{"id":35614,"date":"2016-03-20T10:29:34","date_gmt":"2016-03-20T08:29:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/site\/?p=35614"},"modified":"2016-10-02T09:40:07","modified_gmt":"2016-10-02T07:40:07","slug":"%d9%85%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%a8%d8%a7-%d8%a5%d8%b1%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a9-148-%d8%a5%d9%86%d8%b3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/%d9%85%d9%82%d8%a7%d9%84-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%a3%d9%86%d8%a8%d8%a7-%d8%a5%d8%b1%d9%85%d9%8a%d8%a7-%d9%85%d8%b5%d8%b1-%d8%a7%d9%84%d8%ad%d9%84%d9%88%d8%a9-148-%d8%a5%d9%86%d8%b3\/","title":{"rendered":"Anba Ermia\u2019s Article \u2013 Beautiful Egypt 148 \u2013 \u00abSo Human, So Universal\u00bb March 20, 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u00a0 \u00a0You might be able to delve deep into many people\u2019s hearts. Yet, tackling reposed Pope Shenouda III\u2019s life is like soaring high in heaven, then plunging into the depths of an ocean. The details of his life are quite attractive: from his early childhood till his ordinance Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He continued to teach, guide, and manage the Church\u2019s affairs till he departed. We commemorated him few days ago. Najib Mahfuz, late Nobel Laureate, commented on Pope Shenouda\u2019s character, saying, \u201cPope Shenouda has always been strong, optimistic, quite smart, a genuine Egyptian, an Arab at heart and inclination, so human, yet so universal.\u201d Pope Shenouda was not a father to his Christian children only, but loving to everybody. So much so, that he was called, \u201cPope of the Arabs\u201d. It is not easy to talk about reposed Pope Shenouda, which is why I shall deal with two main attributes that attracted people to him, namely, so human yet so universal.<\/span><\/h2>\n

So Human<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Pope Shenouda was quite kind and tender. He had such a gentle heart that he sympathized a lot for people and felt their pains. He would say, \u201cI was susceptible toward people\u2019s pain. Whenever somebody was sick, or crying out in pain, I would leave the house, for I never endured looking at him whenever he was in such a condition.\u201d Thus, he never stopped working to relieve whoever sought his help, or whoever he found in tribulation. He preferred others\u2019 comfort to his own. Hence, he was loved by all who knew him, be they rich, poor, simple, uneducated, or cultured.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0He used to repeat the phrase, \u201cGive the lint of your heart before the lint of your pocket,\u201d as he realized that love was crucial for human beings. He loved everybody, and gave special care to the needy. He used to follow up: making sure if their needs were fulfilled. Moreover, he met everybody with a lovely smile and sweet words. He got to know the secret of life which resides in being so kind as to offer love, care, and sympathy to everybody. He saw strength in loving others, not in overcoming them. A powerful man wins his enemies over and befriends them. He would repeat the phrase, \u201cA strong man is not the one who defeats his enemies, but who wins them over.\u201d He had a kind heart which was enough to endure everybody, and treat people patiently and lovingly. He was sure that people had different characters, and that love is the path that leads to winning people\u2019s hearts. He spread love wherever he went.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Should you read his poems, you will feel his heartbeats. He makes you soar in a world of feelings that take your pain away. His spiritual poems take your heart to heaven, leaving whatever is mundane. He would chant:<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love You O\u2019 Lord in my haven<\/span><\/h2>\n

You whisper to my heart with words profound<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love You O\u2019 Lord in my grief<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love You likewise in need and pain<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love You O\u2019 Lord as I mourn<\/span><\/h2>\n

With remorse, drowning in tears and forlorn<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love you O\u2019 Lord at time of abundance<\/span><\/h2>\n

I also do at times of indigence<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love You when I dwell a palace<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love You when it falls and tumbles<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love Your kindness that heals my soul<\/span><\/h2>\n

And rejoice when it you cure it all<\/span><\/h2>\n

I love Your Spirit roaming around me,<\/span><\/h2>\n

Bestowing my soul with all glee.<\/span><\/h2>\n

From this deep love emanated his feelings towards all people who are but God\u2019s creation.<\/span><\/h2>\n

So Universal<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0Pope Shenouda had an enlightened mind due to his extensive culture which started at an early age. He was so fond of reading that he liked it more than play. He said, \u201cIn my childhood, I was fond of reading. There were no children who I could play with. Thus, books were my favorite toys. I used to read diligently. Though I was very young, I read a lot.\u201d He read Taha Hussein\u2019s \u201cLeaders of Thought\u201d, al-Akkad\u2019s \u201cSara\u201d and others. He had multitudinous readings, which made him quite broad-minded. He read in medicine, sociology, history, literature, stories, and novels. His culture was not bound to a single realm. It included several thinkers and men of letters in the four corners of earth. Yet, he was fond, most, of writing poetry. At that time, he was still in high school. His sharp memory helped him a lot. He was able to memorize, \u201cHeavens hail God\u2019s glory\u2026,\u201d a lengthy psalm, when he was in the fourth primary. Thus, he was awarded a golden Bible.<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0His extensive culture and broad mind qualified him to become chief-editor of \u201cSunday School\u201d magazine, then to be the librarian of the Syrian Monastery Library which is one the most important libraries. In 1962, he became the first Bishop of Education. So, he offered his congregation new ideas and culture in public assemblies. Moreover, he had many books published, and became a member of the Press Syndicate in 1966. He preserved this membership throughout his lifetime. Culture was one of his interests. So, he continued emphasizing the importance of knowledge to man\u2019s life and saying, \u201cKnowledge is important to everybody. God said in the Old Testament that His people perished from lack of knowledge. Man\u2019s ignorance can possibly lead to his downfall. Hence, we care that everybody acquires knowledge, at least the part by which they can benefit in their lives.\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0In effect, the culture-driven approach was Pope Shenouda\u2019s starting point in communicating with a variety of personae enjoying a variety of ideologies. In fact, he was admired by everybody. He gave memorable lectures of which are his two lectures at the Press Syndicate: \u201cIsrael According to Christianity\u201d on June 26, 1966, and \u201cIsrael and Christianity\u201d on December 5, 1971. He gave a lecture at the Arab League on March 3, 1995. It was entitled, \u201cJerusalem, the City of Peace\u201d. His Holiness refuted Zionism and its claims in a remarkable manner in a lecture at \u201cNasser Higher Military Academy.\u201d That was on May 14, 2002. Moreover, he attended several conferences and sessions, such as, \u201cReligion\u2019s Call for Combating Illiteracy\u201d (1966), \u201cOrgan Transplant\u201d (1997), \u201cReproductive Health\u201d (1998), \u201cCombating Smoking\u201d (2000), \u201cNew Scientific Developments\u201d (2001), and so on. Ahmed Bahjat wrote about Pope Shenouda the following words, \u201cIt is interesting to listen to Pope Shenouda. He is quite cultured and insightful. He has a warm heart and an open mind. May God bless you, Sir. May God bless your kind heart, cultured mind, and great awareness of religions\u2019 missions and core of history and civilization.\u201d This is not the end of the story\u2026 Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.<\/span><\/h2>\n

General Bishop<\/span><\/h2>\n

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center<\/span><\/h2>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0You might be able to delve deep into many people\u2019s hearts. Yet, tackling reposed Pope Shenouda III\u2019s life is like soaring high in heaven, then plunging into the depths of an ocean. The details of his life are quite attractive: from his early childhood till his ordinance Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":19638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[6388,6382,6389,6421,4451,240,14114,682],"class_list":["post-35614","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","tag-abba-jeremiah","tag-article","tag-beautiful-egypt","tag-so-human-so-universal","tag-4451","tag---2","tag-14114","tag-682"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35614"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35614"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35614\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39535,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35614\/revisions\/39535"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35614"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35614"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35614"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}