The Coptic Pope died recently.

A new Coptic Christian Pope may not appear to be a big deal outside the pews of Church, but the reality facing Egypt is that the next pope will largely determine how the country’s two leading faiths will work together; or not.

Currently, there are two sides to the debate over who will lead. The divide currently engulfing the Coptic Church and the Holy Synod tapped to choose the next pontiff pits a more moderate, tolerant branch of leaders with a more reactionary group who are vowing to push hard against the Muslim hard-liners in the country for greater Coptic rights and guarantees. It’s an important internal struggle that will have major national implications.

On the ground, the average Christian is uncertain which way the Church will head. George Zaki, a young man studying to become a priest, says that right now “it is really up in the air” the direction the church will head. “One side I am hearing wants to bring in someone a bit young, strong and energetic to face off against the Muslim hard-liners and push for our rights more openly, while the other wants to maintain Pope Shenouda’s idea that through tolerance and promoting unity, Egypt can have a pluralistic society.”

That, in many ways sums up the debate over who will be the next pope, but it may also turn out to be a matter of chance. The process for nominating the next pope is an interesting one, unlike any other religious institution globally.

The next pope must be at least 40 years old and have been a monk for 15 years just to be nominated. Then, the 110-member committee set up of Bishops and Church leaders will narrow the field until they have three choices, which then go into a glass box and a young child of no more than nine years old chooses the next leader of the Coptic Church of Alexandria.

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