Selection By Committee And Altar Lot

The selection of a Coptic Orthodox Pope combines nomination, narrowing and a final element of chance intended to remove ordinary human politics from the last stage of the decision. A nominating process draws up a list of eligible bishops and monks meeting specific qualifications, which church electors, including clergy, bishops and lay representatives, narrow through successive rounds of voting to a small number of finalists, traditionally three. From that shortlist, a blindfolded child draws one name from a container placed on the altar during a liturgy, a practice known as the altar lot, understood by the church as leaving the final choice to divine providence rather than to electoral politics.

This procedure has been used, with variations, for many of the church's modern papal elections and distinguishes Coptic practice from the pure synodal election used at Constantinople and Moscow or the closed conclave used in Rome. Coptic popes have historically also served as a focal point for the Coptic community's relationship with the Egyptian state, a role that gained particular visibility in the twentieth century as the church navigated periods of both accommodation and tension with Egypt's government over the treatment of its Christian minority.