Grieving Copts bid farewell to Pope Shenuda

Grieving Christians packed St Mark's Cathedral in Cairo Sunday to bid farewell to Pope Shenuda III, his body placed on a wooden throne, as the church considered a new leader for the anxious community.

Shenuda died on Saturday aged 88, following a long illness setting in motion the process to elect a new patriarch for the Middle East's largest Christian community.

He led the Copts, estimated at 10 percent of Egypt's population of more than 80 million, for a generation, during which the country was hit by a wave of Islamic militancy from which he sought to protect his people.

Tens of thousands flocked to the cathedral forming a queue that stretched more than a kilometre, as military police jeeps and armoured personnel carriers lined the road outside.

Shenuda's body, dressed in formal robes, a golden crown on his head and a gold knobbed staff cradled on his shoulder, was placed upright on the papal throne in the cathedral where it will remain on display until his funeral on Tuesday.

A bishop knelt to the side pressing his head to the throne, as thousands of worshippers in black hoping to get a final blessing from their spiritual leader took pictures of Shenuda on their mobile phones, amid tears and wailing.

"It's a great loss for Egypt," said Tourism Minister Munir Fakhry Abdelnur, a Copt and a close friend of Shenuda.

"He was wise and was widely listened to. He will be missed at a time when we need wisdom and a patriotic spirit," he told AFP.

Based on wishes stated in his will, Shenuda will be buried at St. Bishoy monastery of Wadi Natrun in the Nile Delta, where he spent his time in exile after a dispute with late president Anwar Sadat, state media reported.

Shenuda's death comes amid "deep political and societal changes in Egypt," said Coptic cinema director Daoud Abdel Sayed.

The institution needs a "shake-up, like all Egyptian institutions and that will be possible if the new pope is someone who is able to bring about reforms in the church," he told AFP.

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

The pope will be chosen according to procedures laid out in 1957 church bylaws.

"Egypt Weeps," read the headline of the state-owned daily Al-Akhbar as others bid "Farewell, Pope Shenuda."

"Egypt has lost one of its greatest men," said the Al-Azhar institution in Cairo, Sunni Islam's most prestigious, in a statement. "He is a great loss, a dear friend."

Coptic bishops from around the world have already started to fly in to attend meetings over funeral arrangements and plan for Shenuda's succession.

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.

Recently he stopped receiving treatment for liver failure and tumours or swelling in his lungs because he was too feeble, the Coptic Church said.

Condolences came in from around the world, with US President Barack Obama hailing Shenuda as an advocate for tolerance and religious dialogue.

Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, had offered prayers for Shenuda, the Vatican said.

Muslim leaders in the country were quick to send their condolences soon after news of his death broke.

Shenuda's death is "a grave calamity that has afflicted all Egypt and its noble people, Muslims and Christians," the country's mufti, Ali Gomaa, said in a statement.

Shenuda leaves behind a nervous community, a target of frequent sectarian attacks in recent years who complain of routine harassment and systematic discrimination and marginalisation.

Egypt's Christians are particularly concerned over the rise and increased assertiveness of Islamists, following an uprising that toppled president Hosni Mubarak.

Shenuda was placed under house arrest by assassinated president Sadat for his outspoken criticism of the late leader's courting of Islamists.

But he was supportive of Sadat's successor, Mubarak, who was overthrown by a popular uprising more than a year ago which led to an Islamist-dominated parliament -- the first in the country's history.

Shenuda, immediately recognisable by his long white beard, was believed to have viewed the widely despised Mubarak as a bulwark against Islamists, who believe non-Muslims should not be allowed to rule the country.

He was seen as a check on more radical Copts who urged more forceful reactions to sectarian attacks that have plagued their community, especially after Mubarak's ouster.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-coptic-pope-shenuda-iii-dies-070743106.html

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