Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria

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Pope Shenouda III (Arabic:البابا شنودة الثالث), (August 3, 1923 – ), born Nazeer Gayed (Arabic:نظير جيد), is the 117th Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. A graduate of Cairo University and the Coptic Orthodox Seminary, Nazeer Gayed became a monk under the name Fr. Antonious "the Syrian" after entering the Syrian Monastery of Ever-Virgin Mary the Theotokos where he was later elevated to the priesthood. Pope Cyril VI summoned Fr. Antonious to the patriarchate where he ordained him Bishop of Christian Education and Dean of the Coptic Orthodox Theological University, whereupon he assumed the name Shenouda.

He has served as Pope of Alexandria since November 14, 1971, presiding over a worldwide expansion of the Coptic Orthodox Church. During his papacy, His Holiness Pope Shenouda III has appointed the first-ever Bishops to preside over North American dioceses that now contain over one hundred Churches, up from four in 1971, as well as the first Bishops in Australia and the first Coptic Churches in South America.

He is known for his commitment to Christian unity and has, since the 1970s, advocated inter-denominational Christian dialogue.

1 Early life
2 Monastic life and educational service
3 Elevation to Pope of Alexandria and Ethiopian Church Crisis
4 Period of Exile
5 Political Stance
6 Supervised worldwide growth of the Church
7 Commitment to Christian Unity
8 Writings and lectures
9 External links

[edit] Early life

Born on August 3, 1923 in Asyut, Upper Egypt, he is the youngest of a family of eight children. By the age of 16, Shenouda was active in the Coptic Sunday School movement.

Mr. Gayed was very active in his church and served as a Sunday School teacher, first at Saint Anthony's Church in Shoubra and then at Saint Mary's Church in Mahmasha.

After graduating from Cairo University with a degree in history, he worked as a high school English and Social Studies teacher in Cairo by day, and attended classes at the Coptic Theological Seminary by night. Upon graduation from the seminary in 1949, he was chosen to teach New Testament Studies.

[edit] Monastic life and educational service

On July 18, 1954, Mr. Gayed was led to the monastic life at "El-Suryan" Monastery in the western desert of Egypt; he was given the name of Father Antonyos El-Suryaani. For six years, from 1956 to 1962, he lived a life of solitude in a cave about seven miles away from the monastery, dedicating all his time to meditation, prayer, and asceticism. Antonyos El-Suryaani was among the candidates nominated for the papal throne in 1956, but Pope Cyril VI was the one ultimately chosen for the post.

Later, at the monastery of the Theotokos Virgin Mary of the Syrians, he became a monastic priest under the name of Fr. Antonious. While Fr. Antonious was living as an hermit, Pope Cyril VI appointed him to be bishop of Christian Education and Dean of the Coptic Orthodox Theological University, whereupon he assumed the name of Shenouda. Under Shenouda's leadership, the number of students at the university tripled. Bishop Shenouda was suspended in 1966 by Pope Kyrillos VI.^{[1], [2]} This was essentially the result of Bishop Shenouda's (and students') enthusiastic 'campaigns for change' that used rather strong words, e.g., supporting people's right to choose their bishops and priests, a principle he later applied when he became pope after the repose of Pope Kyrillos VI. This "conflict" between Pope Kyrillos VI and Bishop Shenouda seems to have later been resolved.

[edit] Elevation to Pope of Alexandria and Ethiopian Church Crisis

He was elevated and enthroned as Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark on November 14, 1971, nearly 9 months after the departure of Pope Kyrollos VI (See Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria). Some argue that the choice of Pope Shenouda III as Pope (and Bishop) of the City of Alexandria is not canonical (against Canon 15 of Nicea and other Church councils/canons), because His Holiness was already bishop (with another episcopate) in the 1960s.^{[3], [4], [5], [6], [7], and p.30 onward in [8]} However, there are also modern day examples from other Churches of patriarchs who were previously bishops before their election as patriarchs, e.g., [1], [2].

Following the arrest, imprisonment and subsequent execution of Abune Tewophilos, Patriarch of Ethiopia, by the Marxist Derg regime that had deposed Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, Pope Shenouda III refused to recognize the cleric who was installed as the Ethiopian Patriarch's successor. He argued that the removal of Patriarch Abune Tewophilos was illegal and un-canonical, and that in the eyes of the Church of Egypt and the Coptic Papacy, Abune Tewophilos remained legitimate Patriarch of Ethiopia.

As the government of Ethiopia refused to aknowledge that the Patriarch had been executed, the Coptic Church refused to recognize any other Patriarch as long as Abune Tewophilos was not confirmed dead. Thus formal ties between the Churches of Egypt and Ethiopia were severed although they remain in full communion.

[edit] Period of Exile

On September 3, 1981, Egyptian president Anwar Sadat ordered Shenouda into exile at the Monastery of St. Bishoi after Pope Shenouda's refusal in spring 1981 to hold public Church celebrations of Easter and to receive that year the President's delegates who are regularly sent to greet the Church and Coptic Christians on such occasions (this move by Pope Shenouda III was very embarrassing to President Sadat, both nationally and internationally).

In addition, eight bishops, twenty-four priests, and many other prominent Copts were placed under arrest. Sadat replaced the church hierarchy with a committee of five bishops and referred to Pope Shenouda as the "ex-pope." On January 2, 1985, more than three years after Sadat's 1981 assassination, President Hosni Mubarak released Pope Shenouda from exile to the joy of the entire Church. He returned to Cairo to celebrate the January 7th Christmas liturgy to a crowd of more than ten thousand.

[edit] Political Stance

Another major difference between Sadat and Pope Shenouda III is the attitude of the latter regarding the normalization of the relations between Egypt and Israel and His Holiness' very prominent Arab nationalist zeal. In fact, there is currently (as of 2006) a papal decree issued by Pope Shenouda III that anathematizes any Copt who dares to visit the Christian holy places in Jerusalem and Israel.^[9]

According to that decree, such Copts are automatically banned from receiving Holy Communion in the Coptic Orthodox Church, with no venue or mechanism being offered to them for repentance and lifting of this ban. Pope Shenouda III has repeatedly declared that Christians must only visit Jerusalem hand in hand with their Muslim brothers after the conflict with Israel is resolved to the satisfaction of all parties.

Because of this highly unusual decision, many Copts, especially in the diaspora, have accused the Pope of mixing religion matters (ban on receiving Holy Communion if one visits Jerusalem for pilgrimage) with politics (the Arab-Israeli conflict), and consider this papal decree unjustified since it has no ecclesiastical, canonical or dogmatical foundation. This ban also is affecting the credibility of the Pontiff's doctrinal decision making, if it is being impaired with political affinities and vis-a-vis his image as the Pope of Alexandria.

[edit] Supervised worldwide growth of the Church

His papacy has coincided with a worldwide expansion of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria: while there were only four Coptic Orthodox churches in all of North America in 1971, today there are more than two hundred. The growth of the American Coptic Orthodox Church has been such that in 1996, Shenouda installed the first two Diocesan Bishops for the United States — one for Los Angeles, California and the other for the Southern United Statesplus two General Bishops, Eaxarchs of the Throne in the Archdiocesan Center of North America in New Jersey .

In the Caribbean, Mission churches have been founded in Bermuda, St. Kitts, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands in St. Thomas.

Moreover, Shenouda's tenure has also included the founding of the first Coptic Orthodox Church in South America (in São Paulo, Brazil), and the second, in Bolivia.

In Australia and New Zealand, there are currently 28 churches, and in 1999, Shenouda enthroned Bishop Suriel, the first bishop for Melbourne, Canberra, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand. Recently, Bishop Suriel established two churches in Fiji.

In 1994, under the guidance of Shenouda, the British Orthodox Church, which was originally established in 1866 as a part of the Syriac Orthodox Church, became canonically part of the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. At the feast of the Pentecost that same year, Shenouda ordained Abba Seraphim as Metropolitan for the British Orthodox Church, and thus joined the British Orthodox Church, as an Autonomous Church, into the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.

In June 2002, Bishop Daniel was officially ordained and appointed the first bishop with jurisdiction for the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland, and the Northern Territory, as well as South and North East Asia.

In Europe, there are currently over fifty churches and ten bishops. Africa currently has two bishops serving, as Patriarchal Exarchs, in missions in nine African countries.

When Eritrea gained political independence from Ethiopia, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki requested that the local Church be made independent from the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which required a Patriarch enthroned by the Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria. Previously, the church in Eritrea was an Archdiocese of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church. The Patriarch and Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church reluctantly agreed to the elevation of the Church in Eritrea. Shenouda III thus anointed the first patriarch of Eritrea with the name Patriarch Philip I (Abuna Philipos of Eritrea). This was the second ordination of a patriarch by a Pope of Alexandria in the twentieth century (the first papal ordination of a patriarch in the twentieth century occurred when Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria ordained the first Catholicos-Patriarch of Ethiopia in 1959.)

[edit] Commitment to Christian Unity

In 1973, Shenouda became the first Coptic Orthodox Pope to meet the Catholic Pope in over 1500 years. In this visit, Popes Shenouda III and Paul VI signed a common declaration on the issue of Christology and agreed to further discussions on Christian unity. There have also been dialogues with various Protestant churches worldwide.

Shenouda III is well known for his deep commitment to Christian unity. In an address he gave at an ecumenical forum during the International Week of Prayer in 1974, he declared, "The whole Christian world is anxious to see the church unite. Christian people, being fed up with divisions, are pushing their church leaders to do something about church unity and I am sure that the Holy Spirit is inspiring us."

Under his leadership, the Coptic Orthodox Church has become a full member of the World Council of Churches, the Middle East Council of Churches, the All-African Council of Churches, the National Council of the Churches in Christ in the U.S.A., the Canadian Council of Churches, and the Australian Council of Churches. In May 2000, he established the first ecumenical office, in the Archdiocese of North America.

Shenouda III has emphasized Christian Unity in his work, believing it to be founded upon a unity of faith and not of jurisdiction. As a result, he has paid many visits to the various sister Orthodox churches and their patriarchs, such as those of Constantinople, Moscow, Romania, and Antioch, with the goal of a full communion of these churches with the Oriental Orthodox Churches.

He also won, in the year 2000, the UNESCO Madanjeet Singh prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Non-Violence by UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura on the recommendation of an international jury.

[edit] Writings and lectures

Pope Shenouda III has been the editor-in-chief of El-Keraza Magazine, the official publication of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, since 1962. He became the first Patriarch of Alexandria since the fifth century to have been head of the Theological Seminary and continues to lecture at the Seminary branches in Cairo, Alexandria and several other Theological Seminaries created in different dioceses in Egypt and abroad, and at the Higher Institute of Coptic Studies. He also established other branches of the Seminary in Egypt as well as abroad. Shenouda is also the author of over 100 books.