ABU DHABI and CAIRO: A group of Egyptian Christians exit the St. Anthony Church in Abu Dhabi. Their eyes still glisten with the obvious tears they had shed for their leader of more than four decades, Pope Shenouda III, who passed away on Saturday. It was a somber event, with the small Egyptian community of Christians praising their leader for his service to the country and his desire to see a better Egypt. “He was a strong man, a nice person and someone who just wanted equality and justice for our community,” one woman, Sherine, told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday afternoon. The church will hold a lengthy memorial service later on Sunday starting at 6 PM for the Egyptian Christians living in the UAE to attend and show their condolences. In Egypt, the country's military junta has given Egypt's Coptic Christian community three days off to mourn the passing of Coptic Pope Shenouda III, who died on Saturday at the age of 88. The Egyptian Coptic community is devastated over his passing, as he was the godfather of Copts for over four decades, advocating for them and mediating with the state to get their rights. They will have Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off, to attend the funeral on Tuesday, and say their final goodbyes. Tens of thousands of Copts arrived early Sunday at the Abbasiya Cathedral, where the Pope's body lies, praying for him and many refused to leave and head back home for the church to be cleaned and prepared for the funeral. Many thousands came from outside of Cairo, to express their love and sadness over his death. The Pope's health had recently deteriorated, and in recent years he took regular medical trips to the United States for treatment. One Egyptian magazine sourced a close associate to the late Pope saying he suffered from lung cancer, although Bikyamasr.com cannot confirm this information. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/Xz8y3 Tags: Abu Dhabi, Christians, Coptic, featured, Pope, UAE Section: Egypt, Gulf, Latest News, Religion, United Arab Emirates
