Egyptens millioner af kristne koptere – mange af dem yderst fattige – skal nu have en ny pave og finde deres plads i et samfund, præget af voksende muslimsk ekstremisme efter præsident Mubaraks fald.
Egypt’s Coptic Christian Pope Shenouda III has died at the age of 88. The leader of the Middle East’s largest Christian minority was reported to suffer from cancer that had spread to several organs.
Coptic Christians make up around 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million, BBC online reports Saturday.
After attacks on Coptic Christians in recent years, Pope Shenouda urged officials to do more to address the community’s concerns.
Pope Shenouda led the church, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, for four decades.
After Pope Cyril died in 1971, Shenouda was enthroned as Pope of Alexandria.
He fell out with President Anwar Sadat, who in 1981 sent him into internal exile. He was allowed back to Cairo by President Hosni Mubarak four years later.
Pope Shenouda sought to protect his Christian community amid a Muslim population by striking a conservative tone and lending tacit support to President Mubarak’s rule.
Whoever succeeds him now faces the task of reassuring the Coptic community as the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood look on the verge of sharing power in Egypt for the first time, BBC notes.
Many younger Copts will now be looking for a leader who can help redefine their community’s role in a rapidly changing post-Mubarak Egypt.
Tilføjelse U-landsnyt.dk
Kristendommens vugge, Mellemøsten, er i dag præget af svindende kristne mindretal. Kun i Egypten og Libanon udgør de en anselig befolkningsdel. I Libanon omkring 1/3.
I adskillige lande er mange kristne udvandret. Det gælder Irak, Syrien og Palæstina. I f.eks. Danmark er der nu talrige små kristne samfund med udspring i Mellemøsten, herunder den oldgamle syriske kirke, der er tæt på kristenhedens oprindelse. I enkelte syriske landsbyer tales stadig aramæisk, det tungemål Jesus anvendte.
