Bishop Tawadros chosen as Egypt's 118th Coptic pope

[dzheremi]

Bishop Tawadros has become Egypt’s 118th Coptic pope after his name was picked from a box by a blindfolded child during Sunday’s altar lottery at St Mark’s Cathedral in Abbasiya, Cairo.

The new Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa in the Holy See of St Mark the Apostle succeeds Pope Shenouda III who passed away last March. Pope Shenouda led the church for forty years and was chosen in a similar lottery in 1971.

Read the full story here.

A truly historic even for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt and throughout the world. On a personal level, I’ve never been happier to stay up until 3 A.M. watching TV. God be with us, and may Anba Tawadros shepherd the Church faithfully and diligently as a beloved servant of the true God.

 

[GaryTaylor]

A truly historic even for the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt and throughout the world. On a personal level, I’ve never been happier to stay up until 3 A.M. watching TV. God be with us, and may Anba Tawadros shepherd the Church faithfully and diligently as a beloved servant of the true God.

Thanks for keeping us informed dzheremi.

 

[Sam_777]

I’ve never been happier to stay up until 3 A.M. watching TV. God be with us

Tell me friend in Christ, is that random selection part of the Coptic Church teaching? and which other Christian sect does the same in choosing their Bishop?

 

[Wandile]

Praise be to God !

May he prove to be a light to the Christians of Egypt and may God bless his years of service with true faith and virtue. God be with him.

 

[John_of_Patmos]

Long Live His Holiness!

 

[rfournier103]

I hope under his reign, Egyptian Christians will see better treatment at the hands of the Muslim majority.

 

[ByzCathCantor]

FOX News Article: Egypt’s Coptic church chooses new pope for uncertain times

May God grant his servant, Pope-elect Tawadros II, peace, health, happiness and long life in Christ’s vineyard!

 

[metan]

How wonderful it is, for the Christian Ortodox in Egypt to have a new pope. .PRAISE TO GOD!

How could they wait so long to elect a new pope?

 

[agnes_therese]

Prayers for God’s blessings upon him.

 

[ThatOneGuy92]

Axios! Axios! Axios!

May the Lord God Almighty grant His servant many years, and an abundance of Grace, that Pope-elect Tawadros may preach the Gospel, diligently shepherd the flock given him, and bring many to the light of Christ. Amen!

 

[CopticChristian]

Tell me friend in Christ, is that random selection part of the Coptic Church teaching? and which other Christian sect does the same in choosing their Bishop?

Sam,

It is not just the child that is involved. I could not open the original link however discovered this…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_of_the_Coptic_Orthodox_Church_of_Alexandria

This controversy ultimately led to the development of a new set of bylaws in 1957. These state that a candidate for election to the Apostolic Throne of Alexandria must be a man of at least 40 years of age. He must be a monk with at least 15 years of monastic service, but he may be of any ecclesiastical rank: monk, Hieromonk (Monk Priest or Monk Archpriest), Abbot, or bishop, in that Coptic bishops are always drawn from the ranks of monks.

A potential candidate who meets the requirements of the bylaws must be endorsed by six bishops or twelve of the 24 members of the General Lay Council of the Church, a church governing body composed primarily of laypeople elected by the congregation to five year terms. A Nominations Committee is then formed by nine bishops appointed by the Holy Synod and nine laypersons elected by the General Community Council. The Nominations Committee, chaired by the locum tenens patriarch, narrows the field of candidates to a group of five or seven. Each diocese then contributes twelve electors to an Electoral College; their numbers are augmented by the members of The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the General Community Council, Coptic Orthodox political leaders and journalists and envoys of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The voting of the Electoral College results in a ranking of the remaining five or seven candidates, and the three highest-ranked candidates advance to the final stage of the selection process.

The election culminates in a drawing of lots. The name of each of the final three candidates is written on a separate piece of paper and the three pieces of paper are then placed in a box on the altar of St. Mark Cathedral in Cairo during a Sunday eucharistic liturgy.

This is not just a child selecting a name. It does make you wonder if we were to do something similar, nominating 5 people for President of the United States that qualify and then have a child of 5 draw a name at a banquet. Could we be any worse off than with what we have? Think of the money that would save.

 

[Celticnovice]

Axios, Axios, Axios!

Dzheremi, get some much needed rest now

 

[Sam_777]

Sam,

It is not just the child that is involved. I could not open the original link however discovered this…

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_of_the_Coptic_Orthodox_Church_of_Alexandria

This is not just a child selecting a name. It does make you wonder if we were to do something similar, nominating 5 people for President of the United States that qualify and then have a child of 5 draw a name at a banquet. Could we be any worse off than with what we have? Think of the money that would save.

http://forums.catholic-questions.org/images/icons/icon14.gif Thank you CopticChristian, that was helpful.

 

[Linda_Marie]

Egypt’s new pope opposes constitution addressing ‘one part’ of nation

“If a good constitution is presented in which every person finds himself (represented), there is no doubt Egypt will develop,” said the pope, who trained in Egypt and Britain as a pharmacist before being ordained into the priesthood.

“But if the constitution addresses one part of the community and ignores another it will take society backwards,” he said, speaking quietly and carefully in a room surrounded with pictures of his predecessor, whose death in March left many Christians feeling bereft after he had been in charge so long.
<…>
But he said he was optimistic for the biggest Christian community in the Middle East, saying Christians would not be deterred by adversity. “The Christian person is like a palm tree - when you throw a stone at it, it drops its dates,” he said.