Egypt's Copts to Pick a New Pope Amid Shifting Political Landscape
As Egypt’s Coptic Church selects a new pope, it also faces a changing political scene in which Islamists dominate the government. The new church leader "will have to play a balancing act," one observer notes. Meanwhile, Copts still face sporadic sectarian violence. A recent incident involved a Christian dry cleaner allegedly burning a Muslim's shirt.
CAIRO — In a tradition dating back almost 2,000 years, Egypt’s Coptic Church has begun the laborious process of selecting a new pope amid a transitioning political landscape that throws into question the role Copts will play with Islamists now dominating the government.
The selection process, expected to yield results in November, comes four months after the death of Pope Shenouda III, leader of the Coptic Church for 40 years. The field of candidates includes 17 bishops and monks, all older than 40 and with at least 15 years in monastic life. Almost 2,600 voters have been designated, from clergy to laity, across the dioceses in Egypt and around the world. More than one-fifth of the voters are members of the Christian church abroad, an unprecedented count by this ancient institution, signaling changing times.
“Traditionally, the church has had a fine line to balance: on the one hand aiming to serve the interest of the Copts, while at the same time keeping up workable and viable relations with the state,” said Vivian Ibrahim, author of The Copts of Egypt: Challenges of Modernization and Identity. “The new pope will have to play a balancing act with a new government: for the first time since 1952, the president is a non-military man and a conservative Islamic leader.”
