The election of the new church leader comes at a time of great uncertainty for Copts as the country transitions from the heavy handed, secular Mubarak state towards a country where Islam will play a dominant role in politics.
Under Hosni Mubarak, Copts were excluded from high positions of government, were rarely protected from religiously motivated violence, and were prohibited from building new churches or modifying existing ones without presidential approval.
Copts, however, were not enthusiastic about the Egyptian revolution. A deterioration of security and law enforcement since the uprising has left Copts vulnerable to violent attacks by Muslim extremists , and they remain very apprehensive about the future. Since early , human rights groups have reported over forty incidents of religiously motivated acts of violence resulting in nearly deaths of Coptic Christians , surpassing the death toll of the previous ten years combined.
Because of this split, the leadership of this church is not part of this system. Members of the church recognize its head as a successor of Mark the Evangelist , considered the first Bishop of Alexandria, who founded the Church in the 1st century, and therefore marked the beginning of Christianity in Africa. Mark the Apostle.
The Successor of St. The appellation of Pope has been attributed to the Bishop of Alexandria since the Episcopate of Heraclas , the thirteenth Bishop of Alexandria. All the clergy of Alexandria and Lower Egypt honored him with the appellation Papas , which means Our Father , as the Senior and Elder Bishop among all bishops, within the Egyptian Province, who are under his jurisdiction, three centuries before it was assumed by Pope John I Bishop of Rome , who ratified the Alexandrian computation of the date of Easter.
Bestowing the title on Rome's Pontiff did not strip it from Alexandria's, and the Roman Catholic Church recognizes this ecclesiastical fact. The appellation of Pope became recognized as a title, but this did not mean that it represented a title different or higher than the title of Patriarch.
In the Roman Catholic viewpoint, this title does not have the same meaning as that of the Bishop of Rome , who was the only Primate in the West to be given the title of Pope in the beginning of the fifth century.
On the other hand, both the Oriental Orthodox and Byzantine Orthodox Churches respond by saying that their respective heads are equal with Rome and also note that Rome has deviated too much already from their original understanding. From the Roman Catholic Church's point of view, the Pope of Rome is elevated in dignity and jurisdiction above the other four Popes and Patriarchs of the Major Apostolic Thrones Alexandria , Constantinople , Antioch and Jerusalem or in other words, he is considered as their superior from the Catholic point of view.
This view-point, however, is entirely rejected by the Coptic Orthodox Church , which is, in some respect, more conservative in its views and traditions. Ecclesiastically it means the Head of the Fathers Bishops and their congregation of faithful.
The Bishop of Alexandria also has the title of Archbishop. This is a natural jurisdictional title for the Ecclesiastical Dignity of the Bishop of Alexandria.
Ruling as a Metropolitan , the bishop of the Metropolis i. It is to be noted that actually, the historical evangelization of the Apostolic Throne of Alexandria in Africa, apart from Egypt, Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia and the Sudan, does extend to:. By , the Alexandrine Throne allowed the Ethiopian Clergy to participate in the governing of their own Church, and the first native Ethiopian Archbishop was enthroned in thus becoming an Autonomous Church.
In , an agreement was reached between the Ethiopian Holy Synod and the Alexandrine Throne to have their own Patriarch- Catholicos in a transitional period. This is after the Patriarchates of Aboune Theophilus I Deposed in a non-canonical way in , sent to prison and murdered in prison in , Aboune Thecla Hemanote I who was elected in a non canonical manner by pressure of the then Communist Government to replace his predecessor.
This action is however not approved by the Alexandrine Throne and is still under debate. It is still expanding in the vast continent of Africa. This is a customary title, which many patriarchs of Alexandria have held since the episcopacy of St.
The church traces its founding to the apostle Mark and is one of six churches that form Oriental Orthodoxy. Those churches, which have about 84 million members together, recognize only the first three ecumenical councils, breaking off from the other Christian churches in the fifth century. His email address is jmcelwee ncronline. Follow him on Twitter: joshjmac. Send your thoughts and reactions to Letters to the Editor.
Learn more here. Join now. Pope Francis and Coptic pope agree not to re-baptize Apr 28, This article appears in the Francis in Egypt feature series. View the full series. Egypt is a beacon of hope and refuge, pope says at audience May 3, Pope Francis spreads wisdom in Egypt May 1, This realistic and at the same time unusual description of the true factors of power that dominate the world scene was proposed on the evening of July 14 by Pope Tawadros II, Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, during the traditional catechetical meeting on Wednesdays which he has celebrated in the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral of Cairo.
Today - admits Pope Tawadros - the Holy Apostle martyred in Rome would probably use the same expression before the sins, conflicts and failures that mark the current time. A time without peace, dominated, according to the patriarch, by three "Masters" as omnipresent as they are difficult to identify with people and unique acronyms of power.
The world - continues the Patriarch - is dominated above all by money, which moves in the world through the new and formidable mechanisms of speculative finance.
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