CAIRO - Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, was laid to rest at St. Bishoy Monastery in Wadi el-Natroun to scenes of searing emotion from hundreds of thousands of Egyptian mourners. Many wailed in an outpouring of grief as the casket was flown from the Orthodox Cathedral in the Cairo neighbourhood of Abbasiya to Wadi el-Natroun by military helicopter after the ceremony. Earlier in the day, Tuesday, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians, many openly sobbing, paid their last respects to Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III, popularly known as 'Baba Shenouda' who died on Saturday night aged 88 and who dedicated his life to promoting religious harmony. Senior Church members and government officials sat beside his open coffin in the Orthodox Cathedral in the Cairo neighbourhood of Abbasiya as a stream of serving politicians and foreign guests filed past. They whispered words of condolence as they passed by the open coffin while a choir sang psalms and prayers. After offering their condolences, the guests including senior members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) sat down to hear a funeral oration by Bishop Pachomios, head of Beheira Church, who will be acting pope for two months until the new pope is elected. Prayers were led by the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, Abuna Paulos, who flew in from Addis Ababa for the Mass. "Because he is resting, does not mean we have lost him," Abuna Paulos said at the emotional Mass, aired live on Egyptian TV and radio stations. The guests paid their respects to the deceased Pope, bowing their heads as they passed by the casket. Coptic hymns filled the huge Cathedral, which was packed with clergy from around the world as well as government ministers, members of parliament and public figures. Numerous Muslim leaders, as well as presidential hopefuls, attended the service inside the Cathedral, while a great number of other Egyptians mingled outside. Pope Shenouda III died on Saturday night after suffering from health problems for years. Reflecting his legacy, many Egyptian Muslims and Copts praised him as a father of religious harmony. In his last years in office, heart problems made Pope Shenouda an ailing figure who frequently received medical treatment in the United States of America. The SCAF Chairman, Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, declared Tuesday a day of national mourning. Flags were flying at half-mast. State television showed live pictures from the lying-in-state and footage from Pope Shenouda's life set to sombre music. "Pope Shenouda was unique. There was only one and there will never be another," Father Armiya told The Egyptian Gazette at the funeral, while Copts stood sobbing outside the Cathedral where his funeral procession began, and more than one person collapsed in grief over the deceased Pope. "Pope Shenouda III was a symbol and a leader of religious tolerance," Adel Faheem said. Security was tight, with dozens of police and army trucks scattered around outside the Cathedral and plainclothes police posted on the nearby bridges and streets. Named Pope of Alexandria in 1971, Shenouda led the Copts, estimated at 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 85 million, for two generations. Pope Shenouda was the 117th successor of Saint Mark, who according to tradition founded the Coptic Church in the first century AD. The late Pontiff has always said that Christian Copts in Egypt had the same rights and duties as their Muslim brothers and sisters. He also strongly condemned what he called attempts by outside forces to export sectarian strife to Egypt. Pope Shenouda has once said: "These forces tried unsuccessfully to export sectarian strife to a nation that prided itself on its tolerance and its national unity and they would be trying again after their criminal plans had failed." He said that the Egyptians, Copts and Muslims, knew the vileness of that goal and the dimensions of the conspiracy. The late Pope always said 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," he once said. He always urged the Egyptians to take into account the national values and principles and to fully know that 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. One of Shenouda's oft-repeated sayings, also cited in newspapers, was: "Egypt is not a nation we live in, rather it is a nation that lives in us." The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the government and Al-Azhar sent condolences to Egypt's Coptic population over the death of Pope Shenouda. Late 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. He cited "Israel's oppressive occupation of Palestinian territory" and banned Copts from praying in churches in Arab East Jerusalem while it remains under Israeli occupation. "It is my right to prevent Copts from travelling to a country where acts of killing, gunfire and explosions take place," the late Pontiff used to say. Israel has occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip since the 1967 Middle East war. In 1979 Egypt became the first of only two Arab countries to make peace with Israel, but relations have remained cold. He used to say that the government and Church had 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 Catholic Church 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 the Egyptian 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 always said that the Egyptian family must return to a prominent place as the first building block of a well-ordered and welcoming society.
