New Coptic Patriarch: “We demand no privileges, but equality”

Oliver Maksan, ACN International

Adapted by Amanda Bridget Griffin, ACN Canada

ACN, Montreal, November 6, 2012 – The nomination of the new Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II in Cairo on Sunday has been welcomed with pleasure by Egypt’s Coptic Catholic Church. “The new Pope of the Copts has finally been chosen. We celebrate together with our brothers and sisters,” Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina of Gizeh told Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) on Monday. In an interview in his offices October 6, near Cairo, he added: “Together with the Coptic Church we have prayed and fasted that a worthy successor to His Holiness Pope Shenouda III would be chosen. This has now come to pass with the nomination of His Holiness Pope Tawadros II. We hope that the new Pope will be able to guide his Church with strength and wisdom through all the difficulties that exist in Egypt at the present time.”

“We demand no privileges, but equality for all citizens”

In Bishop Mina’s view, these are considerable. He is particularly concerned about the current discussions around the country’s future constitution, which the Islamists – who dominate the constituent assembly responsible for drafting the constitution – are seeking to influence in their own favour. “We want nothing other than a constitution for all Egyptians. We demand no privileges, but equality for all citizens, whether Christians or Muslims. Such a just constitution would be of benefit to all citizens of Egypt, not only Christians. Thus, on this level there is no difference between us and our Muslim fellow citizens.”

 

But on another level, Bishop Mina sees serious problems with regard to religious freedom in Egypt, affecting the Christians in particular. “If we continue along the present course, we will end up in a situation not far removed from religious persecution.” The fact that Christian families in the city of Rafah on the Sinai Peninsula were forced to leave their homes in late summer after threats from Islamists is a matter of extreme concern, according to the Bishop. And he said that there were further examples. “I hope that the government and President Morsi are conscious of their responsibility to guarantee the security of all of Egypt’s citizens.”

 

Bishop Mina belongs to the Coptic Catholic Church, which in contrast to the Coptic Orthodox Church is in communion with the Pope in Rome. But they both share the same liturgical and spiritual heritage. The first attempts at union from the side of the Holy See took place as long ago as the 15th century during the Council of Florence. But it was only in 1895 that Pope Leo XIII installed the permanent Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria. The present Patriarch is Cardinal Antonios Naguib. The Coptic Catholic Church is organised in seven dioceses and includes 200 priests and some 200,000 believers. It is thus very small in comparison with the Coptic Orthodox Church with its approximately eight million believers.  

Source: Robert Lalonde, Head of Information, ACN Canada (514) 932-0552 1-800-585-6333 info@acn-aed-ca.org
Web site: www.acn-aed-ca.org