You Don’t Know Pope from Shenouda

Or

Copt Out

His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of Alexandria, the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and head of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, has died at the age of 88. Formerly Nazeer Gayed and Father Antonios the Syrian, Pope Shenouda led one of the world’s oldest religions, one of the original four Apostolic Sees of Christianity, for more than 40 years. He expanded the reach of the church, appointing the first bishops of North American dioceses, which today total more than 200 parishes in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as the first bishops of Australia and South America. While as adamant as any about the superiority of Christianity, he was notable for favoring dialogue with all sects of Christendom, while also reaching out to Muslims. He did think that the Jews could suck it, earning exile from Egyptian President Anwar Sadat for protesting his efforts to normalize relations with Israel in order to avoid getting smacked around again and losing the Pyramids. But then he started his Pope-ing as a controversial selection because Canon 15 of the Council of Nicea prohibits translation of bishops from one See to another, and any time you run afoul of 1400-year old church doctrines, you know you’ve stepped in it.