‘Every era has its men’ is a rule that has applied to the Coptic Orthodox Church since Egypt became a republic. Since the 1952 Revolution until now, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church has passed away after the departure of every head of state. Whether this is preordained or merely coincidence is uncertain; for example, President Jamāl ‘Abd al-Nāsir (Gamal Abd El-Nasser) died in September, 1970 and Pope Kyrillos VI (Mīnā al-Barāmūsī al-Mutawahhid) died in March 1971. It is known that Pope Kyrillos had a strong relationship with ‘Abd al-Nāsir who ordered the construction of the cathedral of Saint Mark in al-‘Abasīyyah.The late Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III came after and he continued for almost 40 years, working with presidents Sādāt and Mubārak. Mubārak was ousted in January 2011 and Pope Shenouda died in March 2012 (Mīrā Mamdūh and Wafā’ Wasfī, Rose al-Yūsuf, August 26, p. 9). Read original text in Arabic.
