Pope Tawadros II
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Pope Tawadros II (Coptic: Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ Ⲁⲃⲃⲁ Ⲑⲉⲟ́ⲇⲱⲣⲟⲥ ⲡⲓⲙⲁϩ ⲃ̅’, romanized: Papa Abba Theódōrōs II ; Arabic: البابا تواضروس الثاني, romanized: al-Bābā Tawāḍurūs al-ṯhānī, lit. ‘Pope Theodore II’) (born 4 November 1952; 25 Paopi 1668) is the 118th and current pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark, succeeding the late Pope Shenouda III as leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. He took office on 18 November 2012 (9 Hathor 1729), two weeks after being selected.
Pope Tawadros II was born Waǧīh Ṣubḥī Bāqī Sulaymān (Coptic: Ⲟⲩⲁⲅⲓϩ Ⲥ̣ⲟⲩⲃ̣ϩ̣ⲓ Ⲃ̣ⲁⲕ̣ⲓ Ⲥⲟⲗⲟⲙⲱⲛ, Arabic: وجيه صبحى باقى سليمان) on 4 November 1952 (25 Paopi 1668) in the city of Mansoura in Egypt. He studied at the University of Alexandria, where he received a degree in pharmacy in 1975. After a few years of managing a state-owned pharmaceutical factory, he joined the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in Wadi Natrun to study theology for two years. He was ordained a priest in 1989 (1705–1706).
The papal selection process began several weeks before the 18 November/9 Hathor selection. About 2,400 clergymen and others shortlisted three candidates: Bishop Tawadros, former aide to Metropolitan Pachomios; Bishop Raphael, General Bishop in Downtown Cairo; and Father Raphael Ava Mina, a monk in a monastery near Alexandria and disciple of the 116th pope, Cyril VI.
The ceremony to choose the pope from the three consensus candidates was held at Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral at about noon, with a marked police presence. Metropolitan Pachomios, locum tenens of the Church, put slips bearing the candidates’ names in a sealed chalice which was set upon the altar, then led the Divine Liturgy. He told the congregation to “pray that God will choose the good shepherd”, and a blindfolded boy took a slip—Tawadros—from the chalice.
Bishop Pachomius formally announced that the sixty-year-old Bishop Tawadros was to be the 118th Pope, and would be Pope Tawadros II, after Pope Tawadros I (r. 730–742), who was consecrated 45th Coptic Patriarch and Pope during Egypt’s Umayyad Period (658–750). Tawadros II said, from the monastery at Wadi Natrun, “[We] will start by organising the house from within. It is a responsibility. Most important is … that the church, as an institution, serves the community”. Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi congratulated Tawadros and called for Egyptian “unity” and “brotherly love” between Copts and Muslims. Bishop Raphael, who came first in the election stage of papal selection, was appointed general secretary of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church.
Travels
On 8 May 2013 (30 Parmouti 1729), Pope Tawadros II met with Pope Francis, bishop of Rome and supreme pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, in Vatican City. This was the first meeting of the two recently elected church leaders and only the second gathering of popes in Italy in 1,500 years. The last visit of a Coptic pope to the Vatican occurred on 10 May 1973 (2 Pashons 1689) when then-Pope Shenouda III met with then-Pope Paul VI where they signed an important Christological declaration with the ambition to initiate ecumenical dialogue between the two ancient churches.[27] On 10 May/2 Pashons, Pope Tawadros II and Pope Francis held a shared prayer followed by a reception with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and other dicasteries of the Roman Curia. Pope Tawadros II also visited the tombs of the Apostle Peter, the first bishop of Antioch, who Roman Catholics hold to be the first pope of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Apostle Paul.[28] Additionally, Pope Tawadros II visited Copts in Rome.[citation needed]
On 27 November 2015 (17 Hathor 1732), Pope Tawadros II made the first Coptic papal visit to Jerusalem since 1832 (1548–1549), especially controversial as Pope Shenouda III had boycotted Jerusalem for four decades over the Arab–Israeli conflict. The purpose of the visit was the funeral of Archbishop Anba Abraham,[29] rather than to formally end the boycott.[30]
On 4 September 2016 (29 Mesori 1732), Pope Tawadros II visited King Abdullah of Jordan at the Royal Palace in Amman, his first visit to Jordan, before attending the general assembly of the Middle East Council of Churches on 6–8 September (1–3 Pi Kogi Enavot). The pope also visited Mount Nebo and the baptism site of John the Baptist, and praised King Abdullah and Jordan for encouraging religious tolerance and protecting holy sites.[31]
In 2017, Pope Tawadros visited the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In September 2017, Pope Tawadros II visited Sydney, Australia for the first time as Pope. On 10 September 2017 (8 Mesori 1733), Pope Tawadros II visited Melbourne to officially open Eporo Tower in the diocese of Melbourne and Affiliated Regions.
Writings of Pope Tawadros II
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