CAIRO: Egypt's Coptic Christian Church announced on Thursday that it would choose a new pope this December, ending months of speculation as to when the new pontiff would come to power following the death of Pope Shenouda earlier this year. The “choosing” will take place on December 2, the church said. It comes as many Christians in the country fear their future under the Islamic government of President Mohamed Morsi, but the president has tried to reassure the Christian minority in the country that he will be the leader for all Egyptians and not just for Muslims. Egypt's state news agency, citing a church official responsible for overseeing the papal election, said “2,405 voters were eligible to cast ballots on November 24 after a list of up to seven candidates was drawn up on October 4.” That will then be taken down to three candidates, of whom a young child will then draw a name from a box, choosing the next Coptic Christian Pope. Egypt's Christians make up approximately 10 percent of the country's 87 million population, of whom the majority are Coptic. George Zaki, a young man studying to become a priest, says that right now “it is really up in the air" the direction the church will head. “One side I am hearing wants to bring in someone a bit young, strong and energetic to face off against the Islamists and push for our rights more openly, while the other wants to maintain Pope Shenouda's idea that through tolerance and promoting unity, Egypt can have a pluralistic society," he told Bikyamasr.com earlier this year.
