THE 118th Pope of the Orthodox Church in Egypt was chosen on Sunday via divine lottery; a blindfolded boy picked up one of three names from a box placed on the altar of St Mark's Cathedral in Abbassiya. Days of fasting and prayer by Christians in Egypt and abroad preceded the liturgy held in the cathedral for choosing a spiritual leader succeeding Pope Shenouda III, who died last March at the age of 88 after more than three decades on the papal chair. Bishop Tawadros, 60, of the Nile Delta province of Beheira, was chosen as the 118th Patriarch. He was one of three finalists, on second place after Bishop Rafael, 54. The transparent procedures of choosing the new patriarch from amongst many candidates meant to gather the religious men round the new patriarch and prevent any division in the Orthodox Church, to which the majority of the Egyptian Christians belong. However, the Orthodox Church was aware that choosing the new patriarch should reflect God's will and not the unanimous approval of religious men. That is why it is the tradition to have the name be picked from a box by a blindfolded child of no more than eight years old and believed to be guided by the hand of God. By this procedure, the chosen one has Divine Will on his side and should therefore be respected and obeyed by all Copts whether living in Egypt or abroad. The inauguration is scheduled for November 18. The Church will invite local and international figures including President Mohammed Morsi, whose attendance would be a significant indication of his care for the Christians and that he really is president of all Egyptians. Not only the Copts waited for the naming of the new Pope, but also the Muslims hoping for a new stage of reconciliation and fraternity between all Egyptians, so that religious institutions can be distanced from political conflicts. The question is, to what extent will the new pope achieve this goal while extremist Islamist groups try to gain a high profile in society with the aim of forcing their fanatic image of Islam on Egypt's people.
