Tomorrow we celebrate the centenary of the birth of the Pope of the Arabs, the golden mouthed of the twentieth century and the triple beatified Pope Shenouda III, the 117th pope of Alexandria. He had a big heart that contained everyone, young and old, and a spacious mind that accommodated a lot of science, culture and thought. He was a writer, a thinker, and a poet who captured the hearts and thoughts of his readers through his smooth and simple- but deep- style. God granted him a unique personality that left indelible marks in the memory of everyone who dealt with him, not only in Egypt, but in every country he visited. He obtained love, respect and appreciation from world leaders.
Rich Life
Pope Shenouda III was born on August 3, 1923, in the village of Salam in Assiut. He moved with his older brother Raphael across a number of cities, including: Damanhour, Alexandria, Assiut and Benha. During that period, he passed his primary and preparatory educational stages. As for the secondary stage, he spent it in Cairo where he attended Al-Iman Secondary School in Geziret Badran, Shubra, in Cairo, then in the literary section of Ragheb Morgan School in Faggala. He joined the Theological College in 1946, and graduated in 1949, and was ranked first among his peers, he taught there in the following year. He obtained a BA in History from the Faculty of Arts, Fouad I University (currently known as Cairo University) in 1947, and graduated from the Reserve Officers Faculty in the same year and was ranked first among the graduates. After graduation, he worked in the field of teaching until 1949, when he devoted himself to ministering and teaching at the theological college. He became a monk in the Monastery of the Virgin Mary in Wadi al-Natrun (the Syrians) under the name of Monk Antonius the Syrian on 18/07/1954, since he longed for a life of solitude, he resided in a cave about 3.5 kilometers away from the monastery, then moved to another cave about 12 kilometers away. He was ordained a General Bishop of Education, Religious Institutes, and Church Education under the name of Bishop Shenouda on 30/09/1962, to become the first general bishop with the responsibility of ecclesiastical education. Later, he was ordained patriarch of the See of Saint Mark the Apostle on 14/11/1971, he has always faithfully tended his people until his departure on 17/03/2011.
God endowed him with many talents; like his superior ability to memorize, His Holiness mentions: “I remember when I was in the fourth primary grade, I participated in a competition for memorizing psalms, so I memorized Psalm no. (19) (a long psalm): “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork..” I was awarded a golden Bible as a prize for winning the competition… I also was enchanted by reading poetry and I memorized a lot of it.” He composed poetry despite his young age, he says: “I began to compose poetry, at the age of fourteen or fifteen.” Years from 1946 to 1962 were the most fruitful in poetic production, as he composed nearly 25 spiritual poems and hundreds of verses. He began to publish his articles in Al-Haq (the truth) magazine, then he began writing poems and spiritual articles in Madares Al-Ahad (Sunday School) magazine, and he published the first issue of Al-Keraza (evangelism) magazine – of which he was the editor-in-chief along 47 years – in January 1965. Additionally, he wrote articles for a number of national newspapers, besides his intellectual production of books that reached nearly 140 books, a number of which were translated into more than 12 languages.
Time is never sufficient to talk about the humane Pope who endured the concerns and problems of others as a caring father tending his children in Egypt and elsewhere abroad. He paid great attention to the poor and needy even when he was severely ill, bearing in mind the comfort of others, preferred it over his own personal comfort. Long hours would pass if I tried to delve into his supreme love for the country, about which he always reiterated: “Egypt is not a homeland in which we live, but rather a homeland that lives in us.”
The scent of his fragrant biography spread everywhere, he was received with warm hospitality and appreciation by world presidents and kings, won many international awards, including: the highest honor in Ethiopia, “The Sash of Solomon the Great” from Emperor Haile Selassie, the “Madenzit Singh Award for Tolerance” from UNESCO, the Best Preacher and Teacher of Christian religion in the world prize from the American Browning Foundation, the Human Rights Award from Libya, Hungary’s Order of State and a sash from its president, the German Augsburg Peace Prize, the Grand Cross of St. Ignatius Order from the Syriac Church, the Diamond Award from the Cardinal King Catholic Foundation in Vienna, Austria. Moreover, the universities of the United States of America, Germany and Hungary also awarded him nine honorary doctorate degrees.
Pope Shenouda III will always remain an Egyptian Coptic icon, living vibrant in the memory of history at all times, he is the absent, yet present in the hearts of all who knew him, and … stories about Beautiful Egypt never end!
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
