• 01:55
  • Tuesday ,20 March 2018
العربية

The Departure of His Holiness

Mina M. Azer

Article Of The Day

00:03

Tuesday ,20 March 2018

The Departure of His Holiness

To each his own. Thus, it would be hard to foretell what Pope Shenouda III would do if he was alive under the regime of the Muslim Brotherhood. Would he clash with them or stay in the monastery? What would he do with President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi? I am sure they would go along as Pope Shenouda was nice to everybody, especially the good people. I believe he would have also participated in the revolution of June 30, 2013, as the two popes have the same motivation to do so including their fear and love for the nation. Therefore, I believe that there is one spirit controls the attitudes of the Coptic Orthodox Church and direct its leaders over time.

My friends, as we bid farewell to Pope Shenouda III, we did not lose his works, biography and writings. His children are still preaching his ideology and love for his enemies. This appeared as the Salafies were calling to kill him, but he was praying for them. He refused to hear his disciples and fans promising to sacrifice their souls to protect him and said it is his role to protect them even by sacrificing his soul. He indeed loved his people and thus he was loved by his people.
 
Therefore, I believe that all records and writings of Pope Shenouda III are extending his soul even after his departure. The one spirit of his successors proves this, and the generation of bishops and priests who are able to discuss and accept different points of views with tolerance and illumination.
 
His Holiness Pope Shenouda had great national role and proved that true citizenship is related to acts and not just words. May God repose his soul and accept his prayers for his church, nation and people, and may Egypt progress and have better future.