Source: Toronto Star
By: Leslie Scrivener
Roman Catholic cardinals will soon gather beneath Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who retired in February.
Before entering the conclave, the cardinals will have taken a vow of “inviolable secrecy” to never discuss the election. They will wear scarlet satin, symbolic of their willingness to die for the faith, and remain sequestered until they reach a two-thirds-plus-one majority. Ballots are burned after each vote. White smoke from a Vatican chimney indicates they’ve made their choice and the newly elected pope retires to the Room of Tears to don the white silk vestments symbolic of his new rank.
It may have the highest profile, but the conclave is far from the only leadership selection rich in tradition and symbolism. A sampling of the ancient and modern:
Tibetan Buddhism
At the death of a Dalai Lama, a search party is sent to find his successor, but where to start? With visions and omens. In 1933, when the embalmed body of the 13th Dalai Lama was lying in state, it was noted that his head, which had been facing south, was now turned to the northeast. Not long after, a senior lama peered into the sacred waters of lake Lhamo Latso and saw a series of floating images: three letters, Ah, Ka and Ma; a monastery; and a small house with a gnarled juniper tree growing on its roof. Following these signs, the search party travelled to the northeast province of Amdo, near the monastery at Kumbum, which matched the description in the vision. In a nearby house, they found a 3-year-old boy who recognized one of the lamas. Certain they had found the reincarnation of the late Dalai Lama, they returned for a second visit, bringing a bell, rosary and other items belonging to the 13th Dalai Lama, along with some that had not been his. The child claimed only the former Dalai Lama’s possessions, saying, “Mine. Mine.” The child is now known as His Holiness Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. There is a controversy over who will choose his successor. The Dalai Lama has mused that his successor may be born outside of Tibet (now in Chinese control) and may be a girl. That’s at odds with the Chinese, who say the next Dalai Lama will be born in Tibet and will be chosen by them.
Coptic Orthodox Church
The intense and emotional climax of the search for a new pope and patriarch of Alexandria comes as a blindfolded boy reaches into a glass chalice and chooses one of three slips of paper. The glass is symbolic of transparency. The blindfolded child, also chosen by lot, is said to represent the hand of God. The names of the three candidates have been winnowed from a longer list by a group of about 2,400 senior clergy and prominent lay people. The selection of the pope, regarded as a successor to St. Mark, the founder of the church, is preceded by three days of fasting in the Coptic community worldwide.
Old Order Mennonite
When members of this branch of the Mennonite church choose a leader — deacon, minister or the highest-ranking clergy, a bishop — they turn to the Bible. Just as Christ’s disciples chose a new member after Judas’ betrayal, Old Order Mennonites choose by lot. Candidates are nominated and their suitability is discussed in the community in a period of discernment. If there are five candidates, five identical hymn books or bibles are laid out. The bishop, who oversees the ordination service, places a slip of paper inscribed with a line of scripture into one of the books. The books are then shuffled so no one knows which one contains the paper. The candidate who opens the book with the paper is the new leader. “Some would interpret it as chance, but they would interpret it as a call from God,” says Marlene Epp, director of Mennonite studies at Conrad Grebel University College at the University of Waterloo. The chosen are ministers for life.
Ismaili
Prince Karim Aga Khan IV inherited the title and responsibility for his people from his grandfather, who died in 1957. While he has the spiritual authority of a pope, he also cares for the temporal well-being of Ismailis around the world. The Aga Khan, who claims descent from the prophet Mohammed, was installed at the age of 20 in a ceremony in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He was draped in his grandfather’s ceremonial robes, and given the Sword of Justice and a chain of office with 49 links, signifying that he was the 49th hereditary imam.
Baha’i
The number nine is significant in the Baha’i faith. In elections — at all levels of Baha’i organization — adult adherents write down names of nine members of the community. Those with the most votes win one of nine seats. The number nine, the last of the single digits, is considered perfection and is the numerical value of the word Baha. The supreme level of authority is the Universal House of Justice; only men are eligible for these positions as decreed by the founder Baha’u’llah. Every five years at a meeting in Haifa, Israel, nine are chosen by about 1,500 electors from Baha’i national assemblies around the world.