AFRICA : EGYPT : TAWADRAUS REPLACES POPE SHENOUDA OF ORTHODOX COPTIC CHURCH

Bishop Amba Tawadraus is the next pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He is the 118th Pope of the Coptic Church. The election in Cairo chose a successor to Pope Shenouda III saw Tawadraus Amba, 60, bishop of Behaira, south-east of Alexandria.

On Sunday, November 4, a grand ceremony was held in Saint Mark's cathedral with a solemn mass and the extraction of one of the three candidates names. The name was picked out by a young deacon two or three years old, who blindfolded, drew one of the three pieces of paper, each bearing candidate's name.


Bishop Amba Tawadraus, a former pharmacist, is committed to the unification of all the churches and, in particular, the Coptic diaspora scattered around the world. He was nominated by Amba Raphael and six other bishops including Amba Souryal, Bishop of Melbourne in Australia. He is fluent English.
All Egypt and mainly all the Christian communities in the country . - all the churches asked believers to observe three day fasting starting on the 1st of November - ahead of the final choice and intensive prayers for the right man and future leader to lead the church during the current delicate situation in Egypt. (IMAGE SOURCE: GOOGLE )