Three crushed to death as tens of thousands turn out to see DEAD Coptic Pope sit on throne for one last time

A memorial service for Egypt's late Pope Shenouda III plunged into chaos when mourners trying to catch a glimpse of his embalmed corpse were crushed to death.



Tens of thousands visited Cairo's main Abbasiya cathedral as the body of the 88-year-old leader of the nation's Orthodox Church sat on an ornate throne.



But the desire to see the spiritual leader of the Coptic Christians soon turned to tragedy - as three devotees suffocated to death and dozens were injured in the crowded church.

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Crush: Tens of thousands of Egyptian Coptics turned up to Cairo's main cathedral to see the body of Pope Shenouda III

Tearful crowds: But three mourners were crushed to death in the rush to see the body

The body of Pope Shenouda III, the head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, is viewed by the congregation

It came as soldiers and armoured tanks stood outside to deter possible attacks by militant Muslims.



The grief of the faithful filing past Pope Shenouda may also reflect the uncertainty felt by the country's Christian minority following the recent rise of Islamists to power.

Shenouda, who died on Saturday, often called for harmony and regularly met Muslim leaders to ease tensions.

In his death, Egypt's 10 million Christians have lost a seasoned protector at a bad time.

Security: Egyptian military police stood guard outside the cathedral to make sure the tends of thousands of Christians were not targeted by militants

Scramble: Men are seen climbing trees onto a rooftop as they try to avoid the crush outside the cathedral



'He has been our protector since the day I was born,' said a tearful Antonios Lateef as he waited in line yesterday to take one last look at the pope, who spent 40 years at the helm of the Coptic Orthodox Church.



WHAT IS THE COPTIC CHURCH? The majority of Christians in Egypt are Copts – Christians descended from the ancient Egyptians.

They make up roughly 10 per cent of Egypt's 84.5million population - the largest Christian community in the Middle East and North Africa.

The main church is the Coptic Orthodox, which split from the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches in 451AD.

In recent years, Christian-Muslim relations have declined dramatically.

Violent outbreaks from radical Islamists against Christians and their places of worship are one of the biggest factors in the deteriorating relationship between the two dominant religious groups.

Egyptian Christians have accused the post-Mubarak governing military council of being too lenient on the perpetrators of the attacks.

The main issues for Christians in Egypt are anti-Christian attacks and political instability.

Historically Copts used Coptic language, which derives from the ancient Egyptian language written mainly in the Greek alphabet, which is still used for small parts of Christian services.

In addition to violent outbreaks, Copts complain of discrimination. In Egypt, there is a law that requires the president's permission for church construction.

According to a U.S. State Department report on religious freedom published last year, Mubarak’s government had encouraged discrimination against Copts.

Some Christians said this policy has continued under the military council that took power after Mubarak was ousted in February.

The crowds outside the cathedral in central Cairo carried crosses and portraits of Shenouda. 'Ya Allah!' or 'Oh God!', they chanted in unison.



Shenouda, seated on the throne of St. Mark, or Mar Morkos, was clad in the elaborate regalia he traditionally wore to oversee services. His head slightly tilting to the right and he held a scepter.



'Please, let me come a little bit closer,' one woman pleaded with a tearful voice to guards surrounding the body to keep the mourners away.

'I am so sad. It's a massive shock to all of us,' said Eileen Naguib, dressed in mourning black, as she wiped tears from her face outside the cathedral.



Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who heads Egypt's ruling military council, visited the church with other generals and consoled Coptic leaders.



Shenouda's death could lead to a long power vacuum. It could take months before a successor is found, according to Fuad Girgis, a prominent Christian from the Mediterranean city of Alexandria and a member of the Church's local layman council, known as el-Maglis el-Melly.



'Pope Shenouda assumed the throne of St. Mark eight months after the death of his predecessor,' he noted. Shenouda will be buried tomorrow.



During his 40 years as patriarch, Shenouda strove to ensure his place among the main players in this mainly Muslim nation, pressing demands behind the scenes while keeping Christians' anger over violence and discrimination in check.

It was a delicate balancing act undertaken for years by a man who kept a relatively high media profile during most of the past four decades, giving interviews, speaking on key domestic and regional developments and never allowing himself to show anger at times of crisis.

Authorities deny discriminating against them, but the Christians say discrimination is practised in numerous and subtle ways. Christians, for example, rarely assume leadership jobs on the police force, particularly the security agencies.

Standing room only: Pope Shenouda III was the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church who led Egypt's Christian minority for 40 years during a time of increasing tensions with Muslims

Tensions: A member of the Church's security team urges mourners to stop pushing to avoid harming fellow elderly mourners

The Islamist-dominated parliament only has a handful of Christians, and there are never more than one or two Christians among 30-plus Cabinet ministers.



As Egypt grew more religiously conservative over the past 40 years, the discrimination became more manifest in everyday life, particularly when Christians are in direct contact with government departments or for their children at state schools, where Islamists often dominate teaching staff.

The pope, accustomed to the monastic traditions of Egypt's unforgiving desert, had on occasion protested what he perceived to be gross injustices to his flock by living in seclusion for days or even weeks in remote monasteries.



Although he had publicly acknowledged that Christians were discriminated against, he never accepted that they be referred to as a minority, insisting that Copts were an integral part of the nation's fabric.

The Christians show their respect as they gather inside the Abassiva Cathedral to say their final goodbyes

Thousands of people mourn the death of the 117th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and Patriachof

Shenouda supported President Hosni Mubarak during the 29 years ruled, until his ouster 13 months ago in a popular uprising. In return, Mubarak gave him and his church wide powers in the Christian community.

'Baba Shenouda', or Father Shenouda, as he was known, came to be viewed by many Copts as their guardian.



A charismatic leader, his sense of humour belied a deeply conservative doctrine that angered liberals within the church as well as young secular-minded Copts seeking a more assertive role and inclusive identity in society.



More recently, Christians' worries have deepened with the rise of Islamic movements to political power in parliamentary elections, a string of deadly attacks on their community and places of worship and heightened anti-Christian rhetoric by ultraconservative Muslims, or Salafis.



'The nation that does not protect its own sons strangles them,' Girgis Atef, a 26-year-old Christian activist, said of the perceived failure by authorities to protect Christians.



Atef, an insurance executive, participated in last year's uprising and then witnessed the death in October of at least 27 people, mostly Christians, when soldiers crushed a Christian protest.

Shenouda's burial is expected to take place at the Wadi el Natrun monastery in the desert northwest of Cairo, where the late pope requested he be buried

People gather at the cathedral in Cairo's Abbasiya district to pay their final respects to the church leader



Shenouda was popular among many of Egypt's Christians even outside the Orthodox Church, as well as among many Muslims

'I rose up a year ago to restore the rights of the nation, and I am still not given my rights,' he complained.



The Islamists who now dominate parliament's two chambers routinely pay lip service to the rights of Christians and their equality with Muslims.



But there is no doubt in the mind of most Christians that a more Islamic Egypt would inevitably deal a setback to their slow and tortuous drive to win their rights.

In a move harshly criticised by liberal politicians, the two chambers adopted a motion on Saturday that would allow lawmakers to make up half of a 100-member panel that will write a new constitution.



The move will give Islamists a big say in the process, meaning that the next constitution will have an Islamist slant, piling up on the worries of Christians.



Sameh Fawzi, a Christian political analyst who closely monitors the church, said even so, there is potential for an accommodation between the church and the Islamists.

