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Patriarch of Alexandria بابا الإسكندرية وبطريرك الكرازة المرقسية Pope | |
|---|---|
| Coptic Orthodox Church | |
 Tawadros II | |
 Emblem of the see of St. Mark | |
| Incumbent: Tawadros II selected 18 November 2012 | |
| Location | |
| Country | Egypt |
| Ecclesiastical province | Alexandria,Egypt,Pentapolis,Libya,Nubia,Sudan and allAfrica |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Oriental Orthodox |
| Rite | Alexandrian rite |
| Cathedral | Saint Mark Cathedral in Alexandria Saint Mark Cathedral in Cairo |
| Website | |
| https://copticorthodox.church/en/popes/pope-tawadros-ii | |
Thepope (Coptic:Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ,romanized: Papa;Arabic:البابا,romanized: al-Bābā,lit. 'father'), officially thepope of Alexandria and the patriarch of the see of St. Mark,[1] also known as thebishop of Alexandria, or thepatriarch of Alexandria, is the leader of theCoptic Orthodox Church, withancient Christian roots inEgypt. The primacy of the Patriarch of Alexandria is rooted in his role as successor toSaint Mark, who was consecrated bySaint Peter, as affirmed by theCouncil of Nicaea. It is one of three Petrine Sees affirmed by the council alongside thePatriarch of Antioch and thePope of Rome. The current holder of this position isPope Tawadros II, who was selected as the 118thpope on November 18, 2012.
Following the traditions of the church, the Pope is chairman and head of theHoly Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria. The Holy Synod is the highest authority in the Church of Alexandria, which has between 12 and 18 million members worldwide, 10 to 14 million of whom are in Egypt. The pope is also the chairman of the church'sGeneral Congregation Council.
Although historically associated with the city ofAlexandria, the residence andSeat of the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria has been located inCairo since 1047. The pope is currently established inSaint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, inside a compound which includes the Patriarchal Palace, with an additional residence at theMonastery of Saint Pishoy.
The most recent liturgy of the Altar Ballot took place on November 4, 2012. The 60-year-old Bishop Tawadoros, Auxiliary Bishop of Beheira, assistant toMetropolitan Pachomius of Beheira, was chosen as the 118th Pope of Alexandria. He then chose his own name of Tawadros (Theodoros or Theodore) as hispapal name. He was formally enthroned on November 18, 2012.[2]
The earlyChristian Church recognized the special significance of several cities as leaders of the worldwide Church. TheChurch of Alexandria is one of these originalpatriarchates, but the succession to the role ofpatriarch in Alexandria is still disputed after the separation which followed theCouncil of Chalcedon.
The later development of thePentarchy also granted secular recognition to these religious leaders. Because of this split, the leadership of this church is not part of this system.
Members of the Coptic Orthodox Church consider their heads as direct successors ofMark the Evangelist, as they consider Mark the first Bishop of Alexandria and the founder of the Church in the 1st century.[3]
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The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church is elected with the following procedure since 1957:[4]
The first step – which must take place within seven days after the death of the Coptic Pope – is the appointment of aregent, orlocum tenens, chosen by theHoly Synod (the assembly of Coptic bishops) to lead the Church until it chooses a successor. Usually it is one of the eldest of the bishops. Under his leadership, within the space of a month, a committee consisting of fourteen members of the Synod, has the task of preparing, based on reports received, an initial list of five or six candidates for the election. There are specific criteria that need to be met: the future Coptic Pope must be over 40 years old, he must have lived as amonk for at least fifteen years, and must never have been married.
Once chosen, this list is then published in Egypt's three major Arab-language newspapers, communicating the names of the candidates to all the faithful of the Coptic Church. For this reason, the next step takes place only after three months. At that point a grand assembly is called, including the 74 bishops of the Coptic Church and twelve representatives from eachdiocese, chosen from elders and leaders of associations. This is a large body, consisting of one thousand people who will be voting for the candidates. The three that receive the most support will have their names on the ballot during the ceremony of the "sacred election by lot." The ceremony is held during a public ritual which the entire community of the faithful is invited to attend.
Then, during the ceremony, a blindfolded child pulls one of three cards from within a chalice, each with the name of a different candidate written on it, out of a silver urn. The name on the card picked by the child will be the identity of the person chosen to be the new Pope.[4]
After the death ofShenouda III on March 17, 2012 theHoly Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church voted on a successor. The names of the three candidates who received most votes were put in a glass chalice. One name was then picked by a blindfolded boy, believed to be guided by the hand of God. The man thus picked became the new Patriarch of Alexandria.[5][6] Shenouda III had been elected in a similar fashion.[7]
The wordPope derives fromGreekπάππας meaning "father".
A record in history of the term "Pope" is assigned toPope Heraclas of Alexandria in a letter written by the bishop of Rome,Dionysius, to Philemon:[8]
τοῦτον ἐγὼ τὸν κανόνα καὶ τὸν τύπον παρὰ τοῦ μακαρίου πάπα ἡμῶν Ἡρακλᾶ παρέλαβον.
which translates into:
I received this rule and ordinance from our blessed pope, Heraclas.
It is difficult to ascertain the identity of the firstBishop of Rome to carry the titlePope of Rome. Some sources suggest that it wasPope Marcellinus (died 304 AD).[9]
From the 6th century, the imperial chancery of Constantinople normally reserved this designation for the Bishop of Rome. From the early 6th century, it began to be confined in the West to the Bishop of Rome, a practice that was in place by the 11th century, whenPope Gregory VII declared it reserved for the Bishop of Rome.[9]
The Copts pride themselves on the apostolicity of their national church, whose founder was none other than St. Mark, the author of the oldest canonical Gospel used by both St. Matthew and St. Luke, and probably also by St. John. Mark is regarded by the Coptic hierarchy as the first in their unbroken chain of 117 patriarchs.
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Further reading on traditions and procedures for electing the patriarch may be found at: