CAIRO (Update 3) - Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, died last night after suffering from health problems for years. The late Pontiff was born in August 1923, making him 88 at the time of death. He had been forced to cancel his weekly Wednesday sermon last week, because of poor health. Named Coptic Pope of Alexandria in 1971, Shenouda led the Copts, estimated at 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 85 million. Pope Shenouda died from health complications and old age, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced. The Coptic Church was founded in Africa at the dawn of Christianity and was known for monasticism and fasting. Copts were a majority until well after Islam arrived in the seventh century AD. Coptic remained a language of the streets until about the 13th century, when Arabic became all pervasive. Earlier in the day, Church officials had said that the Pope's condition was stable and was gradually improving. Pope Shenouda had recently returned from the United States after undergoing medical treatment there. He had made several health-related trips abroad during the past four years, with his poor health fuelling speculation over his succession. He was the 117th successor of Saint Mark, who, according to tradition, founded the Coptic Church in the first century AD. The late Pontiff always said that Christian Copts in Egypt had the same rights and duties as their Muslim population. He also strongly condemned what he called attempts by outside forces to export sectarian strife to Egypt. "These forces have tried unsuccessfully to export sectarian strife to a nation that prides itself on its tolerance and its national unity ,and they will try again because their criminal plans have failed," he once said. Pope Shenouda added that the Egyptians, Copts and Muslims were quite aware of the conspiracy and its dangers. The late Pope always stressed that Egypt's Copts are a fundamental part of its national fabric. "They are honourable citizens who have the same rights as the Muslims do and share their duties," as he has so rightly put it. He always urged the Egyptians to take into account their national values and principles and to fully appreciate that the Muslims and Copts all work under one flag, the Egyptian flag. "We, the Egyptians, have always lived together and we will not change or be divided. I have my own faith and the Muslims have theirs, but we are all Egyptians. Everyone is free. Religion is for God and the nation is for all. We will always abide by this principle," he used to say during his weekly sermons. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the Government and Al-Azhar have all sent their condolences to Egypt's Coptic population over the death of Pope Shenouda. No fixed date has been set for a funeral for the late Coptic leader. Pope Shenouda barred Egyptian Coptic Christians from going to Israel to pray in Arab East Jerusalem, citing the danger caused by Israel's oppressive occupation of Palestinian land. "It is my right to prevent Copts from travelling to a country torn about by violence and death," the late Pontiff stressed. Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip since the 1967 War. In 1979, Egypt became the first of only two Arab countries to make peace with Israel, but relations have remained cold. Pope Shenouda always said that the Government and Church have a duty to defend family values. Moving away from political issues like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the late Pope had always expressed his concerns about what the Orthodox Church – and also the Catholic Church, which he held in very high esteem – sees as the deterioration of the family around the nation. He also called for the formation of sound consciences and the building of a civilisation of love. The Pope said Egyptians should be aware of the common good that the traditional family offers society and protect it, even with financial assistance if necessary. He appreciated the duty of the State and people to support families in their mission of education, to protect the institution of the family and its inherent rights, and to ensure that all families can live and flourish in conditions of dignity. He constantly said that the Egyptian family must return to a prominent place as the first building block in a well-ordered, well-structured and welcoming society. Egypt's Copts are the largest Christian minority community in the Middle East and also one of the oldest. They go back to the dawn of Christianity, at a time when Egypt was integrated into the Roman, then Byzantine empires, after the disappearance of the dynasty of the Pharaoh Ptolemy, who was of Greek origin. The word ‘Copt' has the same roots as the term ‘Egyptian' in Ancient Greek.
