Enthroning as Pope of Alexandria
He was enthroned as Pope Shenouda III, the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark on November 14, 1971 , nearly 9 months after the departure of Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria. As he was a Bishop already he could not assume any different name from Shenouda.
The ceremony was the first and yet the only enthroning of a Coptic Pope to take place in the new Saint Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo.
Supervised growth of the Church in Birmingham
The papacy of H.H. Shenouda III has coincided with a worldwide expansion of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria.
In the early 1980s, H.H. Pope Shenouda III ordained the first Bishop to serve the United Kingdom, H.G. Bishop Missael. Through this, H.G. Bishop Missael established St. Mary & St. Antony’s Church and St. Mary & St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Centre which were consecrated on the 31st April 1985 and the 22nd of August 1989 respectively. On the 26th May 1991, H. H. Pope Shenouda III established the first Coptic Orthodox diocese in the United Kingdom, the Diocese of Birmingham (now Diocese of the Midlands) by consecrating H.G. Bishop Missael as its first bishop. As the years passed, the congregation had grew significantly and the need for a bigger Church at St. Mary & St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Centre was identified by H.G. Bishop Missael. The new Church was built in the compound in the year 2000 and was named after St. Mary & St. Abu-Sefein; H.H. Pope Shenouda III consecrated the church on the 19th February 2006. In December 2009 the Coptic Orthodox Church of Birmingham purchased a third site located near Solihull Town Centre; plans are in place for the construction of St. Mary & Archangel Michael’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral on the site.
Departure to Heaven
Our beloved Father His Holiness Pope Shenouda III departed to the Heavenly Kingdom on Tuesday 17th March 2012 (8th Baramhat).
Read the Press Release from the Diocese on His Holiness’ Departure on 17/03/2012
Anointing of His Holiness’ body on 17/03/2014
Tribute
We ask that our Lord Jesus Christ repose the soul of our Beloved Father His Holiness Pope Shenouda III in the Paradise of Joy with our fathers Abraham Isaac and Jacob and that He accept the intercessions of His Holiness Pope Shenouda III for his Church and children.