Members of Jerusalem's small Coptic Christian community were thoroughly surprised when the leader of the worldwide Coptic Orthodox Church broke a papal-imposed boycott and visited them. The arrival of Pope Tawadros II followed the death of Bishop Anba Abraham, the longtime spiritual leader of the Coptic church in Jerusalem and Palestine. The pope officiated at the funeral service held Nov. 28 in Jerusalem, where the bishop had requested to be buried.

Abraham, who became a priest in Egypt in 1990 and was appointed to head the Church of the Holy Land in 1992, died Nov. 25 at the age of 72. Church officials told Al-Monitor that given the high rank of the bishop in the church, his funeral service could not be performed by priests or even bishops of the same rank — only by Tawadros.

For the past 30 some years, the spiritual leadership of the Coptic church has banned visits to occupied Jerusalem. This came about in part because in 1970 the Israeli police allowed monks from the rival Ethiopian Church to take over the Deir es-Sultan Monastery, located on the roof of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. At the time, the Israelis were involved in a war of attrition, and Ethiopia was an Israeli ally. The situation has remained unchanged, despite the 1979 peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

During this year's Easter celebrations, some 5,000 Copts from around the world made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem despite the church-imposed boycott. Most of those arriving came from countries other than Egypt. Two years ago, the number of pilgrims reached 15,000, according to press reports.