Sunday, March 18, 2012

Egyptians Mourn Coptic Pope Shenouda ‎III


Abba (Pope) Shenouda III was a good friend of the Council for the World's Religions (CWR)  (root organization of IRFWP).  

In 1985 Pope Shenouda welcomed CWR director Frank Kaufmann and senior adviser Francis Clark for an extended stay at is residence in Wadi Natrun.  

We pray for Abba Shenouda's glorious ascension.

Voice of America Reports

Egyptians are mourning the death of Coptic Pope Shenouda III, the spiritual leader of the Middle East's largest Christian community. 

Shenouda died on Saturday in Cairo at age 88 after suffering from what the official MENA news agency says was liver and lung disease. 

Mourners gathered in the main Coptic cathedral in Cairo to pray and try to get a look at the pope's body. Many wept openly.

The grand sheik of Cairo's Al-Azhar, the pre-eminent theological institute of Sunni Islam, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb said, "Egypt has lost one of its rare men at a sensitive moment when it most needs the wisest of the wise..."

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