Egyptians celebrate Coptic pope’s anniversary

Associated Press

CAIRO, Egypt — Egypt’s Coptic Christians, who trace their roots to St. Mark in the first century, packed their national cathedral to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pope Shenouda III’s enthronement.

Leading clerics from Christian churches from throughout the Middle East paid tribute to Shenouda’s leadership. Coptic Christians are an estimated 10 percent of the country’s 66.5 million population.

"In the last 30 years, his holiness not only preached the Christian faith but lived out the imperatives and implications of the Christian faith," said Aram I. Catholicos of the Armenian Orthodox Church.

"His holiness not only built new churches but took the church closer to the people and the people closer to the church," said Aram, who is also moderator of the World Council of Churches.

Shenouda, 78, is the 117th Coptic patriarch. He has traveled widely and is credited with increasing the number of Coptic churches and faithful in Europe, North America and Australia.

Shenouda said Friday he was humbled by the praise.

"We should always remember that we are mere servants of the people. … We toil so that the people can be comfortable," he said.

Shenouda said he had made it a point to reach out to Egypt’s Muslim majority and noted his "great friendship" with the grand sheik of Al-Azhar, Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, the country’s chief Islamic cleric.

In 1981, President Anwar Sadat banished Shenouda to the desert monastery of Wadi Natrun after the patriarch accused the government of failing to rein in Muslim extremists. Sadat accused Shenouda of fomenting sectarianism.

President Hosni Mubarak allowed Shenouda to return to Cairo in 1985. The pope has been a strong Mubarak supporter ever since.

Many Copts criticize Shenouda for forbidding them from visiting Christian holy sites in Jerusalem while the city is under Israeli control.

"We can’t enter Jerusalem except with our Muslim brothers," Shenouda said Friday, repeating a line he has taken since the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty.

Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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