Today is Easter, the feast of love and redemption, the memory of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from His death on the Cross, conquering death and leading us to eternal life.
Today is Easter, the feast of love and redemption, the memory of the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from His death on the Cross, conquering death and leading us to eternal life. Today, as we live the joy of the Resurrection, we do it with a heavy heart. Almost a month ago, Pope Shenouda III departed from our world. Freed of its shackles, he joined the heavenly host to praise the Lord, and pray and intercede for the peace and the stability of his congregation, his church, and his homeland.
Out of Watani’s 54 years in journalism, 40 were spent under the papacy of Pope Shenouda. Those years witnessed a succession of Christmas and Easter celebrations closely connected to the Pope; he was the cornerstone and an integral part of the ceremonies. His moves, prayers, words, and receptions, were all the focus of the media coverage Watani conveyed to its readers.
Watani is not alone in its love for the late Pope; more than one generation of Egyptians never knew anyone else but him as head of the church. Anyone who had reached the age of public awareness in 1971, the year Pope Shenouda was enthroned, must be around 50 years old today. These persons have known no pope other than Pope Shenouda III; their feast memories are strongly connected to him. I cite this to convey the close bond that the Coptic people have with the Pope and the extent to which everyone’s memories of the feasts are rooted, heart and soul, into him. I would not be exaggerating if I said that the same memories are shared by many of our Muslim friends and the officials who used to meet His Holiness to offer their good wishes during times of feasts. These are the same persons who have expressed deep sorrow over losing him and invoked God to arrange for a successor who would possess the same love, wisdom and faith in Egypt that His Holiness enjoyed.
Today, as the Church celebrates Easter, we quote the acting patriarch Anba Pachomeus who said: “Easter is a great feast of the Master, our Lord Jesus Christ. It bears strongly on our Orthodox faith which is based on the divine Incarnation, the Redemption, and the Resurrection for the Salvation of mankind. Under no condition may prayers be discontinued on that occasion; celebrations must proceed as usual in joyous rites. However, in honour of the departure of our beloved father Pope Shenouda, the Holy Synod has decided to reduce the [non-religious] festivities.”
With all the due reverence to the Easter celebration, and the solemnity relating to the mourning of Pope Shenouda’s death, I pray to the Lord to protect His Church and arrange for it to have a wise shepherd who would take it under his protective care. May He bless our country during the critical period it is undergoing and throughout the quest for reshaping its future.
WATANI International
15 April 2012