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Christian Conference of Asia
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20 March, 2012
Tribute to His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, of blessed memory
To: The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church
Your Eminences and Graces, Respected members of the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Brothers and Sisters in Christ, It is with great sorrow that we received the sad news of the passing away of Pope Shenouda III, spiritual head of the Egyptian Coptic Church on March 17, 2012. The Christian Conference of Asia shares your grief and sorrow at the loss of your beloved Patriarch who served the Coptic Church for four decades with wisdom, courage and compassion.His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, brought to his office not only his erudition and intellect, but also the piety and serenity of monastic life and the years he spent in solitude as a hermit. We understand that he inspired the growth of the church both within and outside Egypt and courageously stood for the rights of the country’s Christian Minority.
We learn valuable lessons from his life that was spent in advocacy and dialogue for peace and reconciliation, especially to promote Christian –Muslim unity and Israeli – Palestinian peace, and take pride in the fact that he was awarded the UNESCO’s Mandanjeet Singh prize for Tolerance in 2000. He inspired co-operation and accord among the people of Egypt regardless of the religion they profess saying "We Christians and Muslims are like organs in one body, which is Egypt."
We appreciate his strong convictions about the role of young people in the church and uphold his statement "A church without youth is a church without a future.” We hold in high esteem his regard for women and his faith in the gift of women’s ministries in the life of the Church that led to his bold decision to resume the ordination of deaconesses after an interval of several centuries and to encourage women to enter Theological colleges and communal Councils.
At this time of grief, when the Church is overwhelmed at the loss of such an illustrious, wise and saintly leader, we offer our solidarity and prayers for peace and guidance, keeping in mind the difficult period that the Christians and the people of Egypt are going through. Let us strive to live his legacy of a way of life that fearlessly reached out to build bridges of love as he believed that “Love generates love and separation generates separation."
May his soul rest in peace.
Rev. Dr. Henriette Hutabarat Lebang
General Secretary
posted by communications on Wednesday, March 21, 2012 |
