埃及科普特人哀悼教宗並擔憂未來

Egypt is in mourning for the patriarch of the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda, who died Saturday at the age of 88. The Coptic community is preparing both for his funeral and a future made more uncertain by the political ascendancy of Islamists.

埃及正在哀悼星期六去世、享年88歲的科普特教會教宗謝努達。科普特社區正在爲謝努達教宗的葬禮以及由於伊斯蘭勢力在政界的上升所造成的更不確定的未來進行準備。

Pope Shenouda

Coptic mourners lined for hours outside Cairo's main cathedral to pay their last respects to the only patriarch most had ever known. Pope Shenouda's 40-year tenure as patriarch of the Coptic Church reinforced for many not only their place in the religious sphere, but also the political landscape of an increasingly Islamist Egypt.

科普特哀悼者在開羅大教堂外排隊好幾個小時，來向這位唯一讓絕大多數人耳熟能詳的主教進行最後的告別和致敬。教宗謝努達作爲科普特教會主教的40年任期，對於很多人來說，不僅加強了他們在宗教領域的力量，而且也增強了他們在當下伊斯蘭勢力不斷上升的埃及國內的政治地位。

Cairo resident Nashaat Nagy stood with his patient young daughter in the crowds that filled the main streets and alleyways around Abassaya cathedral.

開羅居民納吉和他耐心等待的年幼女兒都在排隊的人羣中，排隊的民衆擠滿了阿巴薩亞教堂周圍的大街小巷。

“We come to see our beloved Pope Shenouda for the last time," he said. "We knew him for 40 years. He's the only one we trusted in Egypt.”

納吉說：“我們來見我們親愛的教宗謝努達最後一面。我們認識他已經40年了。他是我們在埃及唯一信任的人。”

Rise of Islamists

Shenouda's death Saturday comes at a crossroads for the country's estimated 10 million Coptic Christians, as some, like mourner Wadie Agaiby, worry about the rise of political Islam after the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

謝努達星期六的去世，正當埃及大約1千萬科普特基督徒處於一個十字路口的關鍵時期。一些像哀悼者瓦迪·阿蓋比這樣的人，對穆巴拉克總統倒臺之後不斷上升的伊斯蘭政治勢力感到擔憂。

“It's a very difficult time for us, this time, because it's a different time, a difficult time," said Agaiby. "We don't know what we are going to do.”

他說：“現在是我們非常艱難的時期，因爲這是一個不同的時期，困難的時期。我們不知道我們要做些什麼。”

Shenouda, the 117th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa, led his church with what many in the crowd said was a kind but strong hand. He was able to navigate the often treacherous religious politics of his era. He was banished by President Anwar Sadat in the early 1980's to a desert monastery, where he will be buried Tuesday, but returned to forge a careful path with President Mubarak. He balanced support for the government with a conservative, some say insular approach, that bound his faithful but avoided most conflict with the nation's majority Muslims.

謝努達作爲第117任亞歷山大教宗以及全非洲主教，用很多人羣中民衆的話說，是用仁慈和堅強的方式領導着他的教會。他能夠駕馭他所處時代那種危險多變的宗教政治局勢。他在1980年代早期，曾經被當時的薩達特總統流放到一座沙漠裏的修道院，那裏也是他星期二即將被安葬的地方。後來返回之後，他和穆巴拉克總統之間建立起一種小心翼翼的關係。他用一種保守的，甚至有些人說是與世隔絕的方式，來平衡對政府的支持，這種做法不僅保住了他的信衆，而且也避免了和埃及佔大多數的穆斯林之間絕大部分的矛盾。Violence

But conflict came, with attacks on Christians over the years becoming stronger again since the uprising. The violence came both from extremists and the government itself. At least 26 people died in October during a police crackdown on a Coptic protest in Cairo.

Outside the cathedral Sunday, Coptic priest Bemen Shakr spoke of Shenouda's optimism and faith even during the most difficult times.

星期天在教堂外，科普特教士沙克爾講到了謝努達教宗即使在最困難的時刻，也保持着樂觀和信心。

Shakr said that Shenouda relied on three phrases when facing such problems: “they will be eventually solved, everything heads towards the good, and the Lord is there.”

沙克爾說，謝努達教宗在面對艱難困苦時，依靠的是三句話：“最終問題會得到解決，所有的事情都在朝着好的方向發展，神就在那裏。”

The priest added the presence of a new pope will be especially important in the coming months, as Egypt drafts a new constitution and elects a new president. The naming of the next patriarch is expected after a 40 day period of mourning.

這位教士補充說，在接下來的幾個月裏，隨着埃及將起草一部新憲法，選舉一位新總統，產生一位新的教宗就顯得尤其重要。任命下一任主教教宗的工作預計在40天的哀悼期之後進行。

Fear

With the Muslim Brotherhood and the fundamentalist Salafis dominating parliament, questions about their intentions mixed with expressions of grief among the Coptic mourners. Will a stricter form of Sharia, or Islamic law, become the basis of post-revolution Egypt? Will the Arab world's largest Christian community see a flight to the West like other Middle Eastern Christians in recent decades?

隨着穆斯林兄弟會和奉行原教旨主義的薩拉菲派開始主導埃及議會，科普特哀悼者在表達對教宗去世悲痛心情的同時，也表達出對伊斯蘭勢力意圖的疑問。一種更爲嚴厲的伊斯蘭法會成爲革命之後的埃及的治國根基嗎？阿拉伯世界最大的基督徒社區會像中東地區基督徒近幾十年來所做的那樣，出現逃往西方的情形嗎？

Ezzat Sobhy, a banker who came out to Abassaya to pay his last respects to Shenouda, said “I will not lie to you. There is fear.”

一位來到阿巴薩亞教堂向謝努達教宗表達最後敬意銀行家伊扎特說：“我不會對你撒謊。人們很害怕。”