Coptic pope selected: The Church of England Newspaper, November 11, 2012 p 7. November 13, 2012
Posted by geoconger in Church of England Newspaper, Coptic Orthodox.Tags: St Mark's Cathedral Cairo, Tawadros, Theodore II
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A blind folded altar boy choosing by lot has selected Bishop Theodore (Tawadros) of Beheira to be the 118th Pope of Alexandria.
On 4 November 2012 the names of three finalists selected by the synod of bishops and lay council of the Coptic Orthodox Church were presented to the congregation of St Marks’ Cathedral in Cairo by the acting leader of the church, Archbishop Pachomios. The names were then inscribed on pieces of paper — one slip with the name of Bishop Raphael of Heliopolis, the second with Fr. Raphael Ava Mina of St Mina Monastery near Alexandria, and the third with the name of Bishop Tawadros – and placed in a black box that was sealed with red wax.
At the close of the Sunday morning service of Holy Communion the sealed box was placed on the altar and opened by the archbishop. An altar boy, Bishoy Gerges Mossad, was blindfolded and his hand guided to a box. In a tradition dating that according to church lore dates to the time of the Book of Acts, the choice of a pope for the Egyptian church was given to the Holy Spirit acting through selection by lot — and the name revealed was that of Bishop Tawadros.
The new pope succeeds Pope Shenouda III who died in March after 40 years on the throne of St Mark. Bishop Tawadros (59) serves as an auxiliary bishop of Beheira in the Nile Delta and is a suffrgan bishop to Archbishop Pachomios. Born in 1952, Bishop Tawadros was educated in Britain, and has a degree in pharmacy from Alexandria University before he entered the church.
Bishop Tawadros will be installed as Pope and Lord Archbishop of the Great City of Alexandria and Patriarch of all Africa on the Holy Apostolic Holy See of St Mark the Evangelist and Holy Apostle on 18 November 2012 at St Mark’s Cathedral.
Conger 