Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church

History

Main article: List of Coptic Orthodox popes, State church of the Roman Empire

The early Christian Church recognized the special significance of several cities as leaders of the worldwide Church. The Church of Alexandria is one of these original patriarchates, but the succession to the role of patriarch in Alexandria is still disputed after the separation which followed the Council of Chalcedon.

The later development of the Pentarchy also granted secular recognition to these religious leaders. Because of this split, the leadership of this church is not part of this system.

Members of the Coptic Orthodox Church consider their heads as direct successors of Mark the Evangelist, as they consider Mark the first Bishop of Alexandria and the founder of the Church in the 1st century.

Election

The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church is elected with the following procedure since 1957:

Once chosen, this list is then published in Egypt's three major Arab-language newspapers, communicating the names of the candidates to all the faithful of the Coptic Church. For this reason, the next step takes place only after three months. At that point a grand assembly is called, including the 74 bishops of the Coptic Church and twelve representatives from each diocese, chosen from elders and leaders of associations. This is a large body, consisting of one thousand people who will be voting for the candidates. The three that receive the most support will have their names on the ballot during the ceremony of the "sacred election by lot." The ceremony is held during a public ritual which the entire community of the faithful is invited to attend.}}

Then, during the ceremony, a blindfolded child pulls one of three cards from within a chalice, each with the name of a different candidate written on it, out of a silver urn. The name on the card picked by the child will be the identity of the person chosen to be the new Pope.

After the death of Shenouda III on March 17, 2012 the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church voted on a successor. The names of the three candidates who received most votes were put in a glass chalice. One name was then picked by a blindfolded boy, believed to be guided by the hand of God. The man thus picked became the new Patriarch of Alexandria. Shenouda III had been elected in a similar fashion.

Historical evolution of the ecclesiastical title

Pope

The word Pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning "father".

A record in history of the term "Pope" is assigned to Pope Heraclas of Alexandria in a letter written by the bishop of Rome, Dionysius, to Philemon:

It is difficult to ascertain the identity of the first Bishop of Rome to carry the title Pope of Rome. Some sources suggest that it was Pope Marcellinus (died 304 AD).

From the 6th century, the imperial chancery of Constantinople normally reserved this designation for the Bishop of Rome. From the early 6th century, it began to be confined in the West to the Bishop of Rome, a practice that was in place by the 11th century, when Pope Gregory VII declared it reserved for the Bishop of Rome.

References

References

1. "H.H. Pope Tawadros II".
2. (2012-11-18). "Coptic Christian Pope Tawadros II enthroned in Cairo". BBC News.
3. Meinardus, Otto F. A.. (2002). "Two thousand years of Coptic Christianity". American University in Cairo Press.
4. Bernardelli, Giorgio. (2012-03-25). "This is how you elect a pope, a Coptic pope".
5. "Blindfolded boy selects new pope". BBC News.
6. (2012-11-05). "Egypt's Coptics pick a new pope".
7. (4 November 2012). "The Egyptian boy who chose the Coptic pope last time".
8. Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica Book VII, chapter 7.7
9. Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (Oxford University Press 2005 {{ISBN. 978-0-19-280290-3), article Pope