Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church moved a step closer to picking a new pope yesterday when the shortlist was whittled down to three in a process the Christian minority hopes will deliver a leader to guide them through the upheaval of the Arab Spring.
Pope Shenouda III led the church for four decades until his death in March at the age of 88. His successor will assume the post in a fast-changing Egypt where long-oppressed Islamists are now in power – a major shift that is a source of alarm for the minority Christian community.
A shortlist of five candidates was reduced to three by an election yesterday in which 2,256 voted out of 2,417 people picked by the church to have the right to vote. The person who emerges as the 118th pope will be decided on November 4th when a blindfolded child picks one of the candidates.
The final three are: Bishop Rafael (54), who qualified as a doctor before entering the priesthood; Bishop Tawdros (60), who qualified as a pharmacist before becoming a priest; and Fr Rafael Afamena (70), a monk who previously studied law.