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November 5, 2012

Egypt's Copts Select Bishop Tawadros as Next Orthodox Pope

Unlike predecessor, Tawadros promises to prioritize “living with our brothers, the Muslims.”

Melissa Steffan

Egypt's Christian community has been celebrating their newest leader since Sunday, when a blindfolded child selected Bishop Tawadros as pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Chosen by holy lot, Tawadros will serve as spiritual leader for Egypt's Coptic Orthodox, who comprise between 6 and 10 percent of the country's population of 83 million. Tawadros, a 60-year-old bishop of the Nile Delta province of Beheira, succeeds the much-beloved Pope Shenouda III, who died in March.

The task for Tawadros is monumental: Since the Egyptian uprising and overthrow of former President Hosni Mubarak, the Coptic church no longer enjoys protection under the new Islamist government, causing the papacy's political influence to diminish.

But Tawadros has promised in recent interviews to eschew the political role of his predecessor Shenouda, emphasizing religious integration instead.

According to The New York Times, Tawadros's priorities include “living with our brothers, the Muslims” and “the responsibility of preserving our shared life.”

“The most important thing is for the church to go back and live consistently within the spiritual boundaries because this is its main work, spiritual work,” the bishop said.

CT previously noted the selection of the new pope, including a profile of the three candidates and an explanation of the unique selection process. CT also previously reported on Egyptian Christians' views of the new president, and noted that some Coptic converts see the new Islamist government as a "blessing in disguise."

posted by Melissa Steffan | Comments (1)

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Actually the spiritual work is not the first mandate, spreading the word is. Maybe that's what the problem is with Christians of today. Getting along with your enemies is not what's important. Jesus says to walk away from those who won't listen and go spread the word to those who will listen. I'm not sure as what it means for "the church to go back and live consistently within the spiritual boundaries because this is its main work, spiritual work". In the beginning of the Church, it meant dying for your belief not preserving the other life or world you lived in. It sounds like the Muslims have convinced Christians in the Middle East that to survive they must yield to or share in the life of Muslims. Maybe I'm not getting what the new guy is saying but giving in to another religion or world is not and should not be the "spiritual work" of Christians. Spreading the word of Jesus should be first and care of the poor and sick is second. The plague helped Christianity spread because of Christians working with the sick and dying as they got sick not working with the government and those in power or over them at the time.

Posted By: Original Anna | November 9, 2012 8:58 PM

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