Egyptian Copts paid Pope Shenouda a farewell to remember. Amirah Ibrahim joined the funeral procession from Almaza airbase to Wadi Al-Natroun Out of Almaza military airbase, tens of thousands who joined the funeral procession from Abbasiya surrounded the airport, refusing to leave. The body was supposed to be moved to Wadi Al-Natroun on Tuesday by helicopter where 14 members of the Holy Synod were to join the pope to his resting place. The ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) assigned two military aircraft and a helicopter to transport the body and accompanying bishops. Two planes were not sent. The plan was changed at the last minute after hundreds of priests rushed to the airbase claiming the right to get onboard. The Air Force commander was forced to decline the request; only the pope and the cardinals were allowed aboard. The flight was postponed for five hours after it was discovered that three bishops were missing, including Bishop Bakhomious, who will replace Shenouda for two months until the selection of a new pope. Only with the help of military police did the three bishops transverse a narrow passage with tens of thousands of Copts in the way. The helicopter eventually took off at 5pm. Twenty minutes on, the copter landed at a military airbase in Wadi Al-Natroun, nearly three kilometres from the Anba Bishoi Monastery. More than 5,000 soldiers deployed along the roads leading to the monastery to secure Pope Shenouda's final trip. Head of the Military Police Brigade, Major General Hamdi Badin, a SCAF member, led his troops to the burial ceremony. The monastery's bells rang for 30 seconds every 10 minutes until the convoy arrived. They continued ringing to mark the beginning of the burial rituals. At 5.45pm the convoy reached the entrance of the monastery but remained stuck for an hour as tens of thousands of mourners refused to permit the body in. Thousands camped outside the monastery from the early morning hours to catch a glimpse of the Pope's casket. Military police were involved in many attempts to open a passageway for mourners and to pry the coffin from their hands but failed. "We expected such a crowd of mourners and lovers of Pope Shenouda and were ready to handle the tension with patience and calm," commented Badin. "We were more concerned with safeguarding the funeral and allowing Copts to express their feelings towards a true Egyptian leader. His death is a significant loss to all the people," Badin later added. Dozens of bishops who were waiting at the burial place rushed out several times to try to persuade the crowd to show restraint. The coffin was finally allowed into the monastery and the burial rituals began. Dozens inside and outside the monastery wept as the melancholic tunes of hymns reached them through loudspeakers. Shenouda's body was kept inside a white coffin decorated with golden crosses. The coffin was sent by Pope Benedict as a gift. Twenty-four monks dressed in white queued on the right and left side of the entrance, as the scent of incense rose to celebrate Shenouda who was elevated to sainthood. Over 100 bishops dressed in black then took turns carrying the coffin, queuing along the route to the tomb, and shifting it from one hand to another to gain Shenouda's blessing. The coffin finally reached the burial chamber which covered 230 square metres. Some monks ripped flowers off the coffin to keep as souvenirs while others used their cellular phone cameras to snap pictures and videos of the event. Many waved good-bye while others blew kisses in the air which quickly turned cold. Only then, when the body was laid to rest beneath the tomb, did bishops and monks begin to cry. "He is not here anymore. What a loss," cried one monk. For the next 40 days, prayers will continue to help Shenouda's soul rest in peace, in accordance with Coptic rituals. "The monastery now is a tourist site where not only Egyptian Copts will seek to gain blessings, but also Christians from the world over," stated Bishop Habil Bishoi, who supervises visits to the monastery. The monastery dates back to the fourth century and was a favourite of Shenouda's. He spent more than three years in exile there after he was banished in 1981 by then president Anwar El-Sadat who claimed the patriarch was fomenting sectarian strife. The former president Hosni Mubarak ended the Pope's banishment in 1985.
