.jpg)
.png)
Egypt bids farewell to Coptic pope
Big crowds are expected in the Egyptian capital for the funeral of Coptic Pope Shenouda III, who died on Saturday.
Large crowds are expected to turn up at the Egyptian capital to bid farewell to the Coptic Pope Shenouda III
A service will be held at St Mark's cathedral, followed by burial at St Bishoy monastery in the Nile Delta.
Shenouda, 88, was the spiritual leader of Egypt's Copts - who make up 10% of the country's population - for decades.
A national day of mourning has been declared for the funeral.
Dressed in embroidered vestments and a golden mitre, and holding a gold-tipped staff, his body was laid in a coffin before being placed on a ceremonial throne, which was visited by tens of thousands of people over the past few days.
He was seen as a leader who did his best to protect Coptic Christians at a time when Islamism was on the rise, but his deep conservatism, including opposition to divorce, was not always popular with younger Christians.
The first challenge for the new leader of the Church will be to reassure Copts of their place in a country whose largest political party is now the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, the BBC reported.
There is no timetable yet for the selection of his successor, who will be elected by a conclave of senior bishops.
Tributes have come in from around the world, with Roman Catholic Pope Benedict XVI offering prayers and US President Barack Obama praising Pope Shenouda as an "advocate for tolerance and religious dialogue".
