COPTIC CHRISTIAN POPE TAWADROS II ENTHRONED

NEW COPTIC POPE TAWADROS II
ENTHRONED IN CAIRO CEREMONY

www.bbc.co.uk - The new pope of Egypt's Coptic Christian church has been formally enthroned in Cairo. Pope Tawadros II was confirmed as the new leader of Egypt's Christian minority at a ceremony at St Mark's cathedral in the Egyptian capital. The 60-year-old succeeds Pope Shenouda III, who died in March after four decades on the patriarchal throne. The enthronement comes at an uncertain time for Egypt's Christians, following the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year. Sectarian attacks against Coptic Christians and churches in Egypt have increased since his fall, and many Christians are concerned about the rise of Islamist political forces. 
Christians make up 5-10% of Egypt's majority Sunni Muslim population and form the largest Christian minority in the Middle East. Egypt's Islamist President Mohammed Mursi did not attend Sunday's enthronement, though Prime Minister Hisham Qandil was there. 

The pope is the “first among equals” of the Holy Synod (the church body made mostly of bishops) and responsible for determining the Coptic Church’s stance on matters concerning faith. Pope Tawadros II has been vocal about the withdrawn political role he hopes to play during his papacy. On Saturday, the Coptic Church, along with other Christian denominations, announced its withdrawal from the Constituent Assembly, claiming that the current draft does not reflect the identity of the Egyptian people. 
The church’s new patriarch was formerly the General Bishop of Beheira and has a close working relationship with Metropolitan Pachomious, the Coptic Church’s interim leader since March. The Coptic Orthodox Church is the largest Christian community in the Arab world, making up roughly ten percent of Egypt’s population. Over recent decades, millions of Copts have established communities overseas in places such as North America, Europe, and Australia.

The new pope of Egypt’s Orthodox Coptic church was enthroned on Sunday. According to Coptic tradition, the first head of the Egyptian Church was Saint Mark the Evangelist, one of the 70 apostles of Jesus. After the enthronement, it was read a statement written by the new pope, in which Tawadros II stressed unity and his mission to represent all Egyptians. “We open our hearts to all religions,” he said, “because religion is for God and the nation is for man.” Tawadros II also pledged to work for the good of Egypt, with its Muslims and Christians alike. The new Pope is saying right: religion is for all and comes from God. As Sri Krishna states, to protect the saintly and punish the wicked, and perfectly reestablish the principles of religion, He appears millennium after millennium.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

Herein, collected from the Holy Scriptures headed by Srimad-Bhagavatam and Bhagavad-gita, are words of nectar directly from the lotus mouth of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is the nectar to vanquish all sorrow and darkness for the souls surrendered to the lotus feet of Sri Krishna, and also for those aspiring for exclusive love for Krishna. It nourishes the lives of the devotees, pleasing their hearts by fulfilling all their cherished desires for devotional service. (9.1-2) ... “I appear in every age to deliver the saintly devotees, to vanquish the sinful miscreants, and to firmly establish true religion.” ... The teaching of eternal religion, nondifferent from Sri Krishna, is received from Sri Krishna by Lord Brahma - “The message of the Vedas is eternal religion, nondifferent from Me. When in the course of time those eternal teachings disappeared from view with the universal cataclysm, I imparted them to Lord Brahma at the dawning of a new creation.” (9.34).

Śrīla Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Mahārāja :
“Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam”
Chapter 9 “Sri Sri Bhagavad-vacanamrtam”
“Words of Nectar from the Supreme Lord”
http://bvml.org/SBRSM/SSPJ/index.htm
Bhaktivedanta Memorial Library

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
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