Candidates for Coptic papacy announced

The final five candidates for the next Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church have been announced.

A new Pope is being selected following the death of Pope Shenouda III in March after over four decades as head of the Church.

The candidates were announced by the Coptic Orthodox Church Nominations Committee in Egypt.

They are:
Bishop Roufail
Bishop Tawadrous
Father Rafael Ava-Mina
Father Pakhamious El-Souriani
Father Seraphim El-Souriani

The final five candidates will be put forward for the papal election on 24 November, where the list will be reduced to three candidates.

The new pope will be chosen on 2 December from among those three by altar ballot, and enthroned later in the month.
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