CAIRO: Egypt's new Coptic Christian Pope was enthroned in a lengthy four hour ceremony at the Coptic Cathedral in the capital, Cairo, on Sunday. The ceremony officially makes Pope Tawadros II the new official head of the Orthodox Egyptian church after he was chosen on November 4. The ceremony had been pushed back in an effort to allow President Mohamed Morsi to attend, but went ahead anyway despite the president's absence, who was dealing with ceasefire talks between Israeli and Hamas officials. Egypt's Prime Minister Hisham Qandeel and other top officials attended the ceremony. Pope Tawadros replaces Pope Shenouda III, who passed away in March after being atop the church for four decades. 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. Coptic and Muslim relations have become strained of late, but the new Pope, in a message read on his behalf, urged both Muslims and Christians to come together to better the country.
