Egypt's Coptic church chooses new pope

CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian church named a new pope on Sunday, chosen in an elaborate ceremony where a blindfolded boy drew the name of the next patriarch from a crystal chalice.

Bishop Tawadros will be ordained Nov. 18 as Pope Tawadros II. He will be the spiritual leader of a community that increasingly fears for its future amid the rise of Islamists to power in the aftermath of last year's uprising.

Many Copts, estimated to make up 10 percent of the country's 83 million people, will look to Tawadros to fill a void in leadership following the death of Pope Shenouda III, who led the church for 40 years. Shenouda's death at the of 88 this year heightened the sense of insecurity felt by many who had known him as patriarch for all or most of their lives.

But some critics of Shenouda's papal style -- to act as an intermediary for Copts with the state -- hope the change will usher in a patriarch who is head of the church but not necessarily a political leader of the community.

Egypt's Coptic Christians have long complained of discrimination by the state and the country's Muslim majority. Clashes with Muslims have occasionally broken out, often sparked by church construction, land disputes or Muslim-Christian love affairs.

The prospects of a stronger role for Islamic law in legislation increase the community's concern of further marginalization, or of curtailing their rights of worship and expression.

"We will pray that God will

All three senior clerics whose names were in the chalice were considered consensus candidates who stayed out of disputes both within the church and with other groups, including Islamists.

There was a moment of silence before the drawing by the blindfolded boy, an act believed to reflect God's will in the choice.

Amid heavy police security around the Cairo cathedral, thousands of worshippers erupted in applause, tears and prayer when his name was announced.

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Egypt's Coptic church chooses new pope