Ancient traditions to guide selection of new Coptic pope

18/3/2012 As all of Egypt mourns the passing of the Coptic patriarch, the wheels of tradition will soon start moving to elected a new pope to carry the ancient Egyptian church forward. “Don’t say the pope died … The pope is in heaven!” chanted thousands of Coptic Christians who had gathered at Cairo’s Abbassiya Cathedral to pay their final respects to Pope Shenouda III who died on Saturday. His body was placed on St Mark’s seat at dawn on Sunday and will be embalmed to preserve the body until the funeral on Tuesday