The 118th Papal Voting Process Update

From Left to Right: H.G. Bishop Tawadrous, H.G. Bishop Raphael, Fr. Bakhomious El-Souriany, Fr. Serafim El-Souriany, Fr. Rafael Ava Mina

The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church has approved the final list of voters on September 14th, 2012. There are 2405 voters who will take part in this historical event.

The voting process for the 118th Pope of the See of Alexandria will involve two steps:

1) Thanks be to God, the first step has been completed

At a press conference on the afternoon of Saturday, October 13, 2012 in Wadi El-Natroun, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Pachomios, our Coptic Orthodox Church announced the short list of 5 candidates in the running to become the next pope to succeed The Late Pope Shenouda III. The names are listed below:

• Fr. Bakhomious El-Souriany
• Bishop Tawadrous
• Bishop Raphael
• Fr. Raphael Ava Mina
• Fr. Seraphim El-Souriany

2) Election Day

The election date is scheduled for Monday, October 29, 2012 followed by the altar lot on Sunday, November 4, 2012.

Voters within Egypt
All voters within Egypt will be voting in person on the election day of October 29, 2912.

Voters Outside Egypt
According to the 1957 by-laws, voters outside of Egypt have two options for voting:

1. Travel to Egypt and vote in person for voting on the tentative election day.
2. Go to your local Egyptian Embassy or Consulate to get a letter of power of attorney for the person who will be voting in Egypt instead of you. This person will take this letter and will vote in person instead of you.

Process of the Ballot
The ballot will contain the final list of the 5 nominees. The voter will vote by scratching out with a pen all names in which he/she does not vote for. There can only be a maximum of 3 unscratched names, otherwise the ballot will be rejected.

As we go through this historical event, the presence and guidance of our Lord is vital. Thus the Church will be fasting 3 first degree fast (similar to the Wednesday and Friday fasts):

1. October 1-3, 2012: prior to studying the objections of the nominee; reducing the current list of nominees from seventeen to 5-7 names
2. October 22-24, 2012: prior to the election day
3. October 31-November 2, 2012: prior to the Altar Lot

We pray that our Lord Jesus Christ guide us through this process and help us to choose a good shepherd for His church according to His will.

Source: click here.