Ca. 10 procent af de 85-87 millioner egyptere er kristne og intet andet sted i Mellemøsten udgør de kristne så stor en andel bortset fra Libanon – men kopterne diskrimineres og får ofte de dårligeste jobs i et stadig mere islamisk præget land.
Bishop Tawadros has been chosen as the new pope of Egypt’s Coptic Christians, becoming leader of the largest Christian minority in the Middle East, BBC online writes Sunday.
His name was selected from a glass bowl by a blindfolded boy at a ceremony in Cairo’s St Mark’s Cathedral. Three candidates had been shortlisted.
The 60-year-old succeeds Pope Shenouda III, who died in March aged 88, as attacks on Copts are on the increase, and many say they fear the country’s new Islamic leaders.
The other two candidates were Bishop Raphael and Father Raphael Ava Mina. They were chosen in a ballot by a council of some 2.400 Church and community officials in October.
Bishop Tawadros will be enthroned (indsat) in a ceremony on 18 November.
Many leading Copts believe the new pope should play a less overtly (åben) political role. Activists hope that ordinary Copts can make their voices heard by winning more seats in the now democratically elected parliament.
The new pope has studied in Britain, and has also run a medicine factory.
He is a man of broad experience and with managerial skills, and he will need all those talents to lead the Copts as they face an uncertain future in a country now debating the role of Islam following last year’s revolution.
No-one in Egypt expects the new pope to introduce radical changes to the deeply conservative church.
Under Pope Shenoudas leadership, the Coptic Church expanded significantly, including outside its traditional Egyptian base.
