Pope Shenouda III funeral: Egypt's Copts mourn their 'protector'

St Mark's Cathedral in central Cairo packed for ceremony after Coptic Christian leader's death on Saturday, aged 88

Hamza Hendawi and Maggie Michael in Cairo 

Tuesday 20 March 2012

 

 Tens of thousands of Egyptian Coptic Christians join a funeral 

mass for their pope in Cairo

 Tearful and wearing black, tens of thousands of Egyptian Coptic Christians joined a funeral mass for their patriarch, Pope Shenouda III, led by senior clerics at the main cathedral in Cairo.

St Mark's Cathedral was packed with local clerics, visiting clergymen and dignitaries as deacons chanted sombre hymns and bearded, black-clad priests and monks recited prayers and dispensed incense smoke from censers.

Shenouda's body lay in a white casket in the elaborate regalia he traditionally wore to oversee services, complete with an ornate golden crown.

Shenouda died on Saturday aged 88 after 40 years at the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, one of the world's oldest Christian denominations. Most of Egypt's estimated 10 million Christians are Orthodox Copts.

Many in the congregation broke down in tears, while others frantically waved goodbye as the mass came to a close.

Clerics, deacons and laypeople gathered around the casket, kissing it, standing in silence or bowing in respect.

Tens of thousands more who could not get in followed the mass outside the cathedral, carrying crosses and portraits of Shenouda. Many wept, wiping tears off their faces as the melancholic tunes of the hymns reached them through loudspeakers.

Scores of military police were deployed to maintain security outside the cathedral, on one of central Cairo's main arteries, with traffic backed up for hours because of the crowds.

"I know he is now in a better place, but it is difficult now he's gone. We miss you," said a grief-stricken Marianne Saad as she stood in the crowd outside the cathedral.

"After God, he was our only protector," lamented another young woman in the crowd. "We will miss him, but he will always be in our hearts," said a young Christian man, Hani Suleiman.

After the mass, Shenouda's body was ferried to a military airport east of Cairo, from where it was to be flown later on Tuesday to the desert St Bishoy monastery north-west of the capital, where he will buried.

The monastery, which dates back to the 4th century, was a favourite of Shenouda's.
Egypt's military ruler, Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, declared a nationwide state of mourning on Tuesday.

A successor to Pope Shenouda has yet to be found and it could take months before the complex process is completed.

Egypt's Coptic Christians have long complained of discrimination by the nation's Muslim majority. The political ascent of Islamists since the ousting of Hosni Mubarak a year ago has added to their worries.

"Words, my beloved, can never do Pope Shenouda justice. He left us an example of leadership that we should all follow," a senior cleric said in an address to the congregation. "It is because of him that we have national unity with our Muslim brothers."

During his 40 years as patriarch, Shenouda strove to ensure his place among the Muslim powerbrokers, pressing demands behind the scenes while keeping Christians' anger over violence and discrimination in check. It was a delicate balancing act.

Shenouda maintained a high media profile, giving interviews, speaking on key domestic and regional developments and never showing anger at times of crisis.

Egyptian authorities deny any discrimination, but Christians say it happens in numerous and subtle ways. Christians, for example, rarely assume leadership jobs on the police force, particularly the security agencies. The Islamist-dominated parliament only has a handful of Christians, and there are never more than one or two Christians among 30-plus cabinet ministers.

As Egypt grew more religiously conservative over the past 40 years, the discrimination became more manifest in everyday life, particularly when Christians came into direct contact with government departments or enrolled their children at state schools, where Islamists often dominate teaching staff.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/20/pope-shenouda-funeral-egypt-coptic-christians?fb=native&CMP=FBCNETTXT9038 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2012/mar/20/pope-shenouda-funeral-egyptvideo 

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III dies in Cairo

Posted on: Saturday, 17th March, 2012

 

Pope Shenouda III

A statement has just been received from His Eminence Metropolitan Bishoy, General Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, announcing the death of His Holiness Pope Shenouda on 17 March 2012

Further announcements will follow shortly.

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III died at 5.15 p.m. He suffered a heart attack, but was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.
Copts all over the world are joining the mourning. Abba Seraphim, along with other Coptic clergy are on their way to Cairo to attend an urgent synod.

On Saturday evening, thousands of Copts gathered in the courtyard of Abbasiya Cathedral aiming to pay their last respects to the deceased patriarch. “We are not sure when this will be possible,” said one source. “Perhaps tomorrow.”

Another source indicated that no one would be admitted into the presence of the dead pope until the day of the funeral, “which will be held on Tuesday, three days from now, to make time for followers of the pope to come form across Egypt and from abroad.”

By Saturday evening, most presidential hopefuls, who had by and large made an effort to frequent Coptic mass since the end of the Mubarak regime, were offering their condolences.

“With one or two exceptions we expect all presidential hopefuls to be present in the funeral mass,” added the source, indicating that all state bodies, political parties and groups, including the Muslim Brotherhood, had already contacted the church. “Many have been asking how they might pay their respects and participate in the funeral mass.”

Meanwhile, official and church sources said a high level state representation is scheduled for the funeral mass. The head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, is expected to be at the cathedral to offer his condolences, while SCAF’s second in command, Sami Annan, is expected to be present throughout the mass.

Tantawi decreed three days of official mourning for Copts.

Annan and several SCAF members were invited to attend Christmas Mass on 6 January despite the outrage of the Coptic public at the military’s conspicuous involvement in the tragedy that befell Coptic demonstrators on 9 October while they protested a series of attacks on Coptic churches across Egypt.

Diplomats and some foreign dignitaries are expected at the funeral which will probably take place at the Abbassiya Cathedral before the coffin is taken to the monastery in Wadi Al-Natroun for burial.

“We offer our deep condolences to every one of our Christian brothers for the loss of Pople Shenouda,” Muslim Brotherhood Supreme Guide Mohamed Badie said in a statement. “May God help all our Christian brothers overcome this ordeal and bring a successor who can keep promoting the sense of unity between all citizens,” he added.

An Egyptian army statement said that the Pope was a “rare statesman who worked with all of his energy to promote the wellbeing of the nation.”

Bishop Bakhomious (Pachomious) of Behera will head the Coptic Orthodox church for an interim period of two months. The General Congregation Council, which is part of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, will nominate three bishops, one of which is to succeed Pope Shenouda III.

The names of the three bishops will be written on three papers, and a child will pick one, unseen, from a box. This method is used in order for the “will of God” to play a role in the process.

http://britishorthodox.org/3180/his-holiness-pope-shenouda-iii-dies-in-cairo/ 

ADIEU TO OUR BELOVED AND EVER LOVING PAPA SHENOUDA III

Hatem Maher
17/3/2012

Pope Shenouda III, Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Pope, has died on Saturday at the age of 88, after a long battle against illness.

The Coptic patriarch suffered from back and kidney problems for years and repeatedly travelled to the United States for medical treatment.

He was born on 3 August 1923 in Asiut, Upper Egypt and has been the Pope of Alexandria since November 1971 when president Anwar El-Sadat was in power.

“We lost today a great icon. His presence was crucial in repelling many threats against the country,” Amin Eskandar, a member in the People’s Assembly (parliament’s lower house), said in a phone call with state television channel Nile News.

“His patriotism and wise approaches to any issue were very helpful. May God compensate us for the loss of that great man.”

Shenouda was widely acclaimed by Christians and Muslims alike in recent years for his regular efforts to contain sectarian tensions following a number of incidents – some involving the burning of churches, but was also criticized for turning the church into a political entity.

He was also known for his support of Palestinian rights in the decades-long Middle East conflict. Because of these and other stances, he was often described as an Arab nationalist by many observers.

News of Shenuda’s death was certain to cause dismay among Egypt’s beleaguered Coptic population, many of whom looked up to him as a spiritual guide.

He was placed under house arrest by former president Anwar Sadat for his outspoken criticism of Sadat’s courting of Islamists.

But Shenouda was supportive of Sadat’s successor Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown January 25 revolution in 2011, which led to an Islamist-dominated parliament — the first in the country’s history.

In 2001, he famously stated he would never visit Jerusalem unless he entered the country with a Palestinian visa along with Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, the late Grand Imam of Egypt’s foremost religious authority, Al-Azhar.

“I was full of admiration for the great patriotic stances he took throughout his life,” said Mohamed Refaa El-Tahtawy, the former spokesman of Al-Azhar.

“I remember his great remarks about the visit to Jerusalem, when he refused to go there under the Israeli occupation,” he added.

http://theorthodoxchurch.info/blog/news/2012/03/adieu-to-our-beloved-and-ever-loving-papa-shenouda-iii/

Tributes and mourning for Coptic Pope

Thousands gather in Cairo cathedral to pay tribute to Pope Shenouda, the Coptic church's spiritual leader since 1971.

Last Modified: 18 Mar 2012 11:36

Thousands of mourners have gathered at Cairo's St. Mark's Cathedral to pay final respects to Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church who died on Saturday at the age of 88.

Coptic bishops have started arriving from around the world to attend ceremonies leading up to Tuesday's funeral and discuss plans to appoint a successor to Pope Shenouda who had led the church since 1971.

Lengthy queues formed in Cairo's Abbasiya district overnight and on Sunday morning at the cathedral where Shenouda's body was initially laid in a coffin and later seated on a ceremonial throne wearing gold and red embroidered religious vestments, a golden mitre on his head and holding a gold-topped staff.

Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh, reporting from outside St. Mark’s in Cairo, said that the streets were “flooded with mourners dressed in black."

"Thousands of people are coming here to get a chance to have a last glimpse of the pope who is seated here in full attire in the papal chair in the main cathedral hall," Rageh said.

"You could see a lot of grief here … people are coming from all around the country not just from Cairo and surrounding cities but as far as Upper Egypt deep in the countries south."

Bishop Pachomious of the Nile Delta province of Beheira has taken over papal duties for two months until a council of senior clergy meet to choose a new pope, state television said.

The spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian minority had suffered health problems for years, travelling to the United States frequently for treatment.

Shenouda died in his residence at the cathedral, and the state news agency MENA said he had been battling liver and lung problems for several years. Health issues forced him to cancel his weekly sermon on Wednesday.

"He died from complications in health and from old age," his political adviser Hany Aziz said.

Condolences poured in from Egypt's Muslim leaders and from politicians.

"Egypt has lost one of its rare men at a sensitive moment when it most needs the wisest of its wise - their expertise and their purity of minds," said Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayib, grand imam of Egypt's highest Islamic authority, al-Azhar.

The Vatican also paid tribute to Shenouda and said that Pope Benedict XVI had offered "prayers of suffrage".

"The Catholic Church shares in the grief and prayers of Coptic Christians in mourning the loss of their spiritual leader... May the Lord welcome this great shepherd and give him the reward he deserves for his service," a statement said.

Central role

Shenouda's successor will play a central role in forging the church's position in the country after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak last year. Islamist parties have since emerged as a dominant political force in parliamentary elections.

Shenouda led the Coptic Orthodox Church through 40 years of quiet expansion, including a strong growth in North America.

Most of the church's more than 10 million members are in Egypt, where Copts are believed to make up around 10 per cent of the population of around 80 million.

For Egypt's Christians, Shenouda was a charismatic leader, known for his sense of humour, whose smiling portrait was hung in many Coptic homes and shops. But in recent years, some criticised him for not speaking out on Coptic rights, particularly as sectarian violence seemed to increase.

The later part of his papacy was marked by co-operation with Mubarak and, after the revolt, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. When sectarian clashes began to erupt after Mubarak's removal, including church burnings throughout the country, Shenouda praised the military leadership for helping to rebuild.

'Beloved children'

But in October, when soldiers brutally dispersed a Coptic protest outside state media headquarters, leaving at least 26 people dead, Shenouda declared that those killed were martyrs and blamed the military for the violence.

"These martyrs are our beloved children and their blood does not come cheap," he said. "I, along with all the bishops, priests and monks, will pray for them. And we know that God will forgive their sins."

Shenouda worked as a journalist before spending years as a monk and being elected pope.

In the 1980s, he spent more than three years in exile in a desert monastery after former President Anwar Sadat stripped him of his powers by decree.

At the time, Shenouda had been pressing for more rights for the Coptic community and trying to preserve his congregation from escalating attacks by Muslim extremists.

Mubarak cancelled Sadat's decree in 1985, and Shenouda returned to lead Christmas Mass before a crowd of thousands in St Mark's Cathedral.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/03/20123189381735182.html