who died at the age of 88 after four decades on the papal throne.
The other two finalists were Bishop Rafael, 54, a medical doctor and current assistant bishop for central Cairo, and Father Rafael Ava Mina, the oldest of the five original candidates at 70.
Their names were placed in a transparent box on the altar of Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral for Sunday’s ceremony.
On Saturday, the interim head of the Church, Bishop Pachomius, chose 12 altar boys between the ages of five and eight, one of whom was ordered to be blindfolded during the ceremony.
The rites, and the use of an altar boy to choose the next pope, “gives a special blessing to the chosen one,” he said.
Strict measures are taken to ensure there is no foul play during the entire process, before a large congregation and televised. The three pieces of paper are all the same size, tied up the same way and placed in the box.
Shenuda, a careful, pragmatic leader, died at a critical time for the increasingly beleaguered minority, which has faced a surge in sectarian attacks after an uprising overthrew president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
The pope serves as the spiritual leader of the country’s Coptic Christians, who make up between six and 10 percent of Egypt’s 83-million population.
Amid increased fears about the community’s future after Mubarak’s overthrow, the new pope will be its main contact with Egypt’s first Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi.
The rise of Islamists after the revolution has sparked fears among Copts of further persecution at home, despite Mursi’s repeated promises to be a president “for all Egyptians”.
In the latest incident, five Copts were injured in clashes with Muslims at a church in a village south of Cairo on October 28, security sources said.
The violence broke out when Muslim villagers tried to block access to the church as the Coptic faithful arrived for Sunday mass.
Labels: Christianity, Egypt, Heritage
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, November 04, 2012
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