A Tribute to a Coptic Orthodox Leader Pope Shenouda III (1923 - 2012)

This week I was going to disclose my survival tips for coping with the unfortunate reality of scams here in Egypt. However, something a little more somber has come up which I feel should be mentioned.

Yesterday the news reported the death of Pope Shenouda lll, aged 88; much beloved and highly respected leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He had been suffering long term health problems.

Instated into Papacy in 1971 Pope Shenouda III was the 117^th Pope of Alexandria. He guided the minority religious group in Egypt through 40 years of the church’s development, overseeing huge growth of the denomination across the world in the USA, South America and Europe. Over the years he has been a stalwart for peace between religious groups and was seen by Copts as a man who protected their religion from persecution.

Shenouda’s body currently sits in State at Cairo's Abbasiya Church, where thousands of mourners are passing through to pay their last respects. He will stay like this until Tuesday where he will be buried, according to his will, at Wadi el Natrun Monestry.

 A new Pope will be chosen through a voting system by board members of the church's city councils. The council’s vote on three preferred candidates and the final choice is made when a name is picked out of a box by a young child.

This blog is not a platform for me to comment on the political and social repercussions of this sad event. However it is safe to say that Shenouda’s death at such a time of political uncertainty has certainly come as a great blow to the Copts of Egypt. After the period of grieving I am sure that most Copts will be waiting in anticipation to see who will fill the shoes of an iconic man who is universally deemed to be irreplaceable . The leader will have to be a man astute enough to lead their group into what could be a very 'new Egypt’ after the elections and calm enough to rest his congregation’s minds about the future of their church. It is no mean task but I am sure it will be achieved.

I should just take a moment now to clarify that although religious clashes do take place, for the most part Muslims and Christians in Egypt live, work and socialise together in harmony irrespective of their beliefs. I do not see a continual war here between the two groups; in fact almost all of Rami’s closest friends are Muslims despite him being Orthodox. Today at work there were condolences passed around between Christian and Muslim staff, and everyone is saddened by the death of a good man.

Rest In Peace Pope Shenouda III 

Pope Shenouda (1923 - 2012)