Schenuda III.

Shenudah speaking in Egypt on June 4, 2009 by Barack Obama

Pope Schenuda III. of Alexandria ( Arabic شنودة Schinuda , DMG Šinūda ; * August 3, 1923 in Manfalut as Nazir Gayed Rafail  /نظير جيد روفائيل / Naẓīr Ǧayyid Rawfāʾil ; † March 17, 2012 in Cairo ) was the 117th Patriarch of Alexandria and Pope of the See of St. Mark ( Coptic Church ).

Life

In 1947 he graduated in philosophy at the University of Cairo from. He then completed postgraduate studies in archeology and was also trained as a reserve officer. He then studied at the Coptic Orthodox seminary theology and completed his studies 1949th He was a lecturer in " Exegesis and Dogmatics " at the seminary and a contributor to and editor of Sunday Schools Magazine .

In 1954, he appeared as a monk in the monastery of Deir es-Suryan in Wadi Natrun and was ordained a priest in 1955. After seven years he was ordained General Bishop Anba Schenuda (without a diocese) in September 1962 .

After the death of Pope Kirellos VI. he became head of the Coptic Orthodox Church on October 31, 1971 and the 117th successor to the patriarchal chair of St. Mark as Pope Schenuda III. elected, as which he was enthroned on November 14, 1971.

On March 17, 2012, Schenuda died of old age at the age of 88 and was buried on March 20, 2012 in the desert monastery of Anba Bischoi in Wadi Natrun in northern Egypt . His successor as Patriarch of Alexandria was Tawadros II in November 2012 .

Act

After his enthronement the dogmatic union of the Copts with the Roman Catholic Church began. On May 10, 1973, Pope Shenuda III signed. together with Pope Paul VI. A christological declaration in the Vatican , according to which both churches - despite different formulations - profess the same faith. The accusation of monophysitism on the part of the Catholics, which had been raised by the Western churches against the Coptic Christians until then, was thereby dropped. In 1985 Schenuda was elected honorary member of the Presidium of the Christian Peace Conference (CFK) in Prague . From 1991 to 1998 Schenuda III was. President of the World Council of Churches . On February 24, 2000, he met Pope John Paul II . Schenuda III. was chairman of the Council of Churches in the Middle East (MECC).

Pope Schenuda III. was particularly committed to the development of the educational system, the expansion of the monastery system, the expansion of the Coptic Orthodox Church and the massive intensification of the pastoral care of the Copts in the diaspora . It is also of great ecclesiastical importance that he integrated the British Orthodox Church into the Patriarchate of St. Mark.

honors and awards

• Honorary Doctorate from Bloomfield College, New Jersey (1977)
• Honorary Doctorate from Saint Peter's College, New York
• Honorary Doctorate from Saint Vincent College, Pittsburgh
• Honorary doctorate from the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn (1997)
• Honorary Citizen of six US cities
• UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance and Nonviolence (November 16, 2000)
• International Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights (2003)
• Augsburg Peace Prize (2011)
• Cardinal König Prize (2012)

Publications (selection)

• The spiritual awakening , Cairo 1992, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 977-00-3043-0 , PDF
• Liberation of the Soul , Cairo 1993, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 977-5345-04-9 , PDF
• From the revelation of the birth of Christ , Waldsolms-Kröffelbach / Ts. 1994, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 3-927464-18-X , PDF
• Reflections on the Sermon on the Mount , Cairo 1994, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 977-5319-22-6 , PDF
• The Seven Words of Christ on the Cross , Cairo 1999, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, PDF
• The Deity of Christ , Cairo 1995, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 977-5319-21-8 , PDF
• what is the human? , Cairo 2005, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 977-17-2885-7 .
• Yours is the power and the glory , Cairo 1992, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 3-927464-05-8 .
• Questions raised by people over many years, Part 1 , Cairo 1993, Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate, ISBN 977-5345-05-7 .

Web links

Commons : Schenuda III.  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Schenuda III. in the catalog of the German National Library
• Pope Shenouda - Official Website
• Official CV (PDF file; 26 kB)
• Joint declaration by Pope Shenuda III. and Pope Paul VI. (1973)
• Books by Pope Schenuda III. for download (pdf, Word)
• Short presentation on Youtube (by Anba Damian )

Individual evidence

1. ^ Coptic Church: Pope Schenuda III. is dead. Süddeutsche.de , March 17, 2012, accessed on March 17, 2012 . 
2. ↑ Up to two million expected! kath.net, March 19, 2012, accessed April 18, 2020 . 
3. ↑ The Holy See : Jubilee Pilgrimage to Mount Sinai, 2000 February 24, 2000

predecessor	Office	successor
Kirello VI	Coptic Pope 1971–2012	Tawadros II.