Bishop of Qousiya Anba Thomas, who presides over the appeals committee which looks into contestations against the eligibility of any of the voters on the voter list to elect a new Coptic Orthodox patriarch
Bishop of Qousiya Anba Thomas, who presides over the appeals committee which looks into contestations against the eligibility of any of the voters on the voter list to elect a new Coptic Orthodox patriarch, has said that the last date for accepting appeals is 20 August. The committee, he said, will start looking into the appeals starting 23 August, once celebrations of the feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin on 22 August is over. The committee would have by then been accepting appeals for two weeks, as stipulated by the by-laws for the election of a new patriarch.
Anba Thomas said that the number of appeals received is not final, but that the committee has so far received some 17 of them. He said he does not expect the process of investigating the appeals to be unduly prolonged and that, once the final voter list is announced, these voters can move on to the next step in the papal elections: that of submitting appeals against any of the 17 candidates for the papal seat.
The committee for the papal nominations will hold a meeting on 4 September to decide on the criteria according to which the nomination of any candidate may be contested, and the criteria according to which they should be shortlisted to five or seven names at the most.
The 17 candidates for the papacy include seven bishops and 10 monks. The list of names cites the bishops first followed by the monks; in alphabetical order:
Bishop of Damietta, Kafr al-Sheikh, Bulkas and the prairies Anba Bishoi; Bishop-General Anba Boutros; Bishop of Milano Anba Kyrillos; Bishop of Samalout Anba Pavnotius; Bishop of Downtown Cairo Anba Rafail; Bishop-General of Beheira Anba Tawadrous; Bishop-General Anba Yu’annis; Father Anastasi al-Samueili; Fr Bigol Anba Bishoi; Fr Bishoi Anba Pola; Fr Danial al-Suriani; Fr Maximus al-Antouni; Fr Pachomeus al-Suriani; Fr Rafail Ava Mina; Fr Sawiris Anba Pola; Fr Serafim al-Suriani; and Fr Shenouda Anba Bishoi.
The papal seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church has been vacant since last March when Pope Shenouda III passed away at age 89, after 41 years as patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church. [The picture shows the shrine of Pope Shenouda III at the Western Desert monastery of Anba Bishoi where he asked to be buried.] A new patriarch is chosen through the election, by a select electorate body of Orthodox Coptic clergy and laity, of three names that are then placed on the altar while Holy Mass is held. After that a draw is done by a blindfolded child; the name that is drawn is the new pope.
WATANI International
12 August 2012